rust, wires, and lights

[wesmyth]

Okay first problem...I found more rust. Its on the inside of the trunk, open the cover to the driver's side tail light and to the left is a line of rust about 1/2 inch from the weld from quarter panel to rear. The only thing near it, besides the taillight is a bundle of wires. I understand I have to spend the $$$ at a body shop to stop the "cancer" before it spreads but my real question is has this happened to anyone else? Really how does a line of rust appear there.

Second, does all E36's come with a trunk light? Either mine never exsisted or never worked and i'm too blind to find it.

[Hamfisted]

If the rust isn't bad you can wire brush it off and spray some of that Loctite Extend on it to stop the rust, then just spray either black paint or undercoating on it. That stuff works very well to stop rust. But really you should find out why it rusted in the first place and fix that too. Is there a trunk seal leak and water is getting in? Or something else.
Yes all E36's came with trunk lights. It's a 6418 bulb, same as the glove compartment.





Mike

[WarNox]

if its just a line of rust some probably couldn't get the taillight off at one stage and pried it out with a screwdriver or the like, damaged the paint and there u have it.

yeah the light is there, its tiny but if u look upwards in ur trunk u should be able to see it.

[wesmyth]

Thanks guys for the info. my car might get a little repair work today. My gf's dad is a mechanic for power company and he will work on my front bumper, FOL, and what not. I'm excited.

[wesmyth]

here's a pic of the rust. The pic was taken at an angle so you'll have to orientate yourself when looking at it

[Hamfisted]

That's not that bad.
I'd just pull the wiring harness out of the way and wire brush it clean, then spray it with some of that Loctite Extend a couple of times. Then check that the rust has stopped and repaint it. You can find Extend at Home Depot or Walmart, or a bunch of other places.





Mike