Alright an Issue on my 240Z that i've been fearing to check out, but I will tackle in the next few days is the battery Tray area, I know that previous owner had a leaking battery and its leaked all over the battery tray area, and is rusted, How bad is it rusted i'm not sure..

What should be my move from here? See if i can poke a whole thru it? If its that bad I assume I'll have someone fix that for me by cutting it out and welding it, but if the rust isn't so bad whats the proper way of stopping this rust

thanks in advance
Yuichi
ZDriver.com

 

Victoria British sells a new tray for $3.95 and a new top frame for $17.95. The tray comes with a drain tube attached. Call them at 800/255-0088

 

Hi Yuichi-----------Ok this is definitely a good car question!!!! To start off safety is the first issue that you should consider before starting into this task. Start off by getting some baking soda from the store. Next step would be to disconnect the battery and than remove the battery. Next you will need to take the baking soda(about half the box) and mix it with some water(about a half a gallon) to make an acid nuetrallizer. You will than take this solution and spread/brush onto all the areas you feel the leaky battery effected. Let this sit for about 30 mintutes than rinse off with a water hose. Next you can either dry it off with a towel or let it air dry. Wear some safety goggles/glasses and possibly a long sleeve shirt.
Now you are ready to determine the condition of the tray. I would use a wire brush----or wire wheel brush on a drill to clean of the rust. You should be able to visually see how far the rust has pitted into the metal's original thickness or if it has rusted completely through the tray. If you are not comfortable with the visual inspection you can try a physical test. Test the flexibility/structural integrity of the panel by trying to wiggle it in any direction. It the tray feels weak at any place just replace the entire tray. Remember the safety precautions first----------You are dealing with acid!!!!!!!!!

Let me know if you need anymore help.

 

Not Sure exactly what your talking about but I have a 240z with major rust under the battery area and it was so bad it ate right through the fire wall. So that's why I haven't been driving the 240z and that has become my project car. Anyway I also have a 260z that had surface rust around the whole area I poked at it and sanded for ages I used a wire brush to get those hard to reach area's and when it came time to fix the area I made sure no more rust would return. Anyway I used Metal primer several coats then I put rust stopper ontop of that till the spray can was empty. I haven't seen rust since and I'm confident I did a good job on that area.

-=240z=-