I was cleaning out my trunk and found a surprise...the bad kind...

[SocialStealth]

This is my first car, i'm 19, so I really don't have much experience...
So these may sound like stupid questions:

(first set of pictures)
I noticed these sort of deformed looking spots. It makes me think the car may have been in a rear-end accident that I was not aware of... Does this seem like a correct assumption? Anything I should 'look out' for?

(second set of pictures)
These are of my tire jack area in the trunk. It was completely filled with some yellow crap (rust?) That i cleaned off (tried to) with brake cleaner. The foam in there was wet. Any idea how water might have gotten in there to rust it?
Also, all the creases in my trunk have this caulk stuff at the seams. Is this normal? Do proteges come with this? Or is it the shotty work of someone else...

 

[dxaveP5]

bump i have this too the funky spots not the yellow crap

 

[SocialStealth]

bump i have this too the funky spots not the yellow crap

do you mean not the yellow rust but you have
a. the caulk seal or
b. the 'damaged' looking kinked spots?

 

[dxaveP5]

i have the funky spots but non of the rust/caulk

 

[SocialStealth]

i have the funky spots but non of the rust/caulk

Are you the only owner of your car?

I'm the 3rd owner of mine, so I wouldn't really know if there was a non-reported accident that got 'covered up' from one of the previous owners.

Maybe they just come from the factory like that...?

And wtf any idea why my car has caulk all over the trunk?
Any idea how to get it off?

 

[TheMAN]

its been hit and was a halfassed repair job

 

[SocialStealth]

So I'm guessing the metal isn't 100% lined up and was likely to leak, so they caulked up all the seals?

What normal prevents leaks in these areas? Welding the pieces together?

Would you guys recommend removing the caulk and welding the metal where the caulk was applied? Would that be the 'correct' thing to repair their bad repair?

...what other damage do you think I should look for in the rear?

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Definitely looks like someone was chasing a leak, some leaks. Usually is the result of crash. Even small bumps have been known to cause leak. Hell, IIRC, a few people had same issue without crash. The metal ripples in that area are standard, the extra gloppy caulk is not. Make sure the taillight bolt seals are good too. Could be gettin in around those.

 

[SocialStealth]

So the metal in the rear in a stock protege is simply bolted together?

Would it be wise to attempt to remove the caulk and weld the seams?

 

[starlifter]

Not so fast. It very well may be normal. dxaveP5 said he too had the same type lumps, bumps or funky spots as he referred to them as. Keep in mind these bodies are made from flat sheets of steel that are stamped using dies. In this process the metal shrinks and stretches which can give it some weird shapes. A lot of body seams particular those in low lying areas should have some type of sealer. Usually this seam sealer dries hard. I would wait to see if others with the same year type vehicle respond about the unusual shapes because if these are uniform with others chances are it normal production marks. If not.....

 

[cbrcrx]

Mine is a 2002 and it has the same ripples. But, the caulk at the seams is painted over from the factory. I am not so sure your has been hit. Maybe they were just trying to fix the leak which seems to be common in these.

 

[SocialStealth]

Thank god, I thought I got swindled when I bought my car!

So is it feasible to remove the caulk and weld the seams?

 

[cbrcrx]

I wouldn't. It is usually just spot welded and then caulked from the factory. I would just clean it up a little, if anything.

 

[vinylkings.ca]

keep in mind too those crinkles are accident crumple zones, so when you get hit the car crumples instead of transfering all the force directly to the passengers

 

[SocialStealth]

K thanks!
The jack is rusted to hell so...
I'm getting rid of my spare tire. Anyone want to buy it? (huh)

But anyways, Anyone have an idea on what I could do with the extra space I'm going to have? (where the spare tire used to be).

I'm thinking I might try to put a computer there or something and try to rig up some features.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

i had leaking in my protege.. only to find in the rear wheel well there was a grommet that wasn't there.. check those also.

 

[ForceFed]

Looks normal to me...the Crimps.

The water in the trunk has been a know Problem in the Sedan for a long while now.

They didnt seam seal the panels well..I do beleive its in the Taillight area where they usually leak into the well from.

 

[SocialStealth]

Any kind of special caulk you guys would recommend using?

 

[starlifter]

Any kind of special caulk you guys would recommend using?

Check if you have an automotive paint supply store locally. They will sell a seam sealer made just for this application so it will look factory. If not do a net search for the same (seam sealer) brands like 3M or SEMS come to mind.

 

[the-one1]

K thanks!
The jack is rusted to hell so...
I'm getting rid of my spare tire. Anyone want to buy it? (huh)

But anyways, Anyone have an idea on what I could do with the extra space I'm going to have? (where the spare tire used to be).

I'm thinking I might try to put a computer there or something and try to rig up some features.

So what are you going to do for a spare. Over the years, I've had to use a spare on my cars 3 times. To me, that is 3 too many times.