Help finding source of roof crossmember rust ...

[280z1975]

Hello all,

I have a bit of a dilema ... I have some rust in the crossmember of the roof between the headliner and the rear hatch on the passenger side. I have tried to think of a source of this problem and have yet to find the reason.

The car is generally rust free (compared to other Z's) as it's a Texas car and has been garaged for most of it's life ...

Anyone out there care to speculate where this is sourced so I can stop it and fix the situation?

See attached photo of the damage.

[Arne]

Is it leaking in from the passenger side hatch hinge?

[ncz]

I think Arne nailed it and from what I've seen here, you can't get those seals(new) you have to find some old ones that are decent. Enrique is good with those, maybe he can shed some light

[EScanlon]

Definitely rust from the Hatch Hinge Pocket.

Once you get the hatch off, and the hinge out of the way, you'll probably discover that the Hinge weatherproofing sock is gone. Probably dried up and crumbled to dust. That part of the "gutter" is actually a "low" part and it tends to pool water.

E

[ncz]

E, whats the best thing to do now ? As in what is the best way to seal this area

[280z1975]

I had looked at the hatch hinge area quickly, but not well enough. There was no visiable sign of rust when I looked, but a second check showed very brittle metal and I am sure that is the problem area ... I still have the hatch on the car but it's coming off tomorrow now. Still, this is only number 5 for bad area's on my Z for rust ... I don't think there will be to many more as there isn't much more I can strip off the car :cheeky:

[EScanlon]

Once you get the hatch and the hinges off, you'll be able to see the hatch "sock" as we call it. The "sock" is a rubber "glove" that fits into the cavity in the roof member that surrounds the hinge inside the roof. Unfortunately it is a rubber part and they dry out and crack / disintegrate into a thousand little bits and dust motes.

There are a couple of us that are looking into making workable / suitable replacements, but I've not heard of anything being finalized as yet. The two "socks" are sided, and one of the problems so far has been finding good mold candidates, although I think HLS-30 was able to make a mold from Beandip's covers.

As far as repairs....the standard metal repair works well, or you can use the POR and Power Mesh repair (as long as the metal hasn't been compromised too much). I've also received suggestions as to an aviation type material that "might" be feasible, but more to come on that later.

As it stands right now, I don't have an answer for you guys yet. I will keep everyone posted.

Enrique

[260DET]

Looks like some sealant has been used to seal the hatch glass rubber right near the rust. No connection?