[MN_Drew]

Hey all-- we have a 2006 with 207k that has spent its entire life on salty, slushy Minnesota roads.

We now have two holes rusted through the unibody frame (not sure if I'm using the correct terminology here) just in front of the rear passenger suspension. I'm not sure how exactly to describe the location relative to other components, but in both of the photos below, you can see the rear passenger tire and both are taken from further forward on the vehicle looking generally rearward. Both of the holes pictured here are surrounded by very soft material-- both holes could be made 3-5x their current size with bare hands very quickly. These are the only two holes, but the pinch welds seem to be coming apart along pretty much their entire length on both the passenger and driver sides. The same spot on the drivers side as the first pictured hole also appears pretty bad, but is still solid enough that I can't poke through it. As far as I can tell, the really severe rust is limited to the unibody and not the suspension frames. We do also have some body panel rust, generally where you'd expect it, most severely at the back upper corner of the passenger rear wheel arch.

The areas where this most severe rust is, is this pretty much just holding the exterior together, or are these sections involved in transferring the critical loads of the vehicle? This feels like it should be a major structural problem, but I don't know enough to know.

Is this worth trying to repair at all? Mechanically, the vehicle is in pretty good shape for 207k, but when it comes to the body and finishes, the wear and tear is really starting to add up.

Sorry the photos are so bad. I'd like to get it up on jackstands to get a better look, but between the snowy driveway AND not trusting the normal rear jack points, this is all I've got for the moment.

 

[SueBrew]

Your Forester has succumbed to the elements. Try a yearly application of Fluid Film® on the underbody your next car. If done right, it can retard rust almost indefinitely.

 

[FOZ_WGN]

Need some better pictures to provide my online opinion but it does look questionable in that first picture. There's near where the rear diff front mounting brace ("T-bar" or outrigger subframe) is mounted to the chassis.

 

[bman400]

@MN_Drew We here can't really help you in anyway. Especially without pictures. You best is to have it inspected by a body shop. We here can only speculate and guess at the condition of the vehicle. We also do not know "Is it worth it?" That's an opinion that only you can answer, what's your pocket book, how much longer do you plan on keeping this vehicle, etc......Some here would say junk it and/or part out the vehicle, other here would say, start welding and/or take it to a body shop for repairs. "Is it worth it?" One person's junk is another person's treasure.

 

[TMX]

Hard to tell from those pictures. Certainly looks like you would have a challenge on your hands to recover from that degree of rust.