Owners in salt belt... move on before rust takes over?

Just wondering what other owners in rust belt/road salt states think about long term durability.

Yes, it's clear that these are mechanically reliable, but what about the body & chassis?

I'm having a debate with myself on whether or not it makes sense to keep it long term. My 2013 with 129k runs perfect, and mechanically should go another couple 100k, but how long before the rust starts to take hold?

Since rust destroys the value, does it make sense to sell/trade while it's still nice?

I was planning on keeping it long term, but lately ive been getting paranoid about corrosion. It looks good NOW, but the worst stuff always seems to be hidden, and by the time one spots it it's too late.

A friend of mine with a "clean" 2012 recently sent me a pic of a rusty rear dogleg on hers. Mine looks good in that spot on both sides, for now.

 

I think it’s not a bad idea to pass it along if you aren’t “all in” on taking active rust prevention measures and regular inspections. The resale values are too good. You’ll still end up losing some if you replace with another runner, but it’s all about trade offs

I just saw a super clean looking FJ yesterday on the road. Pulled up behind it at a light. I couldnt figure out why the underside looked weird from a distance. When I got close, I noticed the gas tank was hanging off!!! Looked like both straps broke off (rust?) and the whole thing was hanging by a thread! Tried to get by him to wave him down, but he turned off the road before I could.

 

Fluid film/woolwax to prevent rust

 

^^This. You can mitigate rust and pretty much keep it from progressing. I’m in Ohio, and have a second commuter car that will see the bulk of the winter salt treatments. So a good bit of my ‘mitigation’ consists of rinsing the undercarriage and avoiding driving in the salt. But I’ll examine the frame come spring and see what needs to be done.

 

If you see some rust, use this product, works for 100% and avoid rust spreading; If you spot some, brush with a steel-brush and spray some Zinga on it. You should tell your friend.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/for-the-members-struggling-with-rust.22380/

 

Does anyone sell single spray cans? That would be cheap insurance vs $300 for 12.

 

Roll in a area that uses salt. And im not that worried about it.. wash the thing now and then.
I will shot some rocket liner on the low end parts/frame, in time. But im not that worried about it for now.

 

I have a 2015 Tacoma with 93K miles that's lived it's whole life in Minnesota. I have applied fluid film every fall as well as applied sealant to the body every spring and fall.

Frame is in great condition. I would get maybe two or three small rust spots that would pop a year. Wire brush the rust and hit it with some Rust-Oleum. Then reapply fluid film. Haven't seen rust pop up in the last 2 years.

The body looks good other than all the small rock chips that comes with driving on the highway. There is no rust that I can see.

If you take/took care of it, you should have nothing to worry about. The only reason I'm planning to trade my Tacoma is that I don't need or want a truck anymore.

 

The problem is, when rust is present Rustoleum, fluid film and the likes might help a little, hence, the area will keep on rusting under need the protection, paint-based products won't help. Iron can rust from either exposure to air or exposure to moisture. Both oxygen and moisture are a catalyst for rusting. Only galvanizing systems work to avoid further damage.

 

If you have a need, I would suggest, buy a box; pretty sure the cans will be taken of your hands before you receive the box, I have still a can that I use, 26 years old works the same as the first day.

 

Rust belt destroys all

 

It helps a lot. And you have to be proactive about it. Keep it clean and protected. Any rust that pops up and take care of it to keep it from spreading. My frame looks practically new. Compared to all the trucks of my coworkers who do nothing, they all have a ton of rust on the frame on 5-7 year old vehicles.

 

Have you ever scraped off some Rustoleum & Fluid Film from the affected area that you treated? The smallest bubble of oxygen will form rust under your layer of protection because it's not bonding. Rustoleum & Fluid Film are not bonding products.

In case of a vehicle, mechanical shocks are the biggest problem, the undercarriage is consistently exposed to particles, and debris hitting on high speed no matter where you drive. I.E., banging a painted surface with a hammer the paint comes off and the process of rusting accelerates, with a cathodic protection nothing comes off because of the bonding.

 

Wool wax. I buy it by the 55g drum, live in Ohio and nothing I have has any rust

 

Yes, Wool wax and others like fluid film, are good products to apply on a not affected area (like a new vehicle). Once rust starts it won't work.

 

I’ll have to disagree with that also. One of the reasons it works so well on a rusty surface is because it seals off the air and moisture. Doesn’t harden chip and crack and let moisture behind it like any other coating that dries.

 

It would work on surface rust as long as you saturate the rust. Wool wax is quite snotty and really sticks and gets absorbed into rust in a way that blocks out all air. Id probably hit a rusty area with fluid film first (it’s thinner) then top coat with woolwax.

The only thing is the mechanical forces you mentioned. It will come off on areas that get a lot of high pressure water, or if you drag your frame over dirt/lots of tall grass, or have lots of gravel hitting an area. It will be clear where it is wearing off, and those spots need touch ups.

