Buying a CC, with or without the roof rust

[JAP63]

I fouund this

Its most common in dark models that are in Hot Climate that the aircon is being used frequently, the ceiling skin has a type of carpet under lay attached to the ceiling skin as a sound deadener this absorbs moisture trapping it in-between the turret metal skin and the ceiling as its hot and humid its the perfect environment to break down the panel sealant used all this = The Dreaded Mitsu Roof Rust :x

One of the first signs normally befor bubbles appear is small black granuals inside the roof ceiling light lense as the sealant breaks down and is shaken around and normally builds up there first.

I think that should also be added to the Evo GSR buyers guide.

You can also see the roof rib that the light it screwed to so a quick unscrewing of the light fitting on the roof will let you see the turret ribs first hand.

BTW you can now Join the Mitsu Turret Rust Replacement Club not the kind of club you want to be in but there are a lot of us that have joined :x

and this

Yep, you need a new roof turret. Remove both front and rear windows, cut the old roof turret out and weld in a new one but this time use a non oxidising glue or spacer filler between the turret skin and the support bars across the top. Most CC models + CE and FTO's come out with a glue that actually oxidised and caused some kind of chemical reaction with the metal to bring on rust over time - plus the fact that they were never really painted and sealed all that well from factory under the turret. Mitsu didnt find out about it until several years later when rusty roofs were being reported. By that time they had several years of cars roll off the production line which used this glue unfortunately :roll: Using aircon often results in condensation buildup under the skin which accelerates the rust process

Both very good bits of information, however, Tommorow im going to look an Evo 3 and i dont want to go pulling the guys headlining out!!

Can anyone suggest an effective and easy way to tell if the car has the dreaded roof/rust problem? Unscre the interior light and look in? Look for the black granules in the light?
And also, whats the repair bill on something like this, as in min Vs max..im seeing around $600 for skin/turret and around $1200 to do the rest, is this for a complete new roof?

Would $1800-$2000 cover a complete new roof?

 

[Liberoz]

2g for turret skin replace and paint, other ways of checking roof rust is after mid 95 build date they changed the sealant that was causing the issue so most gsr's evo after this date are fine, looking around edges of turret skin to check weather its been resprayed (repaired) at an earlier stage in its life, look across the turret sk9in flush and look at the reflection as you should still be able to stop it if its just started.
Along the roof from right to left hand side is where the roof rust will be in lines.

 

[Skuz]

yeah i would think that 1800 would easily cover a new roof i paid 200 for my galant one, and it cost 500 for fitment but that was unpainted though.
Skuz

 

[EVO-00X]

Yep, remove the interior light and look for evidence of roof rust as that is exactly were it starts first due to condensation. A little bit of orange is nothing as all cars get a bit of that near the interior light but if its bubby and flaking then yeah, roof rust. Another way is to pen the rear and front doors and pull the door surround rubber down and see if any falls through.

Look for signs of bogged up and hidden rust and/or previous repair attempts by colour alterations between roof skin and the C-pillars or even paint on the rubbers around the windscreens.

The roof skins are piss easy to replace on the CC's and most get put back on with just some flat pop rivets and glue rather than welding them back in.

Yeah budget a new roof turret about $700 and about $1500 for fitting and painting, plus removal and reinstallation of both front and rear windscreens by a professional which adds another couple hundred or so.

Replacing the roof is actually easy and you could near do it yourself but call in a qualified windscreen remover/installer first. Its the painting that you really need done by a pro

 

[EVO-00X]

hahaha... 2 peops replied whilst I was tyoing at same time lol

 

[tUfRiCe]

you can just buy mine it has a new roof on it haha