floor pan rust

[mike]

surprise, surprise, when my brake pedal on my car would not move i had to remove the pedal cluster, well , under the carpet it is rusty. looks like the former owner let it set uncovered and it collected enough water to seize the pedals.the pans are clean underneath so maybe the pans are solid. my question is:what is the best way to deal with the rust? i plan to wire brush and scrape paint or coat it with waterproofing .what about drain holes? but i always heard you have to kill the rust or it will come back. here is a pic of the holes i drilled to remove the cluster, 2 bottom for the socket, top one to see by.

[Mark Hendrickson]

Not seeing the rust you are talking about in the picture, I would check to see if any of it is rusted through. If it is, replacing the pans is the best option, but requires a LOT of work.

You could patch or fiberglass the existing pan after thoroughly cleaning up as much rust as possible with a wire brush/scraper to get the scales.

Then invest in some POR-15 rust encapsilator (POR means Paint Over Rust). Read the directions thoroughly and DO NOT get it on anything you don’t want it on…like your hands…it has to wear off  

It looks like very thin paint and applies with a brush or a “sacraficial” spray gun. You won’t need a whole lot either and do the whole pan (both sides) while you have access.

Go on http://www.thesamba.com VW forum to see about rebuilding your pedal assembly or buying a used or rebuilt one from their classifieds. There is a guy making improved clutch pedal shafts too. Check them out. Wolfsburg West is a good source for OEM type VW parts.

Hope this helps.

Pink MG40603.6467592593

[mike]

i bought a used pedal cluster on ebay. the old one was corroded beyond repair, (gas pedal broke off)i wonder how the pedal assembly was installed . they must have used the old shifter opening to start the nuts before the body was installed. i had to drill to gain access
the floorpan is solid . havent seen any holes or thin places yet. of course i havent started getting the scale out yet . i used por15 years ago on a gas tank and it worked well. looks like i may havr to cut the panel in front of the passengers feet to access that part of the pan.the web has numerous rust removers , even a molasses dip.

[Author]

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