Rust Around Battery Area

[pockets]

Well having picked up a 39k mile 1999 2-owner from new 1.8TQS Avant on Friday I was begining to think my previous bad luck with Audis was long gone but nooooo.

I paid a handsome price for the car (it really is in smart condition with a full service history and I'm in Jersey where cars are more expensive to buy than on the mainland) and was happy with the few faults it had considering the age of it and the owner wasn't hiding anything, the car has the following faults:

* The sunroof doesn't go back only up but I hardly ever use a sunroof anyway

* The rear wiper is jerky (probably the motor) but again not a huge issue since I don't use them much.

* There's a drone noise coming from the front possibly, it gets a little louder with speed but doesn't appear to be wheel bearings as it doesn't change when I load up either side, I have wondered if its the Barum tyres???

* The front wipers were squeeking really bad so yesterday during my lunchbreak I stripped the wiper linkage out and cleaned and greased it all up as they were squeeking badly and quite stiff, job done and the wipers are now just grand.

Come yesterday after doing the wipers the battery was flat, whether I left the ignition on and a combination of an old and tired battery I don't know but it's not an issue, I noticed that it was an 063 which is quite a bit smaller than what should be fitted but what concerned me more is the rust, the actual battery tray has virtually rotted away, theres some rust on the interior side of the bulkhead which may clean up but its the rust on the section closest to the engine that worries me, rusty to the point of being able to tap my extention bar though a bit, its a few inches worth but it's taken the wind out of my sails a bit! what concerns me is that it's going to be an absolute bitch to get repaired since it's close to the engine/dash/fuel system, so apart from that I really quite fond of the car despite it's crap 25mpg.

Not sure what I'm expecting to hear from you guys but I wanted to turn to fellow enthusiasts for any advice/comments, now it's a 13 year old car so a few faults are to be expected and I can handle those but I'm just unsure about the rust, even if the seller offered a refund I'm not sure I would take it, apart from the rust in that one area it really is a nice car. Anyway cheers for reading and have a few pics:

[nigel63]

hi, somewhere in the centre of the bulkhead where the 2 heater pipes come thru from the engine bay,check the rubber grommet that the pipes are located in,in the centre of that there is a drain hole that gets blocked up and makes the bulkhead area hold water,i think it also has drain bungs under the battery tray and brake servo,if they are blocked that was probably the cause of the corrosion,or possibly battery leaking.it will need welding to make it of sound structure as the corrosion could be in a prescribed area for MOT purposes,also when its welded correctly the corrosion is gone so hopefully many years of happy motoring,i know it will be a real pain to weld but has to be worth it in the end. good luck hope this info helps.

[pockets]

hi, somewhere in the centre of the bulkhead where the 2 heater pipes come thru from the engine bay,check the rubber grommet that the pipes are located in,in the centre of that there is a drain hole that gets blocked up and makes the bulkhead area hold water,i think it also has drain bungs under the battery tray and brake servo,if they are blocked that was probably the cause of the corrosion,or possibly battery leaking.it will need welding to make it of sound structure as the corrosion could be in a prescribed area for MOT purposes,also when its welded correctly the corrosion is gone so hopefully many years of happy motoring,i know it will be a real pain to weld but has to be worth it in the end. good luck hope this info helps.

Cheers Nigel, I've had a good look around the area and seen the grommets, a lot of cars have them, the previous owner has agreed to give me £200 towards repairs, I've just had the air-con regassed and now I've got to have it discharged so a pipe can be removed for the repair, oh and we don't have MOTs here