Frame rust- when to do?

[JasonF]

I have a 1996 XLT that is in really nice condition. It has been in my family since new and there is no body rust at all. However, the frame, leafs, everything underneath it seems is rusty. Are vehicle frames just left as bare metal with the thought that the vehicle will die before the frame rusts through? Is this just surface rust and it's nothing to worry about? This may seem like a dumb question but I'd really like to know if this is considered normal. thanks!

 

[KillerXLT]

My 95 has 120,000 miles and has rust on the frame as well. Mine has also been in the fam since new and pops handed it down to me. The paint is actually chiping off on parts of the frame. I pealed off the chips and sprayed it w/ Rustolym for now. When I get a chance I will sand it and respray it. I was also thinking about undercoating with that stuff that the dealership uses when you buy the vehicle brand new. I have heard that a vehicle only needs to be undercoated only once. But obviously that is not true in my case.

 

[Skugga]

My X was also in my family since it was new. It older than either of yours but it started rusting about 2 years ago. I cleaned it up a little and used this stuff made by Eastwood called rust encapsulator on it. You can put it on over the rust and it does something to stabilize the rust. When it dries it looks like red primer so you can put any kind of black paint or undercoating over it.

 

[squd92expsp]

Can the leaf springs and coil springs be painted as well?

I was thinking about the rust collecting on my frame a few days ago and already got plans to paint the underside of my x.

 

[Hartman]

There is a number of ways that you can take care of the rust on the underside and make it look better. You can spray truck bed coating under there or use Rustoleum. Take a look of my rear!

 

[Jason_25]

The rust is normal. It's just surface rust and won't hurt anything. The rust you should worry about is rust on the body!

It would take 16486937537352385.462373 years for your frame to actually rust away.

 

[Robb]

Yea, only clean and paint the frame for looks. The surface rust itself will prevent any other rusting from occuring.

Robb

 

[punkbek3886]

should deep flaking rust be taken care of quickly? i dont like it and one of these days im gonna grind it all off and paint it. i think the guy who used to own mine used it to launch a boat and the back end went into salt water.

 

[Robb]

YES!..............flacking rust is a different story. It allows water to get trapped, causing more and more penetrating rust. Surface rust OK, penetrating rust NOT OK.

Robb

 

[MONMIX]

Originally posted by Hartman
Take a look of my rear!

I always get nervous when a guy tells me to do that.

 

[Bronco_bill]

an old trick I use, next time you change your oil save it ,get a paint brush slop it on everything you want to protect, then drive over a dusty road, in about three days all the extra crap will drip off, better than any protection you can buy.

 

[topo4u2]

I agree with Bill, the best treatment is oil and a brush but it is very tedious and dirty work but I did mine, and have been doing all the vehicles I owned. I only wish I could afford to buy a new one and do it. I doubt I would ever see rust on it.

 

[punkbek3886]

im gonna get a wheel for the drill and wheel all that stuff off. the only thing im worried about though is the top of the frame since it is almost flush against the body and i wouldnt be able to get the wheel in there or a wire brush. i guess a simple solution to that would be to get a body lift lol.

 

[Bored_2wd]

What you need is a product called POR-15. This costs like 30 bucks a quart, but it goes a really long way. This stuff is designed to be painted on directly over rust. It reacts with the rust and adheres to it, sealing the oxygen out. Hence, no more rust and it's incredibly strong. It will react with air, so once the quart is open the clock starts ticking. unused portions will need to be sealed and put in the fridge to keep it good for a few months.
This stuff is incredible. Nothing takes it off, so if you use it and get it on skin, basically plan on at least a week before it comes off. It is sensitive to light, so it needs a light coat of paint over it.
You can also buy an acid to spray on the rust before painting that helps the bonding process even more.
Oh, you know how paint takes longer to dry in humid conditions? This stuff actually dries faster the more humid it is! It is awesome stuff.
--Bob

 

[zekex2]

rustoleum makes a converter that you can buy at home depot it . I have used it in wet enviorments and am happy with it.

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by Jason_25

It would take 16486937537352385.462373 years for your frame to actually rust away.

Can you show the calculations that you did to get this number?

Some things about California suck, but rusty cars isn't one of them.

 

[thegoon543]

could you also use rhino lining for the undercarriage? or would it just be a pain to apply?

 

[jaybyrd]

Well for every vehicle I've owned I've used a trick I learned from my father who was an electrical engineer.
Without going into full details, the idea is to stop any metal on the vehicle from oxