Undercoating my new 4Runner in Ottawa

Hi guys,
Will finally get my 2024 4Runner this week. I have always loved that car and I am finally getting one, can’t say how excited and happy I am.
I have been reading over the last few weeks about rust protection, I live in Ottawa and we get lots of salt in winter.
I decided I want to go with Fluid Film, I bought the spray gun and the Fluid Film, but I don’t have a car lift.
Does anyone know any place where I can go and pay to rent their car lift to undercoat my car? Also if anyone can help me with some advices on undercoating the 4Runner, that would be great,
Thank you,

 

You don't need a lift.
Took me about half n hour and maybe 2, 3 cans. I am not sure what people are doing with 500 cans and 5 days in doing it.
Get in there and spray the frame inside out.
On the front-
Intermediate steering shaft joint
Below the Radiator cross member
Hood latch
Under the AC drain pipe
Some people do the door holes. I did not.
Rear-
Spare wheel mechanism.
Inside rear bumper
Tail gate latch.
While you under there, anything metal you feel that will get excessive water exposure, spray it.

 

Thanks for your reply, appreciate your advice.
I am ok to crawl under the car, I just saw everyone using lift and I thought it’s needed.
Just few more inquiries if you don’t mind,
- do I need to spray the spare tire itself? Or only its housing?
- do I need to remove the wheel wells’ linings?
- what do I need to spray under the hood?

I assume I will need to:
- remove the skid plates.
- drop the spare tire.
Do I need other preparation?

thanks a lot

 

I crawled under 4Runner and sprayed Fluid Film inside the frame. It is tall truck, you don't need a lift to fit under it. Just keep in mind exhaust will give you burns if you touch it after it was driven. Then I took the truck to Krown for the rest of it.

I only removed spare tire, kept everything else as-is. Mine is limited, so minimal armor under it.

 

I live in an apartment so I just put the front 2 wheels on the parking kerb. I cannot go under the 4runner unless it's raised slightly.
Lower the spare tire and spray the mechanism and the frame where it sits.
The wheel well is fine. It's already coated under it but if you want you can. It's just too much work with all those nasty push clips etc.
The hood latch where the hood locks is known to rust. Lithium grease should be fine there. I have heard people spraying inside the hood but I see no reason for it. YMMV
No need to lower the skid plates.
Wear disposable clothes. It stinks. Put a tarp on your floor.

 

I had mine done by vendor, but I did some spot touch-ups myself. Ramps are handy for getting some better spray angles and avoiding incidental contact with already-sprayed parts. Avoid getting it on any exhaust components. In addition to the areas mentioned, I also sprayed a bunch inside the control arms and other on other exposed steel underneath. I got the radiator cross member really well.

 

Thanks for sharing, just a question, why did not you consider spraying it all with Fluid Film? Is Krown better than Fluid Film? I might end up doing like you, just trying to understand all my options.

 

Thanks again for sharing and for your advice, that’s really helpful.

 

Sorry guys, more inquiries, did you spray the suspension? I mean the spring coils and shocks? I heard multiple videos mentioning to avoid getting oil on the bushings, is it possible to spray this part without spraying on rubber parts?
Please pardon me if I my question has technical inaccuracies, I do bot have great mechanical experience, just trying to learn.

 

If there is an area I want to put fluid film on but don't want any over spray, I put some fluid film on my hands ( wear gloves) and apply it like that. Having said that, I did not do my suspensions parts. They will have surface rust but that's about it.
The idea is to cover areas that are impossible to replace like the frame. A rusted lower control arm can be swapped out for a new one.
You will have to keep up with the application every year or 2 years depending upon where you live because FF washes away eventually.

 

It is messy job that I did not want to do myself, but I did the part that I thought was critically important - preventing rust inside the frame. So I applied it to a new frame and unlikely to redo it.

Fluid Film lasts longer, but doesn't flow as well, so harder to get into fine crevices. Krown also doesn't stink but it does drip more, especially on a hot day.

I use Krown mostly because there is a good shop applying it in my area. When done yearly it is very effective at preventing rust.

 

Thanks for sharing.