BAD rust area! | Mazda MX-5 NC

This is a new rust spot that has been found by Craig Brashaw on the MK3 MX-5. This is how I dismantled the Miata to access and treat this rusty crash structure.

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[craigbrashaw]

Great vid! Highly recommend all NC owners to get on top of this before yours ends up like my car!

[rcmakingtracks]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing. John

[ryoosari]

This is actually a very useful video. Not something most people would expect a rust exist. Thank you!

[io]

Nicely done!
Thought the NC was relatively rust resistant so it's good to know about that area, cheers!

[basileczajkowski]

Just did that this weekend. It was quicker than I'd thought it'd take. Having done a bit with it Mazda NC is very pleasant to work on I must say.

[jvoric]

I did this to my 2010 20th anniversary edition a few weeks ago.. you should also remove the rear arch liners and check & treat the rear arches. then remove the front bumper and check out the state of the metal behind that too!

[ivorwm]

Thank you for this video. I have a 2012 that was graciously given to me. I'm in East Texas and we get a lot of rain. I'm putting this on my maintenance list great video

[rogerro]

it helps a lot if you add a squirt of cavity wax protection to both metal surfaces before re assembly, making sure the painted surfaces are fully dry as tightening of the bolts too quick can cause the surfaces to stick together and pull paint off, and a sqirt of stone chip to the lower edge and the inside on the exhaust side also helps stop the paint being chipped from the wheels kicking up loose gravel.

[sd]

Nice work there. Just bought a 2006 NC with 13, 800 on the clock. Your videos were helpful in checking the car out. I will review the rear bumper in the summer and follow your video.

[simongphotography]

Great video... i would also recommend some paint one rust killer or rust converter as well as painting and kill off any left over rust you miss from sanding or grinding

[twentyonetwelve]

There are 2 small white plastic clips inside the trunk on both sides. You can see them in the video. They help hold on the sides of the bumper where the large plastic white piece is that you leave hanging to the car when pulling the bumper. Those 2 clips can leak water into the trunk. You should get a silicone sealant of some type and just cover the entire piece over from inside the trunk. You don't need to remove the bumper, just the trunk plastic liners.

[ianwinning]

Excellent video, thank you. I own an 08 NC. I'm lucky in having a near but not quite double garage, the previous home owner built classic cars meaning I can open all my doors fully. In September I'm garaging it for the winter again. It's videos like yours that will make my work so much easier when I come to take the car apart looking for rust. I've done the shocks, springs and other stuff. I see no surface rust under the doors or the sills. But now's the time to dig deeper. You keep posting and I'll keep watching.

[tourdetinus]

2:35 that vent is there to led the air (pressure) out when you close the door. Or else your roof and windows will shake when you close the door

[golfgaz]

Great camerawork, done thoughtfully, very pleasant to watch. I've had my nc for 4 years now and it's a constant battle against rust. I started with Hammerite and moved onto epoxy mastic, now I use Bilthamber zinc primer and epoxy mastic on top. Hopefully come the spring I'll have my first rust free winter, though that might be more to do with wfh :)

[nickriley]

Small thing, but some copper grease on the nuts & bolts will keep them from seizing or corroding, especially useful where torquing them up will wear off the new paint...

[davidstorm]

Great video, most people won't know about this. Did you check your sill end panels in the rear arches yet? That's the number one rust area on mk3 Mx-5's. BTW, for the screws you couldn't get off, you just need to grab the square nut with some pliers to stop it spinning, then use your socket to get the nut off. Mine was the same, but easy to remove.

[gupter]

Great video thanks, I’ve just bought my 2006 NC and will have a look at some stage when it stops raining!

[tonye]

Another good video Dom. Don’t worry about hairdressers comments, I get it with Boxster too. Usually people that don’t know about cars anyway.

[Kamavagadoo]

I also removed the front side indicators and the scruff panels on the door sills. This exposes holes which can be used to spray Dinitrol cavity wax with a plastic wand. Very easy and quick to do at the roadside without tools.

[geoffhudson]

Really glad I found your vid. My 2009 pre-facelift 2.0L NC has always been garaged, done less than 41k and only gets used on dry salt-free days. Yup, the rust was scarily bad. All the captive washer self tappers were also rusty so I got a price for the 'dirty dozen' from my local dealer. ALMOST £50! Found a pack of 20 identical, equally well zinc plated for under a tenner on Ebay. Lesson - NEVER buy Mazda trim and panel fixings or you'll get 'screwed'.