Mitsubishi Pajero: Rear Wheel Arch Lip and Sill Seam Rust

Gen 2 Pajeros are now 25–35 years old and commonly develop structural rust in the rear wheel arch lips, lower sill seams, and floor pan edges. Factory paint and underseal degrade in NZ/AU coastal and wet climates, allowing salt and moisture ingress through seam welds. Rust in the sill seams compromises side-impact structure. Patched or body-fill-repaired arches are very common in the trade; these repairs conceal but do not cure the underlying rust and typically fail within two to three years.

• Bubbling or blistering paint above rear wheel arches
• Visible perforation at sill ends near front and rear jacking points
• Soft or flexible sill panels when pressed firmly by hand
• Rust-coloured water draining from sill drain holes
• Flaking or lifting paint along door-to-sill joins

Crouch beside each rear wheel arch and press the arch lip firmly with your thumb — any crunch, flex, or collapse indicates active rust. Run fingers along the full sill length beneath each door. Pull back floor mats to check for rust bubbling through the floor pan. If a workshop inspection is possible: Inspect the sill ends near all four jacking points with a torch.

Parts involved: Body corrosion.

$500 to $4,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “Has any rust repair been carried out on the arches or sills?”
• “Has the vehicle lived in a coastal or high-salinity area?”
• “Has the underside been rust-proofed or resealed after import?”

The failure described above is documented in published sources — owner forums, technical service bulletins, recall notices and workshop write-ups — held in our fault database. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them, and it is a starting point for an inspection rather than a manufacturer statement.