The Chrysler Minivan Fan Club Forums banner

Rust strut tower

33K views 43 replies 20 participants last post by  andyg 
#1 ·
Hi Folks
My loyal 99'T&C has developed some rust on the strut tower, but it is on the passenger side ( not on the driver side like everybody has).
The top layer has been rusted through about a 2" crack, and the bottom tower is about rust down about 1/8" deep.
It is not too bad, but I want to keep the T&C as long as possible and It really runs well.
Anyway, I took her to the local body shop and get the quote for 120.00 to fix the tower.
The shop owner is well aware that the rust problem on the strut towers for 96'- 00 Magic wagon, and he also know about the repair kit.
So he suggest to grind off all the rust and use the aluminum putty to patch up. But he said eventually the rust will still come back.
Now the rust on the strut tower is just about only cosmetic issue and not yet effect the safety.
Should I go ahead fix the problem for 120.00 or wait till it get worse and use the repair kit?
Thanks for all replies.
 
#2 ·
Could anyone post a photo of what a "bad" one looks like? I looked through the archives and only found a couple of photos on ones that had been repaired.

Aluminum putty? I thought the recommended repair adhesive was some kind of structural epoxy that runs about $33-55/tube, and you need 2 tubes/strut tower.
 
#3 ·
Tough to say T&C man without putting eyes on it. In those situations I always say if in doubt, do it. Why take a chance with you and yours? $120 sounds like a good price.
 
#4 ·
I had it started on both sides on my 2000 T&C. I was upset as I have owned since new and always washed the mud and salt out of all the areas where rust starts, like the strut towers. The cracks were about 1 1/2" long. They started where the seam is in the center over the strut where the hole is for the strut to mount. I removed the wiper assembly and the front struts, then sandblasted all the rust from the top and the bottom. After sandblasting it was clear that the rust was MUCH worse than it looked. Next I welded in new metal, then epoxy primed it. Then I seam sealed the joints (why didn't chrysler think of this!!!) and coated everything with undercoating. That was several years ago. I have been keeping a close eye on it and it has not reappeared (yet). It is super important to clean this area very well.
 
#5 ·
Hmmm, some vans thow belts, some don't. Some vans develop debilitating rust on the strut towers, some don't. Our 1998 hasn't done either. Hmmm (again), I wonder if there is some sort of a correlation there? Kind of like vans that thow belts get rusty towers and those that don't, don't.

Donning my nomex and ducking for cover. :devil2: :cool:
 
#6 ·
Well, the belt never came off my van either, in 75,000 miles. I was replacing the power steering pump, belt and tensioner so I decided to throw the gates kit on for piece of mind. An ounce of prevention... As for the rust, I don't think vehicles can see any more salt than mine do in the winter. I wash it off as best I can, but it still does damage. My strut towers were better than the ones I've seen in the local wrecking yards. They did not look too bad, before I sand blasted the rust revealing the true extent of the damage. Here, too I did the work to prevent more expensive trouble later. I keep my vehicles a long time, and I keep them in tip-top condition. I also fixed some rust starting on the rear lift gate, one wheel well and rocker panel seams. My van looks much better than other vans the same age. Other vans are rusting in places where mine still has no evidence of rust, like the bottom of the sliding doors and quarter panels
 
#8 ·
I am aware of the repair caps. Mine are not bad enough for these, and hopefully if I keep after them they won't be. There is a design flaw in the way the strut tower is manufactured. There are two layers of steel in the tower sandwiched together, with an open seam between the two. I welded, epoxy primed then seam sealed this seam so hopefully mine is done rusting now. Time will tell...
 
#9 ·
I think that the "Design Flaw" view of the strut towers has been disproved. As I undrestand it, the vans that had the towers prepared according to the design specificaitons develop absolutely zero rust on the towers.

I'll take a shot of my towers tomorrow and post it. The towers have withstood over 9 years and 150,000 miles of NYC and Boston metro area winter road salt, and as will be clearly seen, they look practically new.
 
