Where is my rust coming from?
Turbo Mini Forums

Hello TM people, just poking around my car getting ready for Monday's MOT and I am needing a small patch where the sill/footweel/bulkhead meet on the passanger side.



My question is, when poking the screwdriver in the vent hole in the sill up the A pillar (I presume thats were it's going) there is lots of brown rusty mushy wet cornflakes up there! That corner of the car (the tred plate, sill and wheel arch/bulkhed is always wet and I'm just worried by the presence of water inside the sill near the A panel. The car hasn't been driven for a few years so I'm just wondering if anyone knows where the water is coming from? The roof corner is a bit bubbly but water tight, the windscreen seals are 100% so I'm happy there. Any Ideas?




Thanks!

chances are there is some corrosion further up the a post (possibly around the vent/ closer panel) allowing water in to the post and allowing it to rot out;

to be honest, it doesn;t look the worst i've seen

Edited by Rob Gavin on 31st Oct, 2009.

water running down the window frame on top of the door and in the bump stop hole!!!

that was my problem.. and fully sealed over sills added to it for me i still need to sort some adequate drainage for it

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

If the car hasn't been used (in which case there would be a couple of options up inside the wheel arch) but has just been stood outside, possibly here


where the door openning limit bar goes into the A pillar.

It's external to the main door seal and often the little rubber boot thing that is meant to seal it is either missing or perished.

A classic reason why you should never use oversills, the drain slots in the standard sills are essential to let the water back out.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

The scuttle closing panel I bet is totaly rotten out.

The biggest problem with sills tough is that they rust from the inside out.

I have never ever seen a brown Mini in any decent condition. Any one got an old old S or T reg Mini?

Your first picture.
At the bottom forward corner of the door where the door hinge panel, door step, inner arch panel, inner sil all meet (or dont as is the case) there is a gap. You can find it with a small flat blade screw driver.

Water does not gather here as much as drain down and rot out the frond end of your outer sil panel and inner wheel arch. Have a look it will make you cry.

Own the day

Excellent, thanks guys! I have no rubber boot on the door stop, never have actually so that explains it! I'll blame the previous owner for that! :)

The closure panel is behind where the wing and scuttle join, here with no wing.


I would have agreed entirely with Rob, Brett and Sprocket (as you can see I had to replace it and patch around the vent port) except these only normally let water in when driving, water thrown up by the wheel.

I agree entirely with Mr Joshua as another location than the door bar, I'd forgotten that one, even though I've just repaired one myself..


Obviously yet to be sealed in my case so you can see the gap.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Yeah, i have a 78 on an S.

LOL, mines survived well then!

As you can see mines in a state at the moment! I had a fuel supply issue, it turns out the fuel pump quit. After many hours off faffing around it runs albeit without the relay and now it's on three cylinders! Hopefully a brief spin will clear it up, but I am pretty sure it will all go wrong and I'll not even get to the MOT Monday.

I heard that too about our russet brown Mini friends being more rust resistant.

maybe the rust bug leaves them alone because they already look fully rusted

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett