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Do 7th Gens Suffer From Rust?

Monzta

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Sherborne
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Accord Aerodeck
I jacked my 6th Gen up today to replace both anti-roll bar linkages and do a coolant flush and found yet another load of rot in the chassis. I can't afford to change cars right now so will have to pay out yet again to get it sorted but first chance I get I'd like to buy something else.

I particularly fancy a 7th Gen Accord Tourer but wondered if they're better than the 6th Gen in the rusting department. Surely they can't be worse. :(


Also what are people's thoughts on the 2.4 petrol ones? Auto or manual?
 
Certainly the Tourer I have appears to have very little corrosion for a vehicle that rarely sees a car wash, but then it's possible the previous owners have taken good care of her and none have lived near the coast.

Wasn't somebody on this forum offering a 'free to good home' Accord VI not long ago ?
 
Is it at the welding needed stage yet?

You could get under it, wire brush the dirt and flaky bits off and apply some grease to stem the corrosion.
I use a brush to paint the grease on.
 
My 7th gen tourer is/was pretty poor but then it lived in Glasgow for quite a while and I've spent the last month or so chipping/grinding away and rustproofing.

After spending about six hours to replace a front bottom ball joint my MOT fella said that because Japan don't use salt on their roads Honda didn't rustproof/underseal their vehicles. IT seems there are bits of underseal around mine so I can't tell, maybe somebody can confirm that?

Whatever you look at make sure you get underneath it, problem is with all tourers the plastic under tray and inner panels can hide a host of problems at least they did with mine. The subframes (same for all models?) on the 7th gen are very heavy duty so can therefore take the corrosion, I swear the rust depth on my front calipers was in some places over 1/4" deep in some places, the problem arises when you struggle to undo bolts/nuts. A long breaker bar and plenty of pentrating fluid required, if your brake caliper bleed nipple is stuck because of corrosion as mine were (all of them) the heat (to glowing red) and rapid cool trick is a necessity as I found out to my cost (new front caliper). Good luck with your search.
 
stellamon said:
Is it at the welding needed stage yet?

You could get under it, wire brush the dirt and flaky bits off and apply some grease to stem the corrosion.
I use a brush to paint the grease on.
Oh yes, very much at the welding stage. Got a hole in floor under the driver's foot well big enough to get your fist in. :(
 
It sounds like the 7th Gen is better screwed together than the 6th Gen. The difference I suppose between being built in Japan or Swindon.
 
Well, a 7th gen won't be that bad, but they'll still getting old and will be suffering corrosion across the undercarriage, suspension components etc. Also check for rust on rear arches. If possible, look for 8th gen if you're worried about rust as they'll be newer less likely to be rusting up yet.
 
Monzta said:
Oh yes, very much at the welding stage. Got a hole in floor under the driver's foot well big enough to get your fist in. :(
Sorry to hear that, a welding machine is cheap enough though if you have the time to do the work.

I got my 8th gen up on the ramps before winter this year and greased the chassis up
 
stellamon said:
Sorry to hear that, a welding machine is cheap enough though if you have the time to do the work.

I got my 8th gen up on the ramps before winter this year and greased the chassis up
I wouldn't know where to start with welding to be honest. I usually use a local classic car restoration place but they've gone all legit now, so no cash jobs ... it's VAT on everything now.

But I did post photos of the rot on Facebook last night, just as a conversation piece and found out that my ex-wife's boyfriend (who I get on very well with) is very handy with the welder so he's offered to sort mine out for beer tokens when he has a free day.
 
I'll fix my Mk6 and get another couple of years out of it then I'll definitely look to replace it with a Mk7 2.4 Tourer if I can find a decent one within budget. Maybe the Mk8 will be in my price range by then as well.
 
Monzta said:
But I did post photos of the rot on Facebook last night, just as a conversation piece and found out that my ex-wife's boyfriend (who I get on very well with) is very handy with the welder so he's offered to sort mine out for beer tokens when he has a free day.
What a result, hope it goes well :D

And get some grease under there after if you get the time
 
I think hondas generally are of poor quality in bodywork protection and paint. The FRV we have has horrible sills and arches (not due to damage) and I’ve even noticed some surface rust on the internal side of the arches on my 8th gen which was a one owner car with evidence of being well maintained. I see them every week in the workshop and they all have more signs of surface corrosion than the European equivalents.
 
stellamon said:
What a result, hope it goes well :D

And get some grease under there after if you get the time
Any particular grease that you recommend or are you talking about stuff like Waxoyl?
 
F6HAD said:
I think hondas generally are of poor quality in bodywork protection and paint. The FRV we have has horrible sills and arches (not due to damage) and I’ve even noticed some surface rust on the internal side of the arches on my 8th gen which was a one owner car with evidence of being well maintained. I see them every week in the workshop and they all have more signs of surface corrosion than the European equivalents.
I know what you mean. I recently sold my wife's 2004 HR-V. It was low mileage and well maintained but the rot underneath and on the tops of the doors was shocking. Yet the Nissan X-Trail she replaced it with hasn't got a spot of rust anywhere.

Even the German stuff isn't great. There's plenty of BMWs and Mercs from the nineties and noughties with horrendous rust problems. Standards really seem to have slipped on cars in recent years.
 
The problem is water based paint. Most modern cars specify it to reduce environmental impact but it isn't the same as the old solvent based paints and doesn't stick or form as high a build as the older paints.
 