#10 ·
rust

If you live in a salt area do it now and get everything coated up and fixed . In a high salt area this could get real bad in a single season . Leaving any rusted area exposed to salt will destroy that area in a short time.
 
#11 ·
I've gotta differ with you on this one. Our van has been through the worst of it from corrosive environment perspective (with precious few washings I might add) for nearly ten years and shows no sign of having a problem. After reading many accounts from folks who've had this problem on their Gen 3 vans, I absolutely believe that if our 1998 was going to have this problem, it would have long since developed. Putting my money where my mouth is, I have absolutely no intention of fitting the "kit" to the strut towers until such a time as a corrosion problem shows up.

Simply put, I don't subscribe to the "Sky is falling" methodology of doing things. ;)
 
#12 ·
From what I've seen, read and understand if the towers are going to rust, they are rusting already. If they haven't, they most likely won't. The problem seems to be that the towers as designed were not strong enough, so a second layer of steel was added before production. It is this second tower being sandwiched over the first that is the root of the problem. From what I understand not all vehicles had the seam between the two layers where the holes for the strut to mount sealed well at the factory, and salt and water weeps in between the layers and the rust begins.
On my van I noticed the rust after the first year on the driver's side. It only got worse the second year. It really only looked cosmetic before I sand blasted it. Once it was blasted I could clearly see that there was infiltration between the two layers. I welded up every seam, epoxy primed, then seam sealed all seams. The rust has not progressed any further.
The "kit" that chrysler sells is to fix really advanced rust on the towers. My van was never structurally unsafe. Somewhat deficient, but not unsafe. The rust would have to be quite excessive before such a kit was needed. I have not seen one that rusted yet.
I cannot understand why anybody would want to try to use a kit as a preventative measure. It can only be used as a last resort when the strut tower is already rusted beyond repair. I would imagine anybody who mantains their vehicle would notice such a problem before it was that advanced.
 
#13 ·
I wonder if the rusting strut towers issue can be correlated with where the van was built - US or Canada. My 99 DGC shows no signs of rust and it was built in Canada. I know that my new 07 T&C was built in the US.

Frank
99 DGC Sport with 118300 mi
07 T&C SWB with 7800 mi
 
#17 ·
I wonder if the rusting strut towers issue can be correlated with where the van was built - US or Canada. My 99 DGC shows no signs of rust and it was built in Canada. I know that my new 07 T&C was built in the US.
Your US-built 2007 won't likely suffer the problem anyway -- it seems that this design issue (two layers of metal with an air gap between) was fixed sufficiently with the 4th generation vans. Anyone know how the design differs. Is it a thicker single layer tower? I would suppose so...
 
#14 ·
For what it's worth, the van I have now was made in the us, the last one I had was made in Canada. The last van was one of the best vehicles I've ever owned. The one I have now has had more trouble than any others owned. We bought this one new, I can account for every mile and every wrench turned ever turned on it so I cannot chalk the trouble up to somone else. Having said that, I can also say it has been very well cared for and never abused.
 
#16 ·
Here's a link to the repair with photos Rusting Strut Towers

There are indeed two layers of steel. The rust starts between the two layers. The water gets wicked into the separation and it rusts from the inside. Once it gets going, it's REALLY bad. I rusts out both layers until there's almost nothing left to hold the strut in place.

If you have this problem, it's best to fix it sooner rather than later. I used the adhesive method and it's working fine. The only problem with welding is that space is at a premium on the backside of the new covers. Plus, if you let it go too long, there's not a lot of good metal to weld to.
 
