Rust Under Hood

subba · 4 Weeks Ago

Hello,
We have a 2001 Civic LX. We used to live in upstate NY and just moved south to TN. Last year i started noticing that some regions under the hood had started to rust. We both were students back then and so could not do much about it.

I have attached some pictures below. I am particularly concerned about rusting in areas E, F and G (it will be great if somebody can help with the correct technical terms).

In general should I be concerned about this level of rusting? Can I do anything to clean it up and prevent further rusting? Or should I seek professional help?

thanks in advance.

PS: in general, i would like to clean the engine area and make it look like this.

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gearbox · 4 Weeks Ago

for A and C, strut tower, you can get new nuts if you want. the middle part where the shock is i think is just rubber so most of that rust will come off with some cleaner.

B is just a bracket, you can take it off, clean the rust with sandpaper or rust dissolver jelly, then paint it black. but not a critical thing. same with D, the engine mount and alternator brackets can just be painted. very common for them to rust. i actually was able to paint mine right on the car by covering surrounding areas.

E is the header heat shield, i would just try to find a newer oneand swap it out. its too much work to polish it up. unless you have a good auto sander, then it shouldnt take much effort. just a buffer and metal polish.

G and F are parts of the subframe and again, painting is the best way.

subba · 4 Weeks Ago

thanks gearbox.
it will take me time to figure out what exactly to do and how exactly to to go about it. for example, i am still trying to figure what exactly to do to eliminate rust. you have suggested dissolver gelly & black paint. any specific recommendations?

meanwhile i found this article with a picture of your bay:

header heat shield

gearbox · 4 Weeks Ago

check the auto store. they have rust dissolver jelly in a small bottle. and preferably a hi temp flat black paint. if you want to restore the heat shield, its easier if there is no rust. you may need to sand it before trying metal polish.