Rustproofing, updating methods and products.

[Betoner]

Wow. Is that a 2021 car? Looks new.

2007, but well maintained. Regular (once a month) undercarriage washing during winter to wash all the salt. And of course mutual love, I take care for him and he takes care for me

 

[Mick W]

So I got over to Rob at Krown yesterday. Took just under 4 hours to do all the cavities and underside removing all access panels, lights etc. The rust is scored from 0-3 (0 being like new and 3 being severe rust). My Collie is a 99 FX so am happy to have received a score of 1.3 it would have been 1 except for the rear axle had flaking rust and a 30mm hole inside my front wheel arch under the headlight, not a failure but one to watch. I have a 6-month free check and Rob will respray the rear axle if required. He did ask what type of driving I did i.e. Normal, Off-Road etc. as more frequent application is required when off-roading because the mud when falling off can peel off the T40 solution (think that's what he meant). No apparent vapor inside the vehicle afterwards but the drive home was a little hairy for a while as the spray/mist can get onto the brake discs (Rob did warn of this). A few pics attached, not the best but I feel a lot happier this winter having spotted plenty of gritters out on the roads back from Birmingham. Stay safe everyone.

 

[Juddian]

Mick, was that a grey import, one of the best condition Collies i've seen for ages, would be amazed if had been here from new.

 

[Mick W]

@Juddian to be honest Rob at Krown thought it was an import but the V5 shows it was first registered in August 2000 as new. Its an FX model which is UK spec as far as I know. No winter pack etc.

 

[Rob Cowell]

While we're on this thread what are people's thoughts about covering the holes in chassis legs? On my "flakey" 120 there are a few 1-2" square holes from the factory, and unsurprisingly a good depth of mud inside the rails. If starting from a new, clean rail would it be better to seal them up, or are they needed for any moisture to have a chance of evaporating. I have to drive through a shallow ford every day so there is always water getting close.

 

[Raj]

Mick that looks better than my 7 year old Landcruiser.

 

[Raj]

Rob, I too had same doubt, the holes in my chassis were also big, there was lot of mud trapped inside, I tried using pressure washer. In a Australia video, I think his name is Shane, he used a long thin pipe as hose extension to pressure wash into Chasis holes.
I am looking at something like this

 

[flint]

These are handy if you've got a pressure washer:

Replacement Pressure Washer Hoses

Browse our full Replacement Pressure Washer Hoses range

cleantec.biz

 

[Tractionman]

RC, had this discussion with karl2000 back in the summer, after we had both treated underside and inside chassis rails/cavities. I looked into blocking them, some ridiculous size rectangles/holes. Rubber blanking grommets would do the smaller round holes and there are plastic round/rectangle and square bungs available in the right sizes for the bigger ones.
I did measure/price it all up, approx £50. I still may go down that route next year.
It would help if there were some holes in the bottoms to let the sh/t and water out, the design just traps it.

 

[chapel gate]

While we're on this thread what are people's thoughts about covering the holes in chassis legs? On my "flakey" 120 there are a few 1-2" square holes from the factory, and unsurprisingly a good depth of mud inside the rails. If starting from a new, clean rail would it be better to seal them up, or are they needed for any moisture to have a chance of evaporating. I have to drive through a shallow ford every day so there is always water getting close.

imo it would only work if you made the whole chassis air tight.
when removing the sub frame on the u140 i had to cut it up to reuse the pivot points. the frame was 6"x3" box section with no open ends or holes in it. it was 25 years old and only light flash rusting on the inside.

whenever ive cut a suspension control arm from a 80 or 100 series in two, the bare metal inside is completely rust free and like new.

for about half an hour..

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

The end of the chassis on my 120. Cleaned it all out and treated it. This is why towbars are falling off them now. I've cut the ends right off so the crap can drain out.

 

[Juddian]

MickW, i would have sworn that Collie of yours was an import and only seen maybe 2 or 3 UK salty winters, someone must have been keeping the underbelly cleaned off, whatever the reason its a beaut, i'm a big fan of Collies.

 

[Juddian]

I've got the drain cleaning kit and jets for my Kranzle pressure washer, never thought of using it to blast out the chassis.

It would certainly work, but you'd need to turn the pressure right down, when i jetted my house drains it dislodged all sort of limescale chunks which could easily have caused issues further down the line, you'd need a gentle flow or it'll strip bare any paint that might still be in place inside the chassis.
Oh and wear goggles because as the jets pass chassis openings you'll get blasted mercilessly.

 

[Tractionman]

Andy, have to agree there, when I had the rear bumper off my 120, the blanking plate on the end of one rail was full of rust holes, so I cut that and the other one off to leave open, and treated like you. The only problem is, the rails can't drain completely from there, as from the rear they go uphill over the rear axle. It will certainly stop the rear end/towbar mountings rotting away and stop sh/t building up though.

Raj, good find there for washing out. You could start a window cleaning round too, - put me down as a customer !

 

[Raj]

The purchase list is never ending. Got tool kit, screw drivers, engine service kit, Last month got axle stands n grease, grease gun. …. This month thought of trolley jack and this window cleaning set got added. There are a lot more in waiting list… , tracker, dash cam, wind deflectors… don’t know when I ll settle with my Landcruiser

 

[Mick W]

The purchase list is never ending. Got tool kit, screw drivers, engine service kit, Last month got axle stands n grease, grease gun. …. This month thought of trolley jack and this window cleaning set got added. There are a lot more in waiting list… , tracker, dash cam, wind deflectors… don’t know when I ll settle with my Landcruiser

Don't forget to buy a trailer for all that gear when you go anywhere Raj

 

[Dave_S]

The purchase list is never ending. Got tool kit, screw drivers, engine service kit, Last month got axle stands n grease, grease gun. …. This month thought of trolley jack and this window cleaning set got added. There are a lot more in waiting list… , tracker, dash cam, wind deflectors… don’t know when I ll settle with my Landcruiser

Hey - remember Christmas is coming - I'm sure you can ask Santa for more Cruiser related toys. Just tell the wife nothing says "I love you" like a compressor and airtools....

 

[RichC4]

Wow Mick, that's ridiculously clean for the age. My import scored 1.5 so you're doing better than me.

 

[Juddian]

A question for you lot.
Daughter and her chap are committed to Honda Civics and nothing wrong with that, perfectly decent cars, between them they have 4 of the things.
Finally they have come around to my way of thinking that some form of rust treatment is needed to help them last, 3 of the cars are high performance long termers in excellent low mileage condition so well worth the effort, one is the runaround shopping trolley which probably isn't worth the time.
It isn't going to be as easy to get these cars high off the ground, so its basically going to be 2 x trolley jacks lifting one side at a time and remove the wheels that side to enable suspension treatment and proper masking of the brake discs, i do have decent 4x4 sized axle stands to subsidise the jacks so will be well supported.

I initially thought of chain lube spraying the main underbody areas because oil based will get right into the nooks and crannies, i'm using ACF50 in a similar way as an annual top up on our Subaru and the 120, but enough ACF50 to do the 3 Hondas will be expensive.
Probably get half a dozen aerosol tins of Bilt Hamber's cavity wax for, yep, the cavities, sills doors etc.

Any suggestions from the collective gratefully received, treatment will be done in the summer next year and no doubt muggins here is going to be involved.

 

[Shayne]

If i ever do get around to doing the kids cars , a civic and a jazz , it will be aquasteel and one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Ele...10&hvtargid=pla-437289850487&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Just wish i could find and electric sprayer with a cavity hose .