Anyone else have this problem?

B

BillNorth

New member
My mom cut a turn too sharp and she ended up damaging the right side rocker panel on her bimmer. It's a 97 318i. For those of you who aren't familiar with the e36 rockers, they have a dark grey substance coated over top to protect them from stone chips, etc. Well, she ripped through the coating, removed all the body paint underneath the coating, and now the bare metal is showing.



I am soooo worried about salt causing the bare metal to rust, and then spread to the rest of the car. I don't know what to do :confused:. I can't sleep. I took it to a dealer owned bodyshop, and the guy told me to just get a can of grey spray paint and paint over top of the "scraped" part. There is no way to reapply the coating, so I'm told. She also bent in the rocker a little. He told me straighten it out myself using a hammer. The damage runs about a 10" long starting from just under the driver door going towards the rear of the front tire.



Any other opinions? I'll try posting pics. I need to resolve this ASAP as winter is just around the corner in this part of the world.



Thanks. :(
 
As soon as possible get some rust proof(Rustoleum)primer on there. Salt on bare metal is about the worst thing possible for a car body. That rocker panel will start rusting overnight with salt on it.
 
If I spray some rust inhibitor and then spray some paint over it, will that be enough to protect the bare metal from the salt? If not, what should I do to protect the now bare part?





PLEASE, HELP ME!!!!!!
 
Go to the hardware store, get some 1/2 masking tape, a can of grease/wax remover, some 800 grit sand paper. a can of spray primer, the color of your choice.



Clean the area, sand the area, reclean with the solvent.



Mask off the area, use newspaper(double the paper over) and the tape.



Apply a mist coat, let it dry, apply a fill coat (heavier application) and let dry, then one more coat.



Take off the masking tape and paper and later, take it to a bodyshop for the correct repair.



This will keep it from rusting until you get it in the shop.



If you wish, you may find a spray can of paint that is close to the color and if so, sand the primer lightly, to allow the paint to bond and apply it the same way you did the primer.



Relax, you can probably make it almost impossible to see unless you are right down on it.



Ketch

:up
 
OK, I looked again at the "gash". There are two areas half the size of my baby fingernail where there is exposed metal. The rest of the gash still has some coverage from the factory coating.



I went to two bodyshops already. The first guy didn't even mention fixing the exposed metal(maybe he didn't see it). He said he would straighten out the rocker. The second guy didn't look too concerned either. He told me to fix it myself at home. He said I'd be wasting my money if I let someone else fix it.



1. What would a pro bodyshop do to repair the exposed metal that I can't do myself, considering there isn't as much exposed metal as I first thought?



2. Can serious rusting occur from such a small area of exposed metal?



Ron, I should send you some money, I don't know where I'd be without you. You're advice is invaluable to me.



Thanks.:)
 
One of the things you can't do is apply acid etch primer, which is the bodyshop replacement for factory e-coat.



There a spray bomb product called ZeroRust that does it, but hard to find. If I had the time would send you a can of it. But leave for the three week trip to the Pacific Rim Sunday.( Got 3 or 4 cans left over from a product performance test I did for Ford)



Just do as I laid out, won't cost you more than $20 for matters, (Oppps, gotta refigure, Canadian Pesos) any way, you will have lots of material left over that you can use to practice on some other things with to learn a bit more about these sort of things.



Hang in there, this will be a fun little repair and if you do something wrong, just wipe it off with the solvent and start over.



Besure you are not spraying with a wind blowing, or you will get some light overspray on the car and have to use clay for what it was intended.



Ketch

:bounce
 
I just talked to my brother today and he tells me this big problem he has with his wife's minivan, a Honda Odyssey Touring model. For those who don't know, one of the special features of the "Touring" model is the Michelin Run Flat tires. Well the problem he's having is that the tires, which supposedly have a treadwear rating of 490, lasted only 23,000 miles. So he complains to Honda and they acknowledged the problem, but then referred him to Michelin. Well he got nowhere with them.

So now he needs new tires and he wants to just dump the tires and rims (BTW, the rims are special and only Run Flats will fit them) because one set of Run Flats will cost around $1200. He goes to Discount Tires to get an estimate and is told that they can't sell him anything except Run Flats because they received a letter from Honda/Michelin to "cease & desist" selling other rims and tires to Odyssey Touring customers because it will void the 60,000 mile powertrain warranty and Honda/Michelin will sue them.

So the guy tells him that he'll still sell him rims and tires, but he's not allowed to mount them on the minivan. My brother has to bring the wheels home and mount them on himself and if he needs the wheels serviced for any reason, he has to take them off and then take it to them.

Of course, the year after he got his minivan, Honda made the Run Flats optional on the Touring model instead of being part of the Touring package. I guess they figured the Run Flats were not what they were cracked up to be, but you would think they would do something to appease their previous Touring customers like my brother. Of course, my brother's already pissed to the point that he promised to never buy Honda again. Can't say that I blame him.

Wow! That's a long rambling for me!:biggrin:
 
Your bother isn't the only person mad. I'm a mechanic myself and have a friend that works at honda. He runs into this problem all the time. People have no idea how much a set of those run flats go for. Those tires wear out so quick on that model also. Then they see the 1k it will cost to replace them. Let's just say most people are shocked. There's also special tools to change the tires.

I have no idea why they would outfit a van with something like that???? Actually my buddy said quite a few people traded the vans in when the tires were toast because it would be $$$$$ for tires in the long run. Just DUMB...but at least the van doesn't have it's own mind like a toyota.
 
