Greetings All,

I need some help with some ideas or input on how to move forward now with a door jamb rust fix I'm working on. I've seen a few similar rust spots on other 3rd gens, but none as "deep" as mine....but I'm sure they're out there. I'm Not sure if it's a design flaw from Toyota's weatherstripping in the door jamb, or just 16 years of opening and closing the drivers door warping the rubber, but since I've taken ownership, I've noticed that after a rain shower, a small half-dollar sized puddle of water pools and collects in the rear of the drivers door jamb. The rust slowly progressed and here's where i'm at now.

I've cleaned up and cut back as much nasty stuff as I could with the only tin snips I've had, and I've gone to town on it with a wire wheel to get to the shiny metal. If anyone has been here before, you'll know that the pinch weld is probably partly to blame. At any rate, there are a few tiny, (coffee stirrer sized), holes along the bottom of the rocker at the pinch welds underneath the truck.

Do I need to patch the hole? It's not as if gallons of water pour into and through the door jambs, and with the few holes in the bottom of the rocker panel, I'd imagine it would drain free and dry if I kept an eye on it to make sure things didn't get clogged up.

If I do patch it, any ideas? I was told in the past maybe some JB weld and some window screen for a quick patch. I've also read some good things about Blue Magic QuikSteel, but I've never really used either compound. I used JB back in HS to patch a cracked oil pan on my B5 A4, but that was like finger painting 101.

If I dont patch it, will a quick shot with some high temp engine enamel keep the exposed metal from rusting? Or should I get a can of bed liner or something else?

It doesn't need to look pretty, it's in an non-noticeable spot. But the caveat is that any repair I do moving forward, (NO welding capabilities), will have to be clean and functional, not half-assed. Whichever way I go forward, I just want to do that method, the best way possible.

Thanks for the ideas ladies and gents. Sorry for the novel....my fingers just can't quit

I had the same issue with my sport. The PO had these glue on door jamb plastic grips and moisture got under it and it rusted. The holes weren't as big as yours though but one of them was in the roughly same spot as yours pictured. I used bondo to fill the holes and then light body putty to make it look smooth and clean. Then painted it to match and used chip guard clear coat paint over it and I sprayed my rockers and all other door jambs with it.

Nothing you can do besides fix it or catch it before it gets bad. It's where to metals meet. So basically either the door weather seal is bad and needs to be replaced for proper drainage or you need to take steps into rust prevention. I had few areas like that to. But sww it before it got worse.

I need to get a small dentists mirror now that the hole is large enough to see what the underside looks like, not just feels like. I feel I cut enough away, but he mirror will help. No amount of wire wheel on the drill will get the inner pinch weld to look like clean metal. Maybe I need to step up and get a grinder.

Bonds sounds easy, but never used it. I assume I could probably get a kit with a patch to cover the gap and fill it in? Or just get a tub and pack it in?

There are lots of kits at auto parts stores or pack it in with bondo. Your gonna want a sander to sand the whole door jamb down for a repaint if you want it to look as clean as possible.

That sounds awesome! do you have pics?

I only have pics of the finished product is that what your looking for? I can walk you through the process though step by step. I have a jeep so I consider myself the bondo master mechanic

Now that you have a hole. Get 1 or 2 cans of fluid film. From autozone or Lowe's. And spray jt all in there. I wouldn't recommend bondo. Because it has pores and any water will destroy the bondo. Bondo is made to be sprayed over and not left as bondo. There's a better product, it's aluminum bondo. Which hardness into basically steel! Strong and it's the only bondo that can with stand powder coating.

Best would be weld a small metal , grind it and use aluminum bondo to smooth it out.