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rocker panel rust

CrazyTalkSVT said:
I just wanted to add that the sunroof drain tubes run down the pillar of contours and exits/drains into the inside of the rockers towards the rear on these cars. So any salty splash left overs or when you wash your car, if any of that salt water makes its way into the sun roof area it will run down tubes and drip into your rocker and get caught between the pinch welds. ;)
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I don't have a sunroof ;). Nice input, though. I guess Contours are just like XJ's when it comes to rockers, no big deal! lol
 
i wish mine looked like that?there is nothing left under my sideskirts..one clip on one side..and 3 on the other.my skirts r self tapped into what i could salvage of strong body.
 
With or without the moonroof, almost all rustbelt Contiques will suffer this fate. Actually, no make of car is spared from rust up here. For its generation, the Contour did pretty well.
 
CrazyTalkSVT said:
I just wanted to add that the sunroof drain tubes run down the pillar of contours and exits/drains into the inside of the rockers towards the rear on these cars. So any salty splash left overs or when you wash your car, if any of that salt water makes its way into the sun roof area it will run down tubes and drip into your rocker and get caught between the pinch welds. ;)
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Holy crap. Are you serious? So washing my car is.... killing it??!
 
Fixed this problem 2 summers ago on the passenger side, now its beginning to show on the drivers side. I took an angle grinder and cut out the rusted area, made a sheetmetal patch and welded it back in then painted it back up. Its about a 2-3 day fix if done at home with the right tools.
 
greasemonkey1489 said:
Holy crap. Are you serious? So washing my car is.... killing it??!
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I am serious about the drain tubes. You come to find these things out when you cut your rockers off. ;) We should be counting our lucky stars that Ford never had a recall on these. I'm pretty sure VW had to recall alot of models because their tubes would get plugged, fill up with water, and then over spill into the interior...leaving people wonder where all the water is coming from.

I don't think you're killing your car by washing it though. :cool:
 
mrspindlelegs said:
I grew up in the Detroit area too. My favorite saying back then was:

"On a clear night, you can hear a Ford rust."

Of course, this really applied to all cars but it has always been good for a few laughs.
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I'm from Detroit as well and now I'm in Chicago, so rust is still a problem but yeah, that can be fixed, just gotta find a shop that wants to take on the job. If so, they'll tell you no guarantee it doesn't come back, so be prepared!
 
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