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Rust. - FotheringtonThomas
Bother. When I jacked up the rear offside of the car, and took the wheel off, the flipping thing then wouldn't go back on, the PCD of the studs coincided approximately with the centre of the wheel. Had the wheel expanded from the heat of my hands? Had the earth mysteriously moved, or the jack sunk into it? No, it blinking well hadn't. The flipping jacking point had disappeared up inside the bodywork somewhere, and the car was slowly descending. Drat and double drat. The last time I saw such was when the N/S jacking point on an old Morris - a tubular affair with a rubber bung in the end to (try and) keep the muck out of it - actually fell off when a wheel was being changed.
Rust. - Brentus
That's a gutter FT. My deepest sympothy.
Rust. - Altea Ego
what car is this on?


reminds me of the tale of a colleague, who was stuck with a puncture on a soft roadside verge. The base of the jack kept sinking into the mud. Easily cured by using his laptop under the jack as a load spreader............
Rust. - FotheringtonThomas
It's an old Honda. I dread to think what the rest of it's like (in the "rear body" area), in view of this happening.

Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 29/12/2009 at 20:00

Rust. - Jcoventry
What car and what year? Sounds like some serious rot going on there.
Rust. - L'escargot
Am I right in thinking that salt (as applied to roads in winter) needs moisture to cause corrosion? If my car is wet when I put it in the garage I switch on my dehumidifier to dry out the car.
Rust. - Jcoventry
Moisture is the main catalyst of the oxidation process, along with oxygen. Given enough time exposed to both of these, exposed metal will eventually rot and disintegrate. I hose down the underside of my car, in the wheel arches, every week during the winter. This gets rid of any road salt, dirt, grit, tar, etc which would otherwise just sit on the metal and never fully dry out.

As for the Honda. 80s/90s Hondas are very prone to rust. My neighbour has an M reg Civic, which has lots of rust bubbling everywhere, especially around the wheel arches. I suspect it has some rot underneath. By the time of the late 90s, some parts of the Prelude were galvanised, but not all. And even then, they didn't take any specific measures such as rustproofing from the factory.
Rust. - grumpyscot
I used to own a Lancia Beta. So any stories about rust by anyone else are just minor events!
Rust. - corax
Same here. I used to own an Alfasud. Say no more!
Rust. - Clk Sec
1972 Chrysler 180 was my rust-bucket.

Clk Sec
Rust. - piggy
I used to own a Lancia Beta coupe and an Alfasud(but not at the same time) I became an expert at rubbing down fibreglass and spraying! Come to think of it,we often see French and Italian cars rubbished for their reliability on this forum.When did you last see one with rust on as opposed to more prestigious marques?
Rust. - gordonbennet
I hose down
the underside of my car in the wheel arches every week during the winter. This
gets rid of any road salt dirt grit tar etc which would otherwise just sit
on the metal and never fully dry out.


Top man Jcov, but be warned this leads to ever increasing tlc for your car (such as lifting the bonnet, or heaven forbid changing the oil.;) and you'll be teased and worse mercilessly, so ''don't tell'em Pike''.
Rust. - dieselfitter
>>I hose down the underside of my car, in the wheel arches, every week during the winter.

JC, I'm wondering how you actually do this. Regular hose with spray nozzle? Pressure washer? Most cars are pretty low to the ground and it's difficult to get a hose underneath and actually see what you're doing etc. I have good intentions to do this, but usually give up, unsure if I'm actually achieving much.
Rust. - Jcoventry
dieselfitter - garden hose with a hozelock nozzle. my car is small - i just hose absolutely everywhere, reach as far as i can on the underside. i spend most the time hosing under the wheel arches (real dirt traps those are) and removing salt from the important bits like suspension arms, etc.
Rust. - L'escargot
>>I hose down the underside of my car in the wheel arches every week during
the winter.
JC I'm wondering how you actually do this. Regular hose with spray nozzle? Pressure washer?
Most cars are pretty low to the ground and it's difficult to get a hose
underneath and actually see what you're doing etc.


What about using a closed ended tube which has a row of upward facing holes along the side, attached to the hose, and waved about under the car?

Under the wheelarches I use a hose with a variable jet attachment and a brush.

Edited by L'escargot on 30/12/2009 at 12:15

Rust. - gordonbennet
Underneath the arches....Humph gave a good answer last year to this question and i do exactly that now...slide lawn sprinkler spinner attachmnet under car in various spots for a few minutes whilst the cars nice and wet, it works a treat.
So obvious but i hadn't thought of it.

Obviously this underside washing must be undertaken whilst the salt is still wet, no good leaving it all winter like some do.

I nip through the ford on the way home now and again this weather too, that shifts a lot.
Rust. - dieselfitter
Rotating garden sprinker - go indoors for a cup of coffee and let it do the business - I like it!
Rust. - Jcoventry
yeah but its not going to be as thorough as doing it yourself. there are lots of crevices where dirt gets stuck. a scrubbing brush or something similar under the wheel arches is a good idea.
Rust. - gordonbennet
a scrubbing brush or something similar under the
wheel arches is a good idea.


Not sure about a scrubbing brush, i use the hose pipe on a fairly soft jet and just my fingers to work the crud loose in the arches, done weekly at wash time it never gets established anyway, constant scrubbing could cause loosening of the paint/sealant.

the garden sprinkler is very good for getting to those places impossible to see.
Rust. - madf
Waste of time and oh so cold. I hose the arches 4 times a year..

(But then I have waxed all possible rust spots.

AT 1C you don't want to use any hose...At -1C, it's worse. At -8C last week, you cannot.


Rust. - Jcoventry
AT 1C you don't want to use any hose...At -1C it's worse. At -8C last
week you cannot.


VERY rarely goes as low as -8 C in Sheffield! It's 1 C here today.

20 year old Honda? Well that's no surprise at all then. All the ones that aren't restored will have serious rot by now, unless they were waxoyled from new, or kept in a garage all its life.
Rust. - FotheringtonThomas
It's an old Accord - it's 20!
Rust. - corax
sounds like its done well so far. what are the engine and drivetrain like on it?. I've heard they're pretty durable, especially after looking at Honda Beat.com
Rust. - old crocks
The flipping jacking point had disappeared up inside the bodywork somewhere and
the car was slowly descending.


The last time that happened to me was back in the early 70s. Unfortunately I was under the car at the time and got rather a shock. I finally squeezed myself out and vowed to buy some axle stands!
Rust. - 1400ted
The nearside jacking point on the Jowett has been needing attention this year.
It also supports the B post.
It's been about 12 years since I fitted a new jack point.
Only the nearside has gone, guess where the salt water puddles form on the road ! Repaired now with 18 gauge plate and oxy/axy....should last a good long time now. Have had a customer with a 20 yr old Honda...welded holes in the sills every year recently. Car now in the car valhalla now due to auto gearbox fail....thank heavens !

Ted