DIY Rust Repair on my Honda Element Trailing Arm Mount

[@VPS-qu4kx]

This is exactly what I was looking for on KZbin. I will try to save my Element now (it has been sitting at a mechanic shop for almost a month now, with same exact issue - been told to junk my Element; unrepairable). This video gives me hope…the journey will begin in a few days. Wish me luck! Once again thank you for making this video! 🙏 Any other warriors in the NJ area trying to work on this issue? Hit me up

[@coolcat312]

I’m glad you found inspiration! That’s exactly why I made the video. Save the Elements!

[@MelonTL_YH2]

Thanks for sharing! Rear trailing arm failure isnt the death of element any more; i read it rusts because the thin metal and bad drainage in that area

[@zze86]

Very nice! Going to try and save one once it gets warmer, also in WI. 👍

[@gearheadgregwi]

rear trailing arm mount just failed yesterday. Thanks Wisconsin road salt. Cutting the oval opening for the arm is going to suck. Handed off to my repair guy who's got a lift and MIG. Should've put in some heavier steal when it wasn't as rusty.

[@coolcat312]

Sorry yours failed too. Catching it before it really rips off is better than a catastrophic crash though. Good luck on your repair!

[@gearheadgregwi]

@coolcat312 yeah we were doing 15 mph on city street.

[@gearheadgregwi]

My advice to CRV Element owners. POR15 the heck out of that mount point while metal is still good.

[@LarryBazongas]

Thanks man, I have the exact issue with a similar vehicle and this was more help than the 4 people on the internet who told me to send my rusty car to the crusher.

[@coolcat312]

@@LarryBazongas I’m glad the video helped you!

[@veLOLcerapt0r]

Nicely done! Up here in Canada the rust is brutal. So with myself being fairly handy and having the appropriate tools, you've made this repair seem reasonably simple in the grand scheme of fabrication. Giving me confidence that it can be done by myself and this isn't game over for my element when it inevitably becomes an issue. Cheers

[@coolcat312]

Thank you! I’m glad you found the video inspiring!

[@jasonmorrill8744]

Well done! I suggest spraying the inside of that cavity with Fluid Film or similar to reduce the rust eating from the inside out. Did you need an alignment after this repair?

[@coolcat312]

Yes, I plan to get some rust inhibitor to spray inside the frame. While I had it open I did spray rust reformer all over inside and I primed the patch with weldable primer. A coating of a good rust inhibitor will go on soon. Yes it did need an alignment but not because of the repair itself. I disassembled the entire trailing arm including removing the toe alignment bolt and I also replaced the rear struts. It was due for an alignment anyway.

[@chrisE815]

@@coolcat312 Don't dismiss an oil undercoating like fluid film- at least spray it over top of whatever else you put down. My Hondas look way worse than yours, I think we have more road salt! I wish I knew about oil under coating years back- it's amazing stuff.

[@balance169]

Great share thx 😎👍

[@johnnguyen2376]

Awesome works, thanks for sharing! Nice fitting and prep. before welding, specially at very tough spot near gas tank! MIG- welding I guess?

[@coolcat312]

Flux core actually. I am still new to welding and haven't purchased gas cylinders yet, although welding outside like this I probably would just go flux core anyway.

[@ketoninja]

Thanks for the video. I am wondering, I see a lot of Elements with negative camber on the rear wheels, including my own. This is supposedly a universal thing, but is this one of the causes of that?

[@coolcat312]

@@ketoninja there are several contributing factors and this is not something unique to Elements. A small amount of negative camber is desirable for cornering stability but it’s usually imperceptible when a car is new from the factory. As the springs age and sag and joints wear out and get loose the camber slowly increases. Yes, if a mount weakens and begins to collapse it will also contribute as well. At that point catastrophic failure is imminent. My brother had a first gen Pilot that rusted out its rear subframe mounts and its camber went crazy. We didn’t have the tools or knowledge back then to fix it so it was sold with disclosure of the issue and replaced.

[@TheLazyHalfSRanch]

Worn rear struts will cause that. Install adjustable rear upper control arms

[@canuckfixit7722]

What's up with this channel? I posted the same comment 2x and they just dissappear? Great job BTW.

[@coolcat312]

I’m not sure what’s happening. I’ve tried replying to each comment but then they’ve disappeared. I thought you were deleting them. Must be some KZbin bug.

