Rust on your Rig in the Rust Belt??????

[hammersley]

Hey I grew up in North Central Pa where salt killed cars - I mean a car that was 10 years old was dying of cancer... ... . when I moved out here I couldn't get over how many old cars were looking fantastic, meaning that one could afford to keep them running as the bodies were great. I was wondering does that still happen - I mean are you guys with the 1st gen's in the salt areas having them hold together OK or is this still a big problem???????

 

[JLEONARD]

Cancer is still an epidemic here.

 

[Philip]

Most of us in the rust belt are having problems. I am replacing my cab this summer from rust. My left side cab corner and rocker are gone. The left side front floor support is going to.



I'll be getting a cab out of AL in a month or so.

 

[biggieou]

My dad's is solid, no rust at all on her, but it also has about 1/4inch of cosmolene under it. Everything is covered in that stuff, but I suppose thats what kept it from rusting. Mine has no rust on it thanks to the tremendous job that the original owner(TDR member Mickey List)did at keepin her clean. As for it now, I have it parked for the winter to keep it out of the salt, that crap is nothing but bad news!

 

[Philip]

I have it parked for the winter to keep it out of the salt

A lot of us don't have that option.

 

[JLEONARD]

Yup... mines a daily driver too. When it falls apart this time I'll buy another one.

Not worth the $$ at this point.

 

[biggieou]

A lot of us don't have that option.

I understand that, I just have a classic winter beater that I am driving, bought it off my uncle for a couple hundred bucks. Its really sad I miss my truck sooooooooo much!

 

[Greenleaf]

I have a 92 that is getting real bad even after it's been repainted and body pannels replaced. It's an Ohio truck all the way.



I have a 90 that came from the south and is very much as sound as the day it was made, minus the flaking paint.



The thing with rust is that when you repair "some" of the rust it's still there to grow and spread. You'd have to have a vehicle from texas or replace all of the body with new to completely eliminate it. That is, untill you drive it in salt water again.



-S

 

[DRU]

If you change your own oil and I bet most of you do, save it in an old gas can. Then take a shallow pan like a painter would use and take a ****ty old brush and coat the underside of your rig. I did it to all my vehicles this year. We have a lot of salt in michigan and it seems to help. Even water makes things rust and after a drive in the rain you can see water bead up where you did it. A very old farmer friend told me to do it, says its worked for him for years.

 

[ezcurra]

I have a couple of classic vehicles that I have gone to great lengths to preserve. Undercoating, spraying oil and washing the underside of your vehicle will slow down corrosion, but NOTHING will stop it. For that reason, I'd rather walk to work than to drive my '66 Toronado or '63 Jeep J300 in the winter. Salt eventually gets everywhere and corrodes every imaginable ferrous part.



My daily driver is a '95 Cherokee. Every fall, I get underneath with a wire brush and some Zerorust and I coat every area that might begin to rust. This helps, but I know that my Cherokee will be a rusty hulk some day.

 

[Signal73]

My 95's body is in Pretty good shape, no rust coming through doors/rockers, etc. . The undercarrage like in by the shock towers and the passenger side especialy or the motor is rusted to hell. My freeze plugs look like I can poke my finger through them.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I looked around and found the serpentine drive belt, the seat belts, the belted sidewalls, and the belt tensioner..... but no rust belt

 

[JTCHess]

Cab Rust

Regardless if you're in the rust belt or not, our trucks are subject to it. My 93 D350 has developed rust in the cab roof under the clearance lights right above the windshield. My truck has absolutely no rust anywhere else. I haul my Elkhorn camper with it and do not drive it in the snow and rarely drive it in any bad weather (rain). Needless to say, it is now being repaired and I'll be sure to keep the inner panels of my truck cab sprayed with WD-40 or the like to prevent it's return.



John

 

[ezcurra]

... and I'll be sure to keep the inner panels of my truck cab sprayed with WD-40 or the like to prevent it's return.



John

Remember, DW-40 is a degreaser, not a lubricant. Once it evaporates, it will allow stuff to rust.

 

[JOdell]

I have a 2001 and my door bottoms are rusted BIG TIME! I wash it all the time dry it and wax it 3-4 times a year and it is still there. This has really upset me as I have NEVER had a rusty vehicle living her in INDY. -Jason

 

[Signal73]

In the spring I plan on stripping down the door panels inside and lining them with POR 15 to take care of any ugliness hiding inside, then Coating that with the 3M rustfighter stuff for extra protection.

 

[lklauder]

I had some rust on both doors and on the tailgate and back bumper of the 1990 250D that I purchased a couple of years ago from a turbodieselregister.com classified. As I do not like trying to fight rust with paint, I had my body shop strip those parts and drove them to a local hot-dip galvanizing plant and got them back one week and $150 later all bright and shiny. The body shop put everything back together including a few new door parts and it has worked out nicely. The appearance of the weathered and no longer shiney hot dipped galvanized is not identical to the grey paint on the rest of the body but it is close, and I like it.

 

[rlyons]

Now I see why I moved to the South and stayed here, I remember growing up in Ohio and my seats falling through the rusted floor boards! I can now remove exhaust bolts that have been on there for 10 years and the rock chips don't rust even untouched up. I would hate to think of my truck rusting out.

 

[David_VT]

Any 2nd gen updates:

My 99 cab corners, door sills and door bottom edges are going fast. The cab corners both opened up in the last 3 weeks.

I love Vermont but the rust thing is a real drag... .

 

[RDHamill]

Rust Check brand name, protect vehicles appearance, proofing companies, manufactures rust preventatives, manufacturer of coatings, manufacturer of rust paints, manufacturer of lubricants and auto repair industry



this stuff WORKS, my '01 ( over 300,000 miles in Atlantic canada) has no rust.