#19 ·
My towers are rusting, and I have a Canadian-built 99 Voyager. The only other rust on the whole van is the bottom of the sliding door - what's the answer to that one?
Replace the door, check the wrecking yards. Keep the new one clean. Take a garden hose and wash the bottom of the door, making sure the drain holes are clean and there is nothing stuck between the door and the cladding. I undercoat my vehicles (that I drive in the winter) with hot bar and chain oil in the fall. I also spray it up inside the doors, wheel wells, lift gate, strut towers, etc. Everywhere it can get rust gets oiled. In the spring I power wash it all off, and it looks like new again! Mechanics that inspect my vehicles in the winter months comment about all that dam oil everywhere, Whenever I get new tires, alignments or state inspections (the only times my vehicles ever get "seen") in the spring, summer and fall they comment that they cannot believe the vheicle has ever seen salt, as it looks to good.
 
#21 ·
I put it in an old coffee can, then put it on a hot plate until it is nice and warm. When hot it sprays like water, then quickly thickens up. It actually wicks up about three inches over the winter. The bottoms of all the pannels have a black oil film going up two to three inches by spring. In the spring I wash it off with a power washer and a degreaser.
 
#22 ·
strut tower rust

mine's really bad also...my brothers' 3 years older van is mint...the difference???? his battery has a plastic shield over it...drivers side tower is ALWAYS the one that goes....mine didn't come with a battery shield...I'm convinced battery off-gassing is the cause...not salt or anything else...any input????
 
#23 ·
mine's really bad also...my brothers' 3 years older van is mint...the difference???? his battery has a plastic shield over it...drivers side tower is ALWAYS the one that goes....mine didn't come with a battery shield...I'm convinced battery off-gassing is the cause...not salt or anything else...any input????
The difference is also most likely that your van is from the Gen 3 vintages while your brother's van is a Gen 4. The Gen 4 vans don't seem to have this problem.
 
#25 ·
If you dont want battery gassing,use an Optima or Exide Orbital battery.I ate many hoods on an old Ford plow truck,the edge would keep rusting thru,until I realized that every time you hit a snowbank,acid/fumes would be forced out thru the vent caps,and guess whats above it? The hood edge.Only that side would rust.A new hood and an Orbital battery have solved that issue for 5+ years now.
 
#28 ·
Saw an old Subaru wagon back in the late 80s,it needed a heater hose of some sort.They guy had trouble getting the hood open,but when he did I noticed the hoses were all like the braided cloth type (original),and that the driver side strut tower top was peeled open at an angle allowing the strut to tip and the tire to camber itself.I pointed that out,and told him that the vehicle was not roadworthy anymore,and that it was about to let go and strand him.He shrugged it off,slammed the hood down (which dented when hitting the strut),and drove away. (we didnt have the hose he was needing).I bet within a week the strut went thru the hood.
 
#30 ·
This car was the biggest POS Subaru I have ever seen.And I have seen a few.Had Chrysler kept its partnership with Mitsubishi going,and further development of the AWD Vista into a "normal" wagon,or cross breed it with a K car wagon,there may not have been a Subaru brand past the 1990s.The market though ignored them,and now they are growing on a yearly basis.Just another nail in the coffins of Chrysler,GM,Toyota.....
 
#31 ·
This car was the biggest POS Subaru I have ever seen.And I have seen a few.
Even with the new Subaru's out there, the term "POS" and "Subaru" go hand-in-hand in my mind...
 
#32 ·
I dont ignore the fact that their quality is very good,as a new vehicle,but as a used,5 or 6 year old model,the rust,the timing belt,the head gaskets,the struts (very troublesome),the oil leaks,the brakes (they are ALWAYS needing brakes),they are no better than any other aged vehicle.And those frameless side windows dont inspire confidence from wind whistles or theft from coathangers or slim jims.
Subarus big success today is that they are a niche manufacturer....AWD cars and wagons.
This is a market most everyone else has got out of (Except VW/Audi,Volvo),Subaru dumped FWD cars years ago because they were fighting a battle they couldnt win there.Subaru will need another niche model to continue its success (a reborn Amphicar?).
 
#35 ·
But, then if there's a lot of great engineering... explain those frameless doors that Subaru absolutely insists on using...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top