Rust problem area in R33 (ALL R33 OWNERS READ )

[Burns]

I took by rear bar off yesterday to fit a tow bar and found a little rust it hasn't done any significant damage yet and I think I should be able to fix and stop it ok.

My car is a 95 R33 GTSt 4 door with 70,000, Never bent and in visualy perfict condition.

I just thought I would let other R33 owners know about the problem so they can check there cars.

To see the problem you will have to pull the rear bar off.

1.

Remove number plate and undo the bolt that holds the bracket down.

2.

There are three nuts on the inside of the boot on both sides behind the trim and below the taillights you will need to remove these from both sides.

3.

With the boot open there are I think 4 maybe more black plastic plug type clips that hold the top of the bumper on they will need to be removed.

They are a bit tricky I tried levering them out with a screw driver but ended up having to use pincers and just pulled them up until they popped out (I only cracked one)

4. Now you should be able to pull the bar off.

The problem area

There is a upside down L shaped bracket (The one the black plastic plug clip things go into).

On my car there is rust stains that have leached down from behind this and a few bits below it where the paint is bubbling up. It looks like moisture has got in between the bracket and the back wall of the boot.

I recommend all R33 owners check this spot, before I pulled the bar off I had no idea my car had any rust.

Has any one else had this problem?

Are there any other Rust Hot Spots I should know about?

Any Recommendations on how I should go about fixing it ?

Thanks

[chopobo]

also big rust spot

is under the spare tyre in the boot

i got a leaky boot so water has collected down there and its starting to rust

can someone help me with this leaky boot business?

its in my other thread

[MM2death]

What i think is concerning here is that you were attempting to fit a tow bar to a skyline. And burns, bit of an identity crisis there mate? You own a skyline or a VL Calais Turbo? J/K!

[Burns]

I own both a VL Calais turbo and a Skyline.

What’s wrong with a tow bar on a skyline?

I’m not wanting to tow a horse float just a aluminum motor bike trailer and two bikes a total of 350 kg.

Skylines can tow fine I have seen them towing boats and one with a small pop up caravan. R33 GTS-t 4 doors have a towing capacity of 900 KG

[akeenan]

you should use your vl to tow things around. a skyline with a tow bar argh.... UG _LY...........

[glenmcrae]

Hi Burns,

After taking the front right hand gaurd off my car, and the right side skirting, there if a gap near where the skirting is screwed onto, at the front. Which has succesfully stored about 3 handfuls of dirt / leaves for the last few months at least.

There were signs of minor surface rust, nothing major, but I am definatly glad I found it now not later

I'd reccomend taking the skirting off both sides and giving it a good clean. Especially at the front near the framework.

[Burns]

The VL is for sale

The tow bar on the skyline cant be seen any way it is all hidden behind the bumper except for the tong bit and I will take that off when not using it.

Thanks for the tip glenmcrae I will have a look while the car is all pulled apart.

[JamieVB]

Where did you get the tow bar from. I've been trying to get one to trail a jet ski for 6 months. Every time I enquire I get told a custom one will have to be made and tested for around $800. What a rip off

[chopobo]

whats the best way to tackle rust?

[glenmcrae]

Fishaline?

I have some fish oil based liquid that I got in a tin that is meant to be quite good in treating trust. Well stopping rust from spreading, I highly doubt anything but cutting rust out can undo the damage done

cheers

[Burns]

The tow bar came from Nissan it is a S14 200sx tow bar and cost me $265 with all the bits and pieces.

I was also quoted $395 for a custom one.

I was told the S14 kit from Nissan will fit on the skylines fine and it almost dose the only problem is that there is a bulge in the lower section of the rear boot wall. this bulge stops the tow bar mounts from sliding all the way in to the chassis rails so I will have to have them extended about 3 inches. My car is a 4 door the 2 door might not have this bulge so it will go or piss easy.

[Rasi]

about the leak into the boot issue - if your car is parked on a down hill slope, water pools just under the boot lid (where it is supposed to run out, but on a downhill slope cannot go anywhere). The pooling water slowly leaks through a join in the metal. Hope that helps to explain it.

Well thats where mine leaked.

Mike

[zzsprade]

The tow bar came from Nissan it is a S14 200sx tow bar and cost me $265 with all the bits and pieces.

I was also quoted $395 for a custom one.

I was told the S14 kit from Nissan will fit on the skylines fine and it almost dose the only problem is that there is a bulge in the lower section of the rear boot wall.  this bulge stops the tow bar mounts from sliding all the way in to the chassis rails so I will have to have them extended about 3 inches.  My car is a 4 door the 2 door might not have this bulge so it will go or piss easy.

Burns,

Mate I would be very interested to see if you could take any photos to share of the tow bar on and off. Interested to see what it would like as this is something that could come definately in handy for me, and I am sure some others would be curious to see what it all looks like. Always another option and something to do.

Cheers mate!

-Alex

[OriGKryZ]

The only reason i'd fit a tow bar to my 33 would be to prevent assholes tapping your rear bar in carparks....

As for rust, Kill Rust is the best shit i've ever seen. When i had my 31 it stopped it dead in its tracks.

[Guest INASNT]

Tow bars on a stock r33 turbo would be fine. But once u start playing with mods, the way the power come on aint the best for towing as u could easily rip the ass end out of the car when boost hits.

[AlphA]

Tow bars on a stock r33 turbo would be fine. But once u start playing with mods, the way the power come on aint the best for towing as u could easily rip the ass end out of the car when boost hits.

Thats exactly what I was thinking... but on a 4 door N/A R33 it would look sorta ok.

[DaGr81]

yeap under the spare tyre is the worst area but the problem infact is caused by the tail lights, the sealent on the taillights have worn out and leaks water into the interior of the boot, and hence the water finds its way under spare tyre wat i did to remove the leak was pull out both rear lights, done easily from the inside of the boot, unplug the wires take out the screws and push the lights out, then find a good sealant from an autoshop and reseal it , but make sure that u clean out the junk of the old worn out sealant 1st, its disgusting, but u will find after applying the new seal there wont be nemore leaks and u can easily fix the rust

[the phantom]

Another R33 rust area is around the drivers side window wiper shaft, just as it comes out of the cowling under the black plastic escutcheon There is an indentation around it with no way for water to drain. I had to drill out one of the bolts that secure the shaft to the cowling as it was rusted and seized. A small hole drilled in the depression will fix it....

[R33S2]

Best rust treatment i know of is cold galv, but kill rust does the same job with a gloss finish, dont know if it comes in a spray though. I usually clean off rust spray cold galv then with a matching gloss

Another spot for rust is the engine bay chassis rails there is a folded sheet that runs along the top and rust gets between seen this on a import that was rejected because of it. They cut out the chassis no. and took all the id plates.

[Raikkonen]

i have a spec of rust on my bonnet about the size of.... like 1/5 of a 5c peice, it breaks my heart