FTO AUSTRALIA

Hey all. Anyone know of any general rusting problems with fto's? Someone has told me that some apholstery glues used in 1994's and 95's cause rusting on the ceiling - is this true? Cheers.

I have seen an FTO over here with that problem.
Rust starting to bubble along the roof where one of the braces is welded.
Not sure what the cause is but my FTO when we stripped it to paint didnt have this problem at all.

Astroboi's FTO is the one I saw with this problem he might be able to shed more light on it for you.

This was a common problem with Mitsubishi cars from the early to mid-late 90s. It is most often seen in Lancers/Mirages, but can affect other models as well. As far as I know, its pretty rare on FTOs though.

It's caused by an adhesive used in the roof lining 'sweating' in hot conditions, and the moisture generated causes the roof to rust. Generally because of the heat ingredient, dark cars suffer more than light cars.

I believe that it was supposedly fixed in cars newer than 1996, but am not sure about that. I know Evo 1-3 shaped Lancers are chronic for it, and the only real solution in their case is an entire replacement roof!

Yep, I had a 91 CB lancer. Rust bubbles through the roof 3 inches apart (the width of the roof brace) in consistant intervals all the way across the roof. Was caused by lack of insulation between the joint - & when the chassis flexed, the joints moved & rubbed the seam welds against the roof sheet metal. Sold it with a "your problem now" attitude

Yeah i got this problem. I've heard it's mainly black cars that suffer from it but i know there are quite a few FTO's out there with the problem

Yep, ive got this problem as well. Nice to know what actually caused it. Mine is going under the paint gun next week to get it fixed. Black is not the only colour with problems, my FTO is Midnight Blue.

Just got the pictures back (Ouch!!) - check these out......

Damn looks nasty ... How much did this cost you to fix? ...

Getting it done for $750. The pictures show it partially repaired - they are welding up the holes!

This is the second time this has been done apparently. Whoever did it last time just used bog (didnt weld it) and it came back.

I guess there is a message there for anyone else with this problem. At least I didnt pay for it last time (previous owner).

Geez what kind of P&P shop uses Myers bags to mask out?

Ahhh,

That was me. I actually removed the sunroof (to reduce cost and maybe get rid of some rattles at same time). had to put that in in case it rained on the way there.....

They have just decided to leave it there while repairing I guess

Ahaha I was thinking that before ...

Ive got a few little rust bubbles as well =/ ... Now I'm thinking I've gotta get it fixed ... How bad was the rust before you got this done?

Arrgg ...

Just a few little bubbles!!! sob!!! . Largest by far was one just under 1 cm across. Next largest would have been about 1/2 cm across

Make sure when you get it done that whoever is doing it WELDS THE HOLES UP and does not just shove some bog in them. I cant stress that enough. Someone had done this to mine at some time in the past and just bogged the holes and now im having to get it done again.

Good luck and I hope its not too bad.

is there anyone in melbourne that has got this fixed? which shop did you guys go to?

yeah ive had this problem mine is black.. but is repaired now.. rust was cut out holes were welded up and a led swipe was done over the front and back brace for the roof.. also pulled out the entire interior. cleaned out the old glue or watever it was which turned into rust crud. gave it a really good clean with wire brushing .. etc and smacked a shitload of rust proofing 2 times. 1 every 2weeks. then put everything back up.. problems fixed.. pain in the ass to repair though .

Yeah mine has done this as well (its red) and im glad i found this post as mine goes in for the paint job in 3 wks so ill be definitly telling them to weld. Should i pull of the lining on the interior of the car before i hand it over to make sure the get any other 1's that may occour in the future?

how much did that set u back?

i have that problem with mine, and i've seen it on 2 others in the dozen of ftos that i looked at whne i bought mine.

rip the roof apart, cut it out, weld it back up, clean up the glue, put it back together, did u do all of that urself? (seems simple, but would be a b!tch to actually do) if u got a shop to do this, how much? or did you just get it resprayed?

Mine had this problem aswell, it will cost you under $100 if you fix it yourself which I did, it took me 2 months to do, the hardest part was to smooth it out so you didn't see where I stripped the roof to bare metal.

I removed the paint and rust with a wire wheel brush on the drill which took about 10mins but leaving the whole car covered in dust, and then I done the same from underneith the roof, rust converter then some car filler (AKA BOG) sanding this back to match the lines of the fto took a long time, had to be perfect so when the primer and paint went on you cound not see any bumps and some clear coat.

Its better off getting a professional to do it, saves time and you know a good job has been done.

I got the paint mixed up and in a pressure pack for $20, primer was about $12, clear coat was $20, I'm not sure how much the car filler as I had a can sitting in the shed from other projects and sand paper was $1 each 320 and 1500 grade.



Here hopefully you can see the rust holes, the rear wasn't that bad but it got done aswell.


even that the car was black, it was covered in white dust.


hear it is smooth and with some colour but not finished.

I don't have a finished picture yet as my camera is broken, I had it on the dash when driving and around a corner it when out the window

bigpitty1 wrote:I don't have a finished picture yet as my camera is broken, I had it on the dash when driving and around a corner it when out the window

I know that's not meant to be a joke but that's one of the funniest things I've heard on here.......

heres mine after a panel beater done it at home for me.. i think i paid 700$
since then ive painted over with a can of black paint..from bunnings to hide the grey lol till i get my whole car resprayed

but i recomend if your a new fto ownder and just bought one and this hasnt been fixed.. they should pullout their interior and clean out the old glue stuff under the roof . and rust proof it .. before the damage sets in. ive seen it on nearly every colour fto. , blue , red ,white, and of course black .. takes about 30mins to pull out interior roof.. then just spray and put it back up. i shoulda done a DIY too late though