Will this buff out?

[clivvy]

10092

10093

this is my Xtrail. Discovered this yesterday. Driven hundreds of miles with it probably not far off this condition. First i new something wasnt right was the inner strut cover had come off, and the plastic cracked a little. Didnt realise what had happened until yesterday when the plastic had cracked more and i could see more of the inner strut mounting plate.

Speaking to a garage tomorrow/Tuesday for some advice, a repair would be nice but im not feeling it, what do you guys think? I know the other side will probably not be far off too....looks expensive...

[clivvy]

this is how it looked prior to inner trim removal

10094

[jims-terrano]

Oh no that doesn’t look good mate.

I think the problem there is that it is taking a hell of a lot of weight. What’s the other side like?

I could have a word with my son if you like but he might run away and hide.

Do you know if there are any repair panels available?

[clivvy]

i havent dared to look at the other side other than popping the access panel off - looks ok but from the sounds of it theres a 99% chance itll be rusty

As far as I can see, no panels to repair. Looks like a double skinned construction to me but im not 100%. im not feeling great about it. I absolutely loved this XTrail and its been great, not perfect, nothings perfect, but by far the best motor ive owned.

Im in that position now where i have to decide do I fix, replace or buy "new" on finance...

[jims-terrano]

Not seen rust on an xtrail before, wonder how many are like that and nobody knows about it.

Think you need to bite the bullet and see what the other side is like Clivvy.

If you jack the car up from a body jacking point does that gap close up a bit? I understand there is plenty metal gone but you can see where it has pushed up.

[clivvy]

yh i think i may as well remove the other panel for a look, will help with my decision making...!

[jims-terrano]

A point to think about too is that although it may be possible to make a repair patch will the movement of thrown the rear wheel alignment out too.

[clivvy]

yup, thats one of my worries. They would have to remove most of what is there in the photo and fabricate a new panel - and its not flat/square. And THEN hope to get it at the correct height etc...

i guess this explains why they havent been able to align my front tyres properly...

this is the other side :(

10095

[jims-terrano]

Oh that’s not good.

[clivvy]

isnt it....i just know in my heart that this car is going to the scrappers :(

[solarman216]

I think the crux here is what is the rest of the motor like, if in reasonable order then I would repair it, if there is much rust elsewhere then scrap it for spares, Rick

[clivvy]

well, im not 100% sure Rick, but based on what I have seen and other mechanics reports, i'd suggest its not so great underneath...for example, the rear adjusters for the tracking are rusted off on one side, and i can see rust underneath all the waxoyl that has come off...

[makeitfit]

If it was here then the boy would fix that up no problem.
Easy to get at too :thumbs

[Banshee]

That is literally one of my worst nightmares :( :( :(

I feel for you mate as I wouldn't know what to do now and I'd be gutted. I'm sorry I can't offer any advice on repair either as I'm literally just teaching myself to weld as I type

[terranosaurusdoug]

Don't get too negative, if you like it fix it, and like Pete says plenty of access :thumb2

[clivvy]

thanks guys, but in terms of a repair im not feeling it.

I just think the welding will be expensive, and then i have other existing issues to deal with which are equally expensive, and i think maybe this is one of them situations you stop and think, and bit the bullet and move on.

Shame, but after a good look around i just think maybe this isnt as fixable as I hoped.

[solarman216]

Shame, Rick

[makeitfit]

Always hard when you can't do the fixing yourself. If you have other issues about the place then you may be right. I had a look round ggggoooooogle and the xtrails seem to be the terrano's big brother when it comes to rust. Have you had the carpets up and so on ? I suspect there will be plenty more once you look in :(

[clivvy]

yh The XTrails are as prone as the Terrano to rust, lots of crevices underneath that hold moisture, double skinned body work to hold moisture and so forth. I havent pulled up the carpets, and i aint gonna! No point now...