All this said, I think that cold galvinizing treatment would be better to treat areas affected by substantial rust. But if you already have woolwax on, it would require a ton of cleaning/degreasing, plus the usual prepwork. Id worry that the lanolin would have worked it way into the pores and make the spray not stick.

It’s almost like you have to pick a method from the beginning and commit to that.

I know it’s not environmentally friendly, but I really wish toyota offered a galvinizing option for frames. If the hot dip galvinizing is too toxic, couldn’t they just do cold galvinizing at the factory? You would think that is less toxic.

 

Still the problem remains, rusting is a process with no direction on an oxidized surface, no matter which product you apply, the danger is penetration. Like I mentioned before, only a bonding product will work (cathodic protection).

Driving on a perfectly paved road, mechanical forces still apply, as well pollutants, salts, chemicals, the amount depending on your environment, and will sandblast your undercarriage. Again galvanization (bonding) is the only solution when rust starts.

For new vehicles, without rusted areas; Rustoleum & the likes are fine, which are Zinck rich paints, applied to a vehicle's undercarriage will help significantly.

Hot galvanization processes would be great, hence, expensive and indeed not so good for the environment.

 

Let me try to be a bit more specific; some time ago we observed rusting on almost new cars body & frame, the body is painted on a total steel surface (mild steel) today. Years ago, harder steel was used which is not so good for complex shapes, (presses form microscopic cracks in the steel (oxygen/moister is hiding with the results of forming rapidly rusting areas). Today mild steel is used for these applications, and for many important reasons besides rusting.

Mild steel; is commonly used for the outer panels of cars and other areas abound in complex shapes, and though this exposure would normally arouse worries of corrosion and rust, this has been controlled in recent years by special steel coating technologies such as zinc electro coating, galvannealing and electro coating, hot dipping the steel coils prior to their pressing. Wax injection and other sealing & painting processes also help to create a wear resistant skin whilst preserving its tough and ductile interior. As well mild steel used today is more economical & environmental much more friendly, contains around 30/35% recycled steel.

Going back to rust forming on the matter. I give you the chemical equation (C + O2 → CO2) (how much oxygen molecules iron oxide contains) the equation for rusting, four atoms of iron combine with three molecules of oxygen to form two molecules of iron oxide; bonds between the oxygen atoms in the oxygen molecule have been broken, and new bonds have formed between the carbon atom and the two oxygen atoms. So, please, give me you take on the behavior of rust, applying the products that you are pointing out?

 

I don’t need to stay up all night arguing with some random person on the internet. I also am a nace 2 certified inspector with cp. so I’m aware of the process. I know what works for me so that’s how I will continue my business, if you can blast or completely clean to bare metal, then a hard coating is better. Unless he’s gonna pull the cab and do that then there’s not much of an option other than a penetrant/sealant that doesn’t harden.

 

Keep it and move out of the rust belt to the desert.

 

Make sure you treat the interior of the frame as well.

 

Feel free to come up and scrape it off if you'd like. I'm comfortable with what I've been using.

 

I'm not arguing, just try to be helpful.

 

Just try to be helpful, to each his own.

 

I taught, any reasonable person would like to know, why & why not, sorry, if offended some of you with trying to explain the pro and cons.

 

This would be ideal! I wish I could afford to do that... seems like everyone else is moving west, anyplace I check listings is stupid expensive.

 

I appreciate your insight. I did a lot of research when I first got my 4R a few years back... there's a LOT of info out there, and it seems like everyone has their own preferred method, and a lot of them are effective.

 

That's the real worry. The exterior of my frame looks great, I put a lot of time and effort into it when I first got it, (Purchased used in Feb 2019, btw) but who knows what's going on INSIDE the frame or areas of the body that are hidden.

 

The fate of that FJ is my worry. The same happened to a guy in a local group. He took good care of it, it looked clean, and he still ended up with frame rot.

I bought my 13 in Feb of 2019 with 79k. Looked fairly clean underneath, had the surface rust one would expect on a 6yo New England vehicle.

That September I spent pretty much my whole week off under it. Sanded the surface rust with a few different size wire wheels on a drill. Treated with ospho. Cleaned off all the ospho residue. Prepped for paint, 2 coats of Rust Bullet over the rusted areas. Let dry, cleaned again, then 2 coats of satin black Rust-oleum, the oil based stuff from the can. Not too long after that I had it sprayed with Fluid Film at a shop. Since then I've periodically touched up with more FF, and in certain spots a product we make at work, basically a spray grease.

I procrastinated last fall and didn't get the FF applied, but it's still holding up well along with the other stuff I sprayed on. There's still a nice film on the frame.

Incidentally, I have a buddy with a 400k mile 3rd gen, he sprays down his chassis 2x a year with WD40 in a garden sprayer, and that, combined with the road grime/dust that has accumulated on the WD, has seemed to do an excellent job of preserving his frame.

My main other worry is the body. I feel like that's hard to prevent, and once it starts harder to stop.