Hello All,

I am starting to see some rust on the inner and outer rear passenger quarter panel sections of the car. I have never had a car that I wanted to save from rust so I usually just tried to knock off rust and paint the good metal on my older cars previous to the Evo. I would then use them until they were done.

The Evo I think I want to keep it in good looking condition not just functional. So I have a couple questions.

How much is it to replace or repair a rear quarter panel?

As the rust is on both sides, I fear the water is actually between the panels and rusting inside out, anyone else have this issue? If yes where did you find the water to be coming from?

If I wanted to get the whole car stripped down and painted any idea on cost ranges would be helpful.

I am in SE Michigan.

 

I can't really comment on the cost to paint the whole car, but my evo had a couple bubbles on each side above the rear wheelwell. This seems to be a common area on the Evo.

I had a quote for about $3000 to replace both rear quarter panels (aftermarket) at a local body shop, but I really didn't want to go through all that hassle just for a couple rust spots.

A buddy of mine cut out the bad area and welded in new metal and painted for about $1000. I was happy to have kept the OEM panel with the VIN tag in place.

You are correct - this happens from the inside out. I think what happens is the quarter panel lip is bonded from the factory to the outside of the quarter panel. Over time, I think water sneaks through the lip and sits in that seam and rusts it from the inside out.

I agree - these cars are so valuable it's probably worth it to get it repaired.

 

This tells me I need to start painting that seam with waterproofing oil.

 

Mind taking pics of the quarter panel rust and posting it on here?

 

So I did some poking around and found that the rust is through both sides (inner and outer) panel and the rust is inside and along the seam of the rear wheel well. Not cool. I will post some photos.

 

If the rust is there in you QP's. I'd seriously consider checking out where the rear subframe attachment points to the unibody are, I bet it's pretty bad from there all the way to the rear of the car, this would be a major safety concern with the vehicle.

Not fun to fix or put right, looking at upwards of 4k in labor and materials in just unibody work before you even get to the rear QP's

 

I realize I'm digging up a 2-3 month old post here but I have the same exact issue with my car. Don't have an Evo but on my OZ Rally the quarter panel on the driver's side is doing the same thing.

I'm not sure if the OP addressed the rust but I'd highly recommended getting on it asap. Not sure how bad it is but I'd get it fixed before it's too far gone. I didn't think mine was too bad until I started poking around going to do an "easy" patch fix.

They indeed rust from the inside out. Mine was about 10 times worse than I thought. What I thought was just a smaller thumb sized rust bubble area ended up being like 90% of the inner and outer quarter panel wheel arch completely gone. Had no idea it was that bad from the outside or inside of the wheel well until I started to clean up the area. I went searching for the closest clean metal and boy was I surprised. Stuff just started crumbling away before my eyes. Sad!

Discovered the rust had spread to inside the inner rocker pretty bad too. Highly recommend checking the inner rocker panels if you haven't yet. They may be going too.

I had the same thought as gsrboi80. I need to jack the car up and go over the structural integrity back there.

I agree this seems to be a VERY common place for these Lancers to rust. Even more so on daily drivers or cars that see snow and roads that are salted. I've been searching for a clean donor parts car for weeks in salvage yards and online. Pretty much all seem to be rusted on the driver's side quarter panel and inner rocker area.


Sorry for rambling on. I just wanted to chime in and let anyone know that reads this thread to be vigilant with sealing and rust proofing back there!!

 

I have rust spots in my quarter panel. Perfect excuse to get a widebody kit if you ask me

 

Thank you for the post in general.
As i live far up in Norway, i know it will come, just a question of when.
Now i know where to look first


And this is a good idea..

 

anyone know a body shop in the NYC area that has done repairs to this kind of rust on the quarter panel.?