There are a couple of large openings front left and front right and several other holes in the support. I thought of covering them up, or spraying the support full of some of that expanding foam insulation. But I figured the openings were there for a reason. Maybe ventilation. You sure don't want to trap moisture in. On both the '95 and the '02, I used existing bolts in the center area to loosely hold a piece of X-Ray film where it would protect the support from direct road/salt spray. You only see it if you look up under the lower grill...and if you do that you should expect to see ugly.
Since this 02 support rust was just getting started, no repairs were needed. I wire-brushed and sanded the outside. Then used a rust converter, Rustolium primer, and black Rustolium paint. Also sprayed on undercoating in the worst area. Inside the support, I blew it out with compressed air and sprayed in lots of cavity wax. I don't claim to be an expert, I just hate rust !