[@wedowebstuff]

Awesome job! Is it still holding up? Looks perfect to me.

[@coolcat312]

Yes it is! The repair has proven itself to be completely solid. I expect it will last as long as anything else in the vehicle from this point.

[@Alan59-n9d]

Hello from Scotland . I have 14 year old Honda Jazz , Fit in the States , I underseal mine with used motor oil/White spirit 50/50 mix every year , I notice you have a couple of access holes underneath , a good place to spray some inside ! 👍

[@AwakeDude911]

White spirit 50/50 mix whats white spirts ? i use motor oil but whats this 50 50 mix ? im always open to better ideals...thanks..

[@Wheel_Horse]

Looking at my car and your fix... I do see a potential weakness in your repair. Where the original design was 'gusseted', yours is not. The original flares out and grabs the unibody at angles several inches all around from where the trailing arm actually bolts on to the structure. What you've done is essentially standing that arm support on it's 'tippy toes'. There's going to be a lot of sideways torque on that part. I would have found a way to add some gussets to the assembly to prevent that. You've got all the weight and torque forces now on that bolt, where it was spread all around on the original design.

[@coolcat312]

@@Wheel_Horse Thanks for your critique. The bump that I surrounded the threaded collar with is indeed smaller than what was there from the factory. It should add some strength but admittedly probably not as much as original. The walls of the 2” exhaust pipe I used to make that bump that is supporting the collar is about twice as thick as the original sheet metal and the plate I used to patch the large hole, the plate that the collar is welded to, is 1/8” thick which is substantially (about 4x) thicker than the original metal. I’m hoping that the extra “beef” will help it hold up longer. There’s a very real chance that my repair may eventually fail. I’m checking it regularly and so far so good. I have seen repairs done by others who chose to weld vertical gussets to the side of the collar instead of surrounding it with a bump like I did. I chose this route based on my materials on hand and my fabrication experience (or lack thereof). Ultimately I believe the original design was significantly overbuilt which is great but I wasn’t able to completely recreate it so I had to do what I could. Thankfully the other half of this mount is a survivor so my repair doesn’t have to hold the front end of the trailing arm all by itself. Thanks again and I hope this helps explain why I did it the way I did.

[@Wheel_Horse]

@@coolcat312 Yessir, I meant to applaud you for the repair but forgot that part and went to my constructive criticism... sorry about that! I thought you did a great job! Keep an eye on the welds, I know with the undercoating it may not be easy to see them, but make sure you monitor regularly and carefully for cracked welds! That original steel looks to be maybe 14 gauge, yeah 1/8" is about twice as thick. Mine's an '08 with 101K and not driven much in the winter, and garaged, so there's no visible rust underneath mine. I've used Fluid Film for years, the drain holes in those parts makes it easy to get it inside. I do inside the rocker as much as possible also. Good Luck!

[@Robert-zn9ub]

Nicely done!

[@MyEbaymods]

hey how did you make the lump or where did you buy the lump ???

[@coolcat312]

The bump is actually a piece of exhaust tubing I had laying around. I considered using a thicker-walled pipe and cutting a circular cap for it but gave this a try first and it turned out well. I cut tabs into the end of the pipe and bent them over, then cut off the overlap and welded it up at the seams. After grinding it smooth it’s hard to tell that it was made like that.

[@IDontKnowIJustDo]

Well done! Thanks for sharing!

[@roxannecook3970]

I need mine done but everyone says they can't 😢 sitting in my drive for 3 months I'm not giving up

[@coolcat312]

If you can find a frame repair and fabrication shop near you they should be able to do it.

[@artsteadman2230]

We have Wisconsin snuffles frequently dont we? Seems it's always worse when our hands & minds are otherwise occupied

[@coolcat312]

Yup, it was cold outside when I was doing this and hanging outside in the cold is guaranteed sniffles, lol.

[@bisket2003]

Great stuff hoss!! Check out the video I made on this as well. Mad respect for doing the fix! Save the elements!!

[@coolcat312]

Thank you! I actually saw your video several months ago (around the time I was recording mine as I repaired my Element). I keep seeing people post their "unrepairable" Elements and I always comment with a link to my video, gotta spread the word that these CAN and SHOULD be repaired!

[@shiftn2gear]

I think I may have the same issue with mine so I’ll check both of your videos out. Thank you!

[@luisc2466]

Awesome thanks man your a goat