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Rotting passenger side "rear" wheel well. 05 Avy.

AmericanMade12

Full Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
15
Location
Buffalo, NY
Granted I live in Buffalo,NY , my passenger side rear wheel well is rotting out. Every other wheel is perfectly fine. I went to my buddies body shop to get a quote on cutting it out, welding it, and painting it. "$400". Not too bad. But the man told me he notices a lot of Avalanches have the passenger side rear wheel well rot. Is this a problem with a lot of these?! Just Curious
 
My 2002 rusted on both rear fenders.  Body shop said its common due to the foam they use behind the sheet metal.
 
Huh. I've also noticed the front wheel wells are cover in plastic underneath and the rear isn't. But my driver side rear fender is in mint condition. Strange. How much did it run for you per wheel well? $400 a decent price? He said he will cut out about 16" x 8" of the fender panel...
 
Rust on any vehicle is a cancer that has many variables. It depends on whether the original owner got it undercoated when new and how often they maintained the AV and what exposure it had during ownership. So it's hard to make a blanket statement on all AVs. Things like was it in a flood or a state that uses heavy salts and chemicals or kept off the road in harsh conditions. Some people theorize that something like putting a vehicle in a heated garage in the winter could help speed up rust since it allows the chemically treated road debris to melt, you would have to wash the undercarriage before garaging but most people would NOT do that in winter.
Then you may find differences in how hidden rust could happen sooner on a cladded AV versus a WBH Av since the rust would be between cladding and the metal underneath.
As with most repairs the sooner you do it the less you have to spend since it would be a smaller repair. Problem is many people let it go until it's a major problem.
 
My 03 which was given the dealer rust treatment when new is starting to show some rust bubbles over the passenger side rear tire.
 
They're definitely doing better than fords and dodge when it comes to rusting bodies but yea my rear panel over my rear passenger tire is the same thing. Like I said, not a speck of rust on any of the others.
 
Had mine since 2001 and not a lick of rust
But I live in deep south where we put SALT on our Food and in our Crawfish boils
 
NEW ENGLAND RUST BELT for me 135k 2005 non claded Driverside quarter panel in front of tire rotted through rear of both rockers bubbling
just under gas door bubbling from inside debating on doing some work myself in no way able to buy another right now love the ave all this just noticed after this winter SUCKS!!!
 
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