my babe has cancer-some rusting on roof

[haaken675]

Hey guys. i just picked up an'87 325is yesterday and honestly, the body of the car is in great condition aside from some rust that formed on the sunroof and roof area where somewhere down the line one of the owners had added a rain guard towards the front of the sunroof...Always a terrible idea.

Below are some of the pictures. I think the pictures make it looks worse then it is:











A good portion of it should sand/grind off fairly easily. The spot i am slightly concerned with is the one larger hole (first couple of pictures). Does anyone have any suggestions as to going about repairing this? Is there anything special I should be doing besides trying to grind/sand away the rust and sealing it? Would i be better off "leaving this to the professionals", and if so does anyone have a ballpark on what this would cost minus repainting?

Thanks in advance, and its good to be back in en e30 again!

[1843lamp]

My first impression seeing the bubbles ,it appears the rust may be coming from the inside out ,that would indicate to me a possible more extensive rust issue.Not sure how to check this without cutting a larger hole to use one of those optical inspection scopes.I hope it does turn out to be just a surface issue...

[haaken675]

I think it appears that way since from what I can guess water just sat sandwiched in-between the worn adhesive on the rains/wind deflector and the actual roof. The drains appear to be fairly clear and clear. The drains themselves are not very rusty, which surprised me a bit. I used a screwdriver to poke around a bit and for the most part with the exception of that one hole everything felt fairly solid...I plan on pulling the headliner to take a better look this week.

Is the sunroof was enough to pull out for better access?

[reelizmpro]

It's a wind blocker that blocks wind that would otherwise enter the sunroof when open but it would also block wind that would clear moisture out from that area. I'm sure it's to blame as the rust runs along the edge of the blocker. Pull the headliner back and make sure the drain hoses aren't leaking and are clamped onto the outlet. You don't want any condensation building up in the A pillar. I just dealt with a similar issue that was localized in just one area around the sunroof. As I waited to address it, it grew into a hole so I had a small patch panel welded in. Your issue is more severe and spread out. I'd have that taken care of immediately.

[haaken675]

It's a wind blocker that blocks wind that would otherwise enter the sunroof when open but it would also block wind that would clear moisture out from that area. I'm sure it's to blame as the rust runs along the edge of the blocker. Pull the headliner back and make sure the drain hoses aren't leaking and are clamped onto the outlet. You don't want any condensation building up in the A pillar. I just dealt with a similar issue that was localized in just one area around the sunroof. As I waited to address it, it grew into a hole so I had a small patch panel welded in. Your issue is more severe and spread out. I'd have that taken care of immediately.

Yup, I know for a fact it was the wind blocker as I pulled it off myself. I might no have bought the car if I could have seen the extent of the rust (mainly the one hole) before purchase. Its garaged now, so no more moisture getting to it(I know, I know. There is still some moisture in the air) and I plan on removing the headliner and pillars this week. I do feel very positive about the rest of it though. I do not believe the drain lines are clogged as the holes didn't really seam rusty. Is it ok to blow through them with compressor to push anything out if there is? Where under do the car do they drain out?

Once I start sanding and grinding I, sure ill figure out just much is going to be needing welding and how much isn't...

[fastbub]

My knee jerk reaction is cut all that rust out if it hasn't spread to the roof skin yet, clean it up and primer with weld through primer and then sunroof delete it. I think doing a good repair of that area might be difficult without fucking up the roof.