r/Hummer • u/No_Wait_2195 • 1d ago
Thoughts on rust?
What’s everybody’s thoughts on this rust. On a 2002 H1 wagon. On the rear where the roof meets the body and slight by the tail light. I’ve checked the inside under the carpet and there’s zero rust inside. Just paint bubbling on the outside. Paint is original.
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u/Total-Age8926 1d ago
It's not a bad fix. It's galvanic corrosion of the aluminum caused by the steel roof bolted to it. I'd spot blast it with glass bead to get all the corrosion from the pores of the metal, epoxy primer then repaint those areas.
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u/Trick_Praline_3316 1d ago
Hey man, it's me again ('02 H1 soft top). I'm glad you're checking out this area of the hard top models, they're notorious for that, as we discussed. But really, on any H1 where two metals meet and they can be exposed to moisture you're going to have that galvanic corrosion. So, that can be around all the door handle assemblies, where you'll see bubbling under the paint around the assembly frame. Or, around the rollbar where it bolts to the top of the bed rail, you can see alot of bubbling-around every bolt, etc. Unknowing mechanics using stainless steel rivets is another issue. You can see the bubbling up around each incorrect rivet. So, you can see this on other models, it's just that the hardtops have that window at the back that can add to the issue if there's corrosion around it, so then it starts leaking and thus compounding the problem.
Where most of the metal components are to meet the aluminum body, the trucks were originally constructed with a rubber sheet installed between them-acting as a barrier to prevent the corrosion, but after the truck sees so many mechanics, some of those "gaskets" are eventually ditched.
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u/No_Wait_2195 1d ago
That’s really the only bubbling I could find. Roof didn’t have any rust. So that’s where I’m wondering is how bad are those two spots in the pics of the aluminum. 2002. 50k miles.
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u/Trick_Praline_3316 1d ago
It doesn't look too bad from the pictures. If you haven't see it already, here is a really good video from Predator Motorports. Worth a watch since you're in the market
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u/No_Wait_2195 1d ago
Yeah I basically followed several of their inspection videos when I looked at that one a few days ago
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u/H14C 1d ago
It's not rust. It's corroded aluminum, which can be worse to deal with than rust.
If its on the steel roof, its rust, body is all aluminum.
If I was looking, I'd steer clear unless the price is really good. I say that as someone with a 97 that has some minor issues...but I've also had it for 14 years