While removing the dipstick tube so I could dig out a broken dipstick (plastic handle broke off...) on my stock 2005 Magnum RT I was shocked to discover heavy rust on both sides of the frame directly adjacent to the catalytic converters. The rust has nearly eaten through the frame at these spots! There is no rust anywhere else on my car, and it has never been undercoated or winter driven. The exhaust is all original. The stock cats never had heat shields and are located very close to the frame rails; it is my understanding that newer models have heat shields on the cats...I am guessing the heat cooked the paint and any factory rust protection off in these spots.

Is this common with other LX models (mag/challenger/charger) and how is it normally repaired? Should I contact Chrysler directly?
Any advice would be great,
thanks!

My guess would be that since you live in Canada, and the car has never been driven in the winter, you have had some mice take up residence in your frame rails. Their urine is acidic and will eat the metal in your frame rails in a couple years. The close proximity of the rails to the converters would invite the little critters to the nice warm place, and then would bake the urine and nest into a nice frame rusting concoction. Is there a dusty, flaky dirt and grass/material, or cotton like fuzz clump inside your frame rails?

It will be interesting to see if the frame rail rust is a consistent with the LX cars.

The fix is going to be like any other frame rail replacement, pull the carpet and everything else off the floor, remove the rusted rail, fabricate a new rail, and weld it back in place. Then replace the removed interior. Gene

Just an update. I went to the body shop recommended by our local Chrysler dealer. They'd never seen a hemi-LX frame burnt through by the catalytic converters as bad as my car before. (BTW mileage is 94,000 miles and the car runs great and is exceptionally clean) Their estimate to r&r the exhaust, sandblast the burnt through/rusted area, weld in plates and reprime the repaired area was over $1100 bucks.

I took it to another two shops, but neither would touch it once they hoisted the car up had a good luck at the damage. They said by the time they removed the exhaust, manifolds, hoisted the engine up to give enough clearance to do the repairs theyd be opening a huge can of worms.

I do have an appointment to get another estimate tomorrow, and I will also drive to another city to get an estimate from a Chrysler Dealer's own bodyshop. Surely someone else with a Hemi LX-car must have had this burn thru issue before? Or maybe nobody ever noticed---its very easy to miss if you dont know just where to look with a flashlight while the car is on the hoist. You cannot see the damage from above.

I've got an 05 R/T, next oil change I'll take a hard look, thx for the heads up, btw, is it on both sides?

Yes, the damaged area is the same on both sides of the car. If anything the right side is slightly worse. When the car is on the hoist tomorrow I will try to get photos of the heat/rust damaged areas to show you. This totally sucks because the rest of my car is exceptionally clean and original. If the car had been built with heat-shielded cats or even a bit more of an air gap between the cats and the frame it would have prevented the prob. The technician at the shop our local Chrysler dealer sent me to says the heat from the cats burned off the factory coating on the frame and accelerated the rusting in those areas.

I took the car to two well respected body shops today. Neither would do the repairs, but both were shocked at the damage and suspect all the magnums/chargers/challengers with the hemi will eventually have similar problems.
Tried to take some pics but it was tough. I will try again when the car goes to a Chrysler dealer on Thursday AM and another on Fri AM.

Here's a little better pic of the Left side. I will bring a real camera with me next time the car is up so I can get some clear shots. The damage is the same on both sides, right side being slightly worse.

Wow, that's a new one on me. I had an '06 SRT8 and no rust anywhere for the 6 years of ownership, but I am in Florida.

I am on the LX forums very frequently and have not read of this being a common problem. Good Luck.

I just looked at mine and my rails are fine, and mines driven year round and we use our fair share of salt

Does anyone with a newer 5.7 LX car know if there are heat shields on the cats? My '05 never had them, and after looking at pics online it is kinda hard to tell if they were added to newer models. Or maybe someone has access to a parts fiche? If they indeed did add heat shields later in production it's pretty obvious Chrysler knew this could be a problem. I also wonder if the six cylinder models have the cats as close to the rails as the hemi versions?
Sorry to whine, I really love my car so this drives me nuts...

Strange place for rust. How is it stored? I've seen cars stored in damp garages get rust like that. I've never seen major rust from mice pee. More of a problem is if they make a nest in a place that can get wet and hold water.

Thank you for helping me work through this problem. My car spent most of its life in a dry, newer garage with a polished concrete floor. It has been outside since May. I wash and polish it several times a week and it has never had any body damage. The car currently has 94,000 miles.

You say it gets washed alot. Is it possible that water is getting into the frame and "pooling" in those areas. If that's possible, then may want to drill some additional drains.

That really sucks man, especially since you've taken such good care of it, that's as nice a Magnum as I've ever seen (mines a twin to yours, just not as clean, also runs 14.3's in the 1/4 ).

Bite the bullet and get it fixed, while your in there with the exhaust off, put on a set of SRT8 manifolds and mid pipes for a little extra

Thanks for the kudos on my car! I don't just love that thing...I think I'm in love with it. Anyway, I took it to Niagara Chrysler for mechanical inspection of the rotted frame area this morning. They were very pleasant, professional and on time. The mechanic who inspected my car called another mechanic over to see the damage as well. Neither had seen one go like this before. He noted how clean my car was elsewhere and that the frame drain holes were clear.

The mechanic then called the service manager over, who took a large number of photos of the damage and of my car in general. On his own initiative the service manager will be using his photos to go along with a report he is writing to submit to Chrysler Canada later today.

I've got my fingers crossed...
I took another couple pics this morning while the car was on the hoist.This is the left side.

Here is a pic from today of the right side damage alongside the catalytic converter.

That's great that you have a dealership that does it's best to help the customer instead of blowing you off with "it's out of warranty".

As the Niagara Chrysler service manager suggested yesterday (after my mechanical inspection) I took my Magnum in to the bodyshop today for an inspection by body techs. The two techs who inspected it were shocked at the damage. I was shocked at the repair quote---$8100!! I was told the engine, drivetrain, subframe, interior had to come out in order to properly replace the rotted sections of frame alongside the cats. They were impressed by the overall clean condition of my car, very sympathetic regarding the frame problem, and suggested I contact Chrysler Canada.

The Niagara Chrysler service manager had already sent in his photos and report yesterday, and suggested I contact Chrysler Canada directly this afternoon as he had not yet heard back from the district service manager.

When I called Chrysler Canada they told me even though my car is out of warranty they would like to further investigate the problem, and opened a Case File on the car. They said I should to expect to hear back from them on Monday. I hope that is a good sign.

I guess I'll wait and see what they say on Monday and go from there. All the Chrysler service managers, techs and even the woman on the phone at Chrysler Canada were excellent.

You may get lucky. My sis got her entire frame replaced on a 10 year old Toyota Tundra. Toyota covered the entire cost. Now there was an issue with alot of them. Must have been a problem with the steel process.