Am I one of the last subframe/underbody rinsers? Of road salt, that is...
Was looking with a friend at cars a few years old today and piles of dirt and corrosion scabs on the subframes of some cars.
I have a habit from years ago, of washing the salt of underneath very frequently in winter. On one of my recent cars I brushed waterproof grease onto the subframes. (Not worth bothering is it :)
But reflecting on it, is it worth it anymore? can modern cars make it to 10/12 years or so with no attention at all underneath?
Are modern ( cheapish) cars now just an appliance and washing salt off and worrying about subframe corrosion, relegated to the memories of old uncle John in the 1960s and his Ford Anglia?
Regards
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I do it. And in the summer when it's dry I spray a bit of waxoil on any vulnerable or incipient brown bits.
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I'm with you. If I can't avoid going out on salty roads, then I try to hose under the sills and wheel arches. I try to brush old engine oil on wishbones and subframes whenever I have it in the air.
To me, leaving it to rot is like burning fivers.
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I kept a Mini going until it was 17 years old by waxoiling the subframes and injecting sill etc. Then hosing down after winter . It was still presentable and not too rusty when sold.
I still waxoil the parts (subframesetc) where paint is chipped/rusty. SWMBO's 106 floorunder boot is still hole after 14 years.
Sinc eth time involved is 60 mins evry 2 years and I have still half a 5litre Waxoil can (10 years old) it is minimal cost/maximum return which makes sense ..
madf
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yep i jetwash mine as often as possible in winter
not convinced waxoil stops anything thats started to go, but worth it if you start with a rust free car
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I did it years ago - washed all underside and got all mud and carp off - a few years later I had a smell of petrol from back end - turned out the fuel tank had a dish shape on top with fuel level sensor in it - my exhuberent hosing had filled the well with water and had rusted through tank - caused more problems than it solved.
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Nice to see its not just me then :)
I used to spray oil under cars in the 60`s then lots of waxoiling etc in early 80`s cars.
With current new cars,
I rinse salt off with a normal garden hose *very* frequently in winter. Then at 3 yrs old get it on the ramps and do limited waterproof greasing/waxoiling, on any underbody componants showing rust.
Then repeat this at 2 to 3 year intervals. So far Castrol CL waterproof grease has shown up best for lasting underneath.
I dont do internal box sections any more as (IMHO) pulling the rubber plugs could lose the original seal.
I also spray the inside of the door bottoms with grease , once , at about 3 years old through the door drain holes.
I`m more *reactive* these days,. rather than trying to totally trying to saturate the whole thing *preventatively*, as I did years ago. Having found that waterproof grease just stops rust for years.
I dont like pressure washing underneath. A friend who tended to go berserk with a ( home) pressure washer underneath his car every weekend in winter, had his car start to rust badly all along the double skinned rear wings. I suspect he had managed to get the soapy fluid blasted into the double skins, either via the rubber plugs, or a bad seal.
Its just a personal view, but I think cars just benefit from very little effort these days to get up to , or past 15 years or so and that a lot of them would make it anyway.
( but who can sit reading the paper when you just know that subframe is scabbed with rust? It just makes me twitch for a handful of waterproof grease :) :)
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Depends whether you're running a newer car or not. My older cars only go out in the good weather. My everyday car gets sold long before corrosion would cause a problem. Bit selfish maybe but it's someone else's problem.
I'm not convinced modern cars rust anyway. I suspect very few cars get scrapped these days due to rust - more likely a failed ABS unit or dodgy common rail pump...
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I wash (and brush) inside the wheel arches every time I wash the car.
--
L\'escargot.
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In the old days I also had a 5l can of WaxOil - amongst the uses to which it was put was to coat all the ignition leads and distributor to ensure reliable winter starting.
Eventually many of my neighbours, who had enquired as to why my car normally started first time even in the depths of winter, casually asked if they could "borrow" the can of WaxOil; even so the can lasted quite a few years.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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For thirty years I had Land Rovers and I used one of the Waxoil sprayers and the probes supplied with them once a year. I still try to fathom out how I was always more waterproof than the Land rover when I had finished. Must say that it did its job of protecting very well but very messy if you dont cover the floor under and around the vehicle
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On the subject of underneath rust, can anyone advise me on the best course of action with my MX5?
I bought the car, a '97, about 14 months ago. It was a private sale and I kind of rushed into it. The car looks really rusty underneath (the wishbones, links and subframes) and I don't know what I can do about it. I have been advised that the car is sound enough and that I should just leave it, replacing bits as and when I need to. When I replace bits, I should like to ensure that they will never rust. Is this a good idea?
If I could, (I don't have the time, money, equipment or skills) I'd like to lift the body off, and replace all the suspension arms and both subframes, and put it back together.... Quite a big job I suspect. Does anyone know if this would be possible for an keen amateur? Also, will it be possible to buy new bits (wishbones / subframes) in the furure? They stopped making this car in '97.
Simon
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About modern cars not being scrapped due to rust.
I just looked through our local yellow pages which covers two Northern cities.
50+ valeters listed, but NO rustproofing companies. I think that says it all really.
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If I had a classic or rare car then maybe I would go this trouble.
The truth is however that for any day to day car I would no more consider getting on my hands and knees to clean and protect a car underbody, than I would licking the tyres clean with my tongue. Utter waste of time.
If it gets to the stage where it fails MOTs due to rust, it gets hauled off to the scrapper.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Alan, Thats what I was doing with Mini`s in the 60s. I remember being soaked myself in waxoil and needing to wipe down with white spirit afterwards. Remember it burning when it soaked into my pants: :(
Still find it hard to believe sometimes, that cheap modern car like ours ( two puntos) do not rust and that stonechips dont rust either.
I dont know why auto/web road tests dont try a little stone chip test to see if the car being tested is really galvanised.
I suppose its just not on peoples radar these days?
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Yes, I sometimes go to the jetwas and give just the underneath a blast during winter until the roads stop getting salted. I have lots of Waxoyl and Dinitrol in a cupboard have never got around to using it on any car I've owned due to the potential mess!
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Although most car bodies' seem fairly rust resistant, from the OP's title the 'subframe' is a different kettle of rust. Almost, without exception, I notice car suspension compoents & fixing points on the car underside have thick rust - the exception being brand new cars & Japanses imports - amazing to see 10 year old vans looking pristine, with the merest dull metallic patina gracing their naughty bits.
It would gnaw at my soul, as much as a leaking roof rotting my rafters would, to think I'd got a rusty underside. I do hesitate, slightly, applying a full power jetwash & fret that I might have pushed 'carcinogenic' salty slush into panel gaps or nicely greased joints & bushings, but overall, would feel like someone who'd bathed & dressed in clean clothes without washing their feet & dangly bits otherwise.
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