Bounder said:
The problem is water based paint. Most modern cars specify it to reduce environmental impact but it isn't the same as the old solvent based paints and doesn't stick or form as high a build as the older paints.
That's a fair point. I always thought they were just cutting corners with the quality of the steel and rust prevention methods. Built to a cost and not a standard.
 
Bongobiker said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyp-_4ZjbtQ
That's exactly where mine was rotted out. Had it all repaired and now it's gone right by the jacking point.
 
As to your other question, I have a 2.4 Auto Tourer now, currently has 185,000 on the clock and the engine and gearbox are still silky smooth. It's just starting to get little bubbles on the rear arches where they are prone to rust, but as it's 17 years old I can't really complain.
 
Bongobiker said:
As to your other question, I have a 2.4 Auto Tourer now, currently has 185,000 on the clock and the engine and gearbox are still silky smooth. It's just starting to get little bubbles on the rear arches where they are prone to rust, but as it's 17 years old I can't really complain.
Well that's not bad after over 17 years. I don't mind a bit of rust, especially on an older vehicle but I've been quite disgusted by how much my Mk6 has. Plus the sheer amount of leaks where the seam sealer on the roof and down the C-pillars has just given up the ghost as well.

Do you like your 2.4? I really want a bit more poke than my 2.0 has. Is the 2.4 DOHC VTEC good fun?
 
Monzta said:
Any particular grease that you recommend or are you talking about stuff like Waxoyl?
I don't think it matters much, I just happen to have an old tub of Morriss K42EP that I use:

K42EP Lithium Multipurpose Grease
This Lithium grease is highly recommended for all automotive use where a multipurpose grease is required for wheel bearings and chassis lubrication. This grease is particularly suited for the lubrication of construction and mining equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers, loading shovel and all off highway trucks where greased components are subjected to continuous heavy loads and shock loads.

Key Features & Specification
This multipurpose Lithium based grease is prepared from highly refined mineral oil, with the addition of powerful sulphur phosphorus extreme pressure additives. This grease has exceptional mechanical stability, maintaining their consistency even after severe working. Resistant to water washing, protect against rust and are non-corrosive to non-ferrous bearing metals and steel. Excellent high temperature stability allows this grease to be used up to 120oC in continuous service and up to 150oC for short periods.

I was talking to a local mechanic in the pub the other night about rust prevention, he says he uses waxoyl and actually sprays it into the holes in the chassis.
I think it needs doing yearly though.
You can get cheap tins of spray grease now, not sure if its any good but much less work involved.
 
Thanks for that stellamon. How do you apply the K42EP? Is it runny enough to be put on with a brush?
 
It's not runny at all unfortunately, I poke a brush into it quite hard and then spread it onto the chassis. It takes a long time (not as long as cleaning the chassis beforehand) and I'm sure there are easier ways to attain the same purpose. I might try the spray grease next year to save time. I've seen it in Charlies store.

Makes me laugh now but back in the day, 1980s, my mate at the garage he worked at use to spray the chassis of my car with used engine oil using a spray gun.
 
I remember my dad's best friend used to paint the underside of his Mk3 Cortina with the old engine oil after he'd serviced it. A health & safety and environmental nightmare nowadays but it certainly did the trick for him. My brother bought the Cortina off him in 1979 and there wasn't a spot of rust under that car.
 
Monzta said:
Well that's not bad after over 17 years. I don't mind a bit of rust, especially on an older vehicle but I've been quite disgusted by how much my Mk6 has. Plus the sheer amount of leaks where the seam sealer on the roof and down the C-pillars has just given up the ghost as well.

Do you like your 2.4? I really want a bit more poke than my 2.0 has. Is the 2.4 DOHC VTEC good fun?
It's not bad, not a lot faster than my old 2.0 Tourer though. I would have kept the 2.0 but it was a manual and I hated it, I just don't see the point or why anyone would want to drive a manual..!

I would imagine the Tourer's are a lot heavier than the MK6 saloon so the 2.4 is only going to be about the same.

I used to have a 2.0 MK6 and it was one of my favorite cars. Sold it to a friend about 8 years ago with 165,000 on the clock and it's still going today and still whisper quiet.
3886653.jpg
 
I was hoping the 2.4 was going to be a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing with nigh on 200bhp. That's disappointing. I suppose I really need to try a few out.

If it wasn't for the galloping rot I'd happily keep my 2.0 Mk6 for the foreseeable future.
 
Bounder said:
The problem is water based paint. Most modern cars specify it to reduce environmental impact but it isn't the same as the old solvent based paints and doesn't stick or form as high a build as the older paints.
a lot of the issues with modern paint could be remedied with more widespread usage of epoxy primer in vulnerable areas, and the clearcoat could also be a little more thick and gooey tbh :p

F6HAD said:
I think hondas generally are of poor quality in bodywork protection and paint. The FRV we have has horrible sills and arches (not due to damage) and I’ve even noticed some surface rust on the internal side of the arches on my 8th gen which was a one owner car with evidence of being well maintained. I see them every week in the workshop and they all have more signs of surface corrosion than the European equivalents.
can't say I've been impressed by VAG, bmw or mercedes but volvo is really up there as far as paint quality and corrosion resistance goes, every v70 I see in the shop(comparable platform I guess) will have clocked 100k more than my accord but with a fraction of the wheel arch rust, if any. fender liner design also helps in arches though, the accord tourer has no liner overlap on the 90* inward bend in the rear arch and it's a terrible choice for longevity
 
You'd think all cars post 2000 would be galvanised surely. My 1994 Fiat Tipo was.
 
This is the rot in my Mk6 that I discovered the other day, Quite a hole.

mVxOUSQ.jpg
 
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