# Rust....are Pathy's all bad???



## 67mike (Aug 13, 2007)

Our 2003 has little pocs popping up at an alarming rate.....DAMN RUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## soul_Less (Mar 12, 2010)

mine has a rust spot on the A-pillar and when you pop the hood, a big spot by the rad cap.. i dunno, its not that old of a vehicle to start rusting like this if you ask me.
but if you live in the 'rust belt', rust would worst than what your experiencing.


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## TW_Pathy_97 (Oct 25, 2009)

It really depends on the evironment where are you ?

What parts of your pathy are rusting ? 

Also any spots where moisture is trapped will be more prone to rust.


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## MattyDK23 (Nov 30, 2007)

Maybe a good 30% - 40% of Pathfinders from 1999.5 - 2004 I see have rust on them. In Alberta, at least. If they don't have rust immediately visible, they have wheel well flares and you can pretty much guarantee those flares are covering up rust.

Pathfinders before 99.5, the vast majority of them have rust.

It's a sad state of affairs. At times I think powertrain will outlast the body.


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## TW_Pathy_97 (Oct 25, 2009)

lol I agree I already had to rebulid the rear plate area and 2 fenders. I hear a lot of people in road salt regions have issues with the sub frame on the drivers side... as a precatuion mine was reinforced afew years ago.

Next I am going to replace all 4 bumper corners ... anyone else have probs with these ?


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## 67mike (Aug 13, 2007)

Our Pathy has little rust spots in very odd places....SUGGESTING they use POOR quality metal for the bodies.

Upper door frame, tailgate, roof above the front windshield, front fender.....etc....all have small paint bubbles with rust spot under them.....these normally are caused by PINHOLES in the sheetmetal (factory defect).

Anyway..I am NOT impressed with: The rust, the powervalves, the 4wd system and lack of gas milage.......otherwise, I love the vehicle.


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## pathfounder (Nov 16, 2009)

My 97 Pathfinder has spent all its life in Ontario. Most of the body is perfect, but then certain local parts are rotten completely through. Somehow, thankfully, the structural parts of the truck are all sound, as are the body parts that people see.


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## TW_Pathy_97 (Oct 25, 2009)

pathfounder said:


> My 97 Pathfinder has spent all its life in Ontario. Most of the body is perfect, but then certain local parts are rotten completely through. Somehow, thankfully, the structural parts of the truck are all sound, as are the body parts that people see.



have you ever looked at the sub frame on the drivers side ? I hear they are very prone, heard of Many breaking on the East Coast.


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## PathyConvert (Apr 16, 2010)

*Rust rpoofing?*

Hi all!

This is my first post as I just joined the forum today. I currently drive a 2001 Subaru Outback. I like it but it's starting to die on me. As it so happens, my mother-in-law has decided to give us her 2004 Pathfinder Chinook...for free! The timing couldn't be better and I can't say no to free! The beauty thing is that the truck only has 21000 KM on it! She drives the thing once or twice a week to the grocery store and that's it! I'm a little worried about any problems that may come from under-use, but all in all I think it'll be a great truck.

So, about this rust issue. Currently, the truck has no visible rust (I haven't had a chance to look underneath yet). This is probably for two reasons: 1, she hardly drives it out on the salt roads in winter and 2, she follows the Nissan maintenance guide to the letter. She also has it rust-proofed every year.

My question is this; should I continue to rust proof the truck once I take possession of it next month? I've heard some people say that rust-proofing is unnecessary since modern cars rarely rust. On the other hand, I have seen my fair share of rusted out Xterras and Pathfinders on the road. Does Nissan have a bad history of rust? Seems to me like they do just from what I've observed. I've been a big Subaru fan for years but now want to learn about my new Nissan baby. I feel like such a newbie!:newbie:


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## TW_Pathy_97 (Oct 25, 2009)

I believe in undercoating and electronic rust proofing... All metal can rust with the the 3 elements.

You are also lucky I wish my mother in law would give me a low mile pathfinder !!


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## underling (Nov 26, 2006)

I have the same issues with rust, the rear lift gate on my '98. I recently pulled the fender skirts on the back to check and the inner lip of the rear fender wells is gone. My gripe is with the stupid holes that they put in the body panels. I have looked at the front end to see about pulling the fender skirts and they have holes through the fenders, chrome bumper and plastic under-skirting of the front bumper. I may still pull the front, but it is going to take a little more creativity to cover up all those unsightly holes. The plastic fender skirts were a horrible design choice, and with no undercoat in the fender wells it is only a matter of time before the rust gets ever PF out there, If you have one in mint condition find a way to get rid of the fender skirts or at least powerclean and undercoat the inner fender well.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Looks Ok here in Texas.
the salt in the great white north will do any vehicle in in time.


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## PathyConvert (Apr 16, 2010)

I'll look into those fenders skirts soon. Hopefully they're still in good enough shape to take some preventative action.
Yeah, I got lucky with my mother-in-law. Not that I don't have a few complaints. ;-)


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## rdixiemiller (Mar 6, 2008)

*Rust spots*



67mike said:


> Our Pathy has little rust spots in very odd places....SUGGESTING they use POOR quality metal for the bodies.
> 
> Upper door frame, tailgate, roof above the front windshield, front fender.....etc....all have small paint bubbles with rust spot under them.....these normally are caused by PINHOLES in the sheetmetal (factory defect).
> 
> Anyway..I am NOT impressed with: The rust, the powervalves, the 4wd system and lack of gas milage.......otherwise, I love the vehicle.


 Not correct on pinholes in the sheet metal. I spent years as an automotove paint shop engineer. What you are seeing is pinholes in the paint, allowing water to get down to the metal. If the metal was not properly phosphated, the water will attack the sheet metal. The rust starts to creep out under the paint, causing it to bubble up and delaminate. There are a number of factors that can improve this. Keeping a car waxed will help keep the paint sealed. Promptly touching up chips and scratches will do wonders. Unless a car body is made of stainless steel (expensive and hard to form), there will eventually be rust. Especially in the areas of the country that use road salt.


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## quandary (Jul 6, 2007)

I have tons of rust on my 2000 Pathfinder including holes in the body. I was told that the rust is so pervasive that the windshield replacement cannot be warrantied.

That being said...a coworker has a 2000 Extera and his truck has spot rust (no holes). The difference is that he has been using rust control spray every year.

I am now a convert.


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## raybytheway (Nov 19, 2015)

I found these guys for parts:

http://www.noramstore.com/ShoppingCart.asp


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