strut tower rust
 

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Ours had some bad stuff on the drivers side, we cut out the metal and I welded steel plates thicker than the old metal where the old metal used to be

that is really nothing

id remove the CAI, wires, and all hoses and get in there with some sand paper

get it down to bare metal, prep the surface and then paint it with POR15 or some other underbody/rust protector paint

Yea, I didn't think it was that bad either. Ours had a chunk of metal missing. Or just about.

ok thanks im gunna scrape it all away, the sand it and spray some rustolium spray paint over it

and dont be scared to have a body shop look at that or an exhaust shop.


an hour of welding or less can really get alot done : )

I hate to be the one to deliver the bad news, but that rust is worse than it appears. What you can see in the pics is the "good" side of the rust... the bad side can only be seen if you pull the wheel off and look behind the strut. Dust, dirt and grime tend to build up on the flat area behind the strut... it holds moisture and the rust starts there and eats it's way through to the engine compartment side. To properly repair this, you'll have to remove the strut and passenger side header and get a grinder in there from both sides and remove all the rusted metal and then weld in sheet steel a little thicker than the existing steel. The entire repair area should be coated with POR 15 or Chassis Saver to keep it from coming back. I have been aware that this is a known spot for rust to take hold on Foxbody cars, so every time I wash my car, I take the hose and rinse that area behind the strut to keep it clean.

damn thats not good...well i just sanded as much as i can away and coated it with rustolium so hopefully it will last for while...

honestly , that is not that bad, what you did will work for a while and is just what I'd do , if you ever pull the motor that'd be the time to fix it:)

Look at the green arrow I drew in the pic below. The rust is not only in the steel that makes up the shock tower, but is also in the frame rail. The frame rail is a hollow square and likes to rust from the inside out. The rust is worse on the inside and is just now emerging on the surface you can see.
http://captocapri101.smugmug.com/pho...91_kmDgH-M.jpg

You can see it better in these pics... there are actually three layers of steel that are rusting in that area. The shock tower steel, the frame rail steel on the engine side and the steel on the inside of the shock tower below the arrow in the bottom pic.
http://captocapri101.smugmug.com/pho...65_Mvc8P-M.jpg

http://captocapri101.smugmug.com/pho...50_cMxth-M.jpg

When I bought my DD Capri it looked just like yours. I started grinding and by the time all the cancer was gone, I had very little steel left in that area... which is a bad thing because that is where all the weight from the car is pushing down on the K member. I had to weld plates there to reinforce it. It doesn't help that it's a hard area to access with the engine in the car. None of what I'm illustrating here is meant to be negative... I just think you should be aware of what is actually going on in that area and what is needed to fix it properly. Rustoleum paint will not last for long since you're just treating the surface... inside the shock tower and inside the frame rail is where the REAL problem is.