That's pretty typical mileage for run-flats. My first set on my 2003 Corvette lasted 21,000 miles (rears). The fronts lasted a bit longer. A full set of run-flats for a C5 Corvette costs $1400 (not installed!)

On a Corvette, the warranty is not voided by changing to non-run-flat tires, and I know a lot of guys who just put normal steel belted radials on them and add a tire plug kit and a small tire inflator to their trunk.

I don't like the run-flats because they are hard, noisy, and they wear out too quickly. I do like them for the security factor... (for example, wife driving by herself... she can get home without further problems).
 
vaboom123 said:
Your bother isn't the only person mad. I'm a mechanic myself and have a friend that works at honda. He runs into this problem all the time. People have no idea how much a set of those run flats go for. Those tires wear out so quick on that model also. Then they see the 1k it will cost to replace them. Let's just say most people are shocked. There's also special tools to change the tires.

I have no idea why they would outfit a van with something like that???? Actually my buddy said quite a few people traded the vans in when the tires were toast because it would be $$$$$ for tires in the long run. Just DUMB...but at least the van doesn't have it's own mind like a toyota.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's the safety issue they're selling with the Run Flats. As Luster indicated about his wife, my brother liked them too because it's usually his wife driving it around with their kids. However, they should last longer. These aren't exactly performance tires. People who buy minivans expect safety, convenience and value. I doubt people would have opted for them if they knew it wasn't going to last that long and cost that much to replace, but the people who bought them the same year my brother didn't exactly have a choice.

Luster said:
That's pretty typical mileage for run-flats. My first set on my 2003 Corvette lasted 21,000 miles (rears). The fronts lasted a bit longer. A full set of run-flats for a C5 Corvette costs $1400 (not installed!)

On a Corvette, the warranty is not voided by changing to non-run-flat tires, and I know a lot of guys who just put normal steel belted radials on them and add a tire plug kit and a small tire inflator to their trunk.

I don't like the run-flats because they are hard, noisy, and they wear out too quickly. I do like them for the security factor... (for example, wife driving by herself... she can get home without further problems).
Click to expand...

qballjr13 said:
Is it really true that a wheel made to accept a run flat can not use a standard tire?
Click to expand...

When you replace the Run Flats on the Corvette, can you still use the same rims? The Odyssey runs on special rims designed specifically for Run Flats. The rims' diameter is actually measured in millimeters instead of inches. The closest size tires would be 17' tires, but they won't fit. They are either slightly larger or smaller by a few millimeters. I can't remember.

I think Corvette owners buy corvettes knowing the tires are going to cost them later on. My cousin bought a 2008 350Z and he told me the tires are going to cost him over $1000 to replace, but he'll worry about it when it comes up. I don't think minivan owners have the same mindset as sports car enthusiasts.

I suspect my brother is mostly irked by his encounter with Discount Tires. Honda and Michelin seemed to have acknowledged their error with the setup. Yet they insist you keep the setup by strong-arming other vendors with threats of a lawsuit. That's just wrong.
 
We have had mini-vans: 1996 Nissan Quest, 1998 Nissan SE, 2000 Toyota LE, 2003 Honda, 2006 Toyota XLS Limited, and lastly a 2008 Honda. I'd pick the Toyota any day over the Honda EX-L. We looked at the Touring model and that tire thing was one of the reasons we just got EX-L. Now, the wife has a Toyota Highlander, no, not in the gas pedal recall.
 
qballjr13 said:
Is it really true that a wheel made to accept a run flat can not use a standard tire?
Click to expand...

Termigator said:
When you replace the Run Flats on the Corvette, can you still use the same rims?
Click to expand...

I can only speak for Corvettes, not other vehicles with Run Flats.

C5/C6 Corvette wheels are made for any type of tires, whether run-flats, steel belted radials, basically any type of tires... I know many guys who have replaced their run-flats with non-RF radials.
 
The first thing I did when I got my new BMW home was to replace the runflats with Michelin Pilot Sport 2's! I couldn't stand those RFT's!
 
Luster - Thats what I was thinking. My father-in-law has a 97 Vette and talks all the time about how guys on the Corvette forums replace them with standard tires. I dont see how a wheel can be different and ONLY accept a Run Flat???
 
qballjr13 said:
Luster - Thats what I was thinking. My father-in-law has a 97 Vette and talks all the time about how guys on the Corvette forums replace them with standard tires. I dont see how a wheel can be different and ONLY accept a Run Flat???
Click to expand...

If you look at a Run Flat tire, side-by-side with a "normal" tire, without reading the lettering on the side of the tire, there is no difference. The difference is in the stiffness of the sidewalls. Run-flats don't flex (much). The sidewalls are reinforced to be as much as 6 times more rigid than regular steel belted radials.

That's why tire pressure sensors are needed with run-flats, because you can't tell by looking at them or driving on them, whether or not you have a flat tire!

I think the only manufacturers of run-flats are Goodyear, Michelin, Kumho, and Firestone. (Please correct me if I'm wrong).

I've seen all these tires and they all have the same type of sidewall and bead.

I also would like for someone to explain how a certain wheel could be for RFT's only.
 
qballjr13 said:
Luster - Thats what I was thinking. My father-in-law has a 97 Vette and talks all the time about how guys on the Corvette forums replace them with standard tires. I dont see how a wheel can be different and ONLY accept a Run Flat???
Click to expand...

The Run Flats Michelin made for the Odyssey are different. They only fit the rims specific to the Odyssey Touring model, which happens to be specially made to use the Run Flats Michelin made specifically for the Touring model. If you look at the Run Flats on the Odyssey Touring, it won't have the regular numbers (e.g 235/60/17) on the side.
 
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