Door Jam Rust

SL2 1995
I have rust on the bottom of the back door jams (for lack of better words).
When it rains water leaks in and settles here. I don't know where the water
comes in at or how to stop it, any suggestions of what to look for.
A body shop said the area would have to be cut out and replaced.
If I don't have this area replaced will it cause problems with the frame
strength or structure of the car?
Is there anything I maybe able to spray on the existing rust to help it from
spreading?
Thanks for any advice.

 

Not much help to you, but I have seen the same thing on a 96 SL2. Seems
to be a common problem. I recall hearing something about a too-short
gasket/foam seal on these cars. Check out groups.google.com and search
on this group. Perhaps someone who knows will chime in on this thread.

Max

 

Here read these:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&th=7327140e478c7a80&rnum=6

Tons of rusty Saturns!!!!

b_d

 

I just went through this entire problem with my 96 SL2. I have torn the entire
thing apart at all 4 doors and have a lot of thoughts on this.

The only one that was rusty was the right rear. The foam trim IS too short as
was mentioned earlier and left quite a large opening at the top rear of the
door.

Keep in mind though that the left rear weather stripping was the same yet there
was no rust. This leads me to believe that something to do with the right rear
door sill may have been overlooked during production. Especially if you
consider that MOST people have the problem with this same door.

The door sill area is made up of 3 plies of metal. I noticed that it is the
middle piece that disintegrates. I peeled the top ply back and the middle one
was just dust that I cleaned out. The bottom ply, although rusty was still
solid.

I'm thinking that maybe that area wasn't painted or sealed correctly and water
runs down, gets under that plastic piece and soaks in between the plies of
metal.

I pulled off the weather stripping and the plastic plate and I treated the area
with POR 15 that I bought off the internet for 20 bucks. The stuff works great
but I don't know about long term results yet. It's just a sample starter kit
but it has more than enough of everything to treat the whole area and have lots
left over. Probably enough to do the other doors if they are bad.

I used some black GE Silicone Extreme Conditions Caulk to stick the plastic
plate back down and then I put a bead of caulk around the entire plate. I glued
the stripping back down with Goop RV from Home Depot. I had to use a lot of
duct tape to hold it down and then needed a lot of mineral spirits to clean up
the duct tape glue.

I caulked all the other plastic plates and re-glued all the other weather
stripping as well.

I hope that what I have done with this process is sealed all the water out.
Only time will tell if it worked.

Andy

 

Interesting! That's the same door sill that I have the same described
rust problem and I have a wagon.

Did you get the problem area fixed and did Saturn do anything for you?
If so, cost? Thanks....

 

Did you get the problem area fixed and did Saturn do anything for you?

I only did the stuff on my own that I described. I didn't even mess with
Saturn. I recall reading someone say that they took theirs to Saturn and they
refused to fix it for some reason. I don't know if it was out of warranty or if
they pulled that 'not rust through' thing.

Andy