Chickenfloss

So I have randomly come across wetness in the passenger side floorboard under the removable floor mat(mat is dry). I think I found the problem, there is a hole under both the driver side and passenger side right on where your feet go that has about a 2 inch diameter hole rusted what looks like many layers of some kind of material...

I don't loose coolant so my guess is water puddles + hole = wet floor. How should I repair this? I am thinking about attempting to cut a larger section off with a pneumatic grinder after I find out how bad the damage is under the carpet and then using fiberglass if the hole is going to be under 6 inches. Then spraying it down with some kind of rust inhibitor.

There is virtually no body rust anywhere else except these two holes. Does anyone have any experience with repairs in this area, or does anyone have any better ideas?

drewfunk

I get wetness on the passenger side floor, but in my case i'm pretty sure it's coming in through the door.

If your floor is indeed rusted out, you can just cut out the rusted part and weld in a patch panel. Not much work really.

xj_maniac_newb

If you have the availability of a welder i'd just cut out whats rusted and weld in a patch, but if you're poor like me you can take a grinder with a wire wheel and get rid of all the rust you can, get it silver or as close as you can get. Then grab you some paper towels and some bondo.. (its not what you think ) Use the paper towel to keep the bondo from falling through the hole by holding it on the underside of the hole, lather the bondo thick and hold it till it sets hard enough to hold on its own. It will bow in some of course and what do you do to fix that you ask?? MORE BONDO!! lay it down smooth and let it dry. And while you're at it go ahead and pull that carpet and pick that wire wheel back up, because if you've got one rust spot... you've got more. Hit those spots and then paint the hole floorboard or bedline it if you prefer. I used a thick setting primer on mine and it has worked just fine.

kjc

I like your fiberglass idea. Glass don't rust. I would remove as much surrounding rust as possible first tho.

BobIsAwesome

I just finished a fight with rust and a leak myself, so here's my two cents.

Yes, patch that hole, but make sure that's the only leak you have. Check the window, the side wall in the foot well where the antenna comes in, the cowl (kind of uncommon for a 95 I think), and under the hood behind the windshield fluid reservoir for leaks. It'll take a little time with a garden hose, but you need to make sure these leaks are sealed, or the rust will only come back again.

I like the fiberglass idea. I know another forum member patched his floor with fiberglass, and as far as I remember, it worked well for him. I would have done it myself, but my whole floor pan had to go, so I got a new one and riveted it in.

And spray the floor with rhinoliner when you're done, it will help keep water away from the metal.

Chickenfloss

About how much does rhino liner cost? I don't have a welder, I have done very basic welding in the past, but I'd be terrified of the electrical current royally screwing something up in my electrical system. If I didn't get the ground connected well or something like that.

I am sure there is more rust under the carpet, I am hoping no major holes or anything. What do these floors look like underneath? I am almost tempted to just rip the carpet out and use bed liner or rhino liner across the entire thing. Most vehicles hide wire harnesses and everything else under there though.

BobIsAwesome

I got a can of spray on bedliner from tractor supply for 9 dollars, and I almost used up the whole can on one side. If I were to line the whole floor, I'd buy three cans and have money set aside for a fourth and maybe a fifth. On the underside, I sprayed a can of rubberized undercoating, 7 dollars from tractor supply. All of this was on top of two coats of rust preventative primer, totaled one can of 5 dollars.

Bedliner. Mine had a different can, but this is the same stuff.
rubberized undercoating to keep the bottom save from chipping
Primer (Mine was gray, not oxide red, other colors available in store)

You can probably get this stuff from lowes, home depot, or even walmart. I was just lucky to have a tractor supply less than two minutes down the road.

If you know anything about welding, you know more than me, so I can't help you there. All I can speak of is pop rivets. If you use rivets, get stainless steel or they will rust out. Use seam sealer around the edge of your new piece of metal to keep water out.

There are pictures around this forum that show what the floors look like stripped of carpet, a quick search will find them. Plenty of other members bedline their floor to keep rust out, ditching the carpet. There was one wire that went to my center console, yours might be different. I'm not sure how you would hide it. Maybe a piece of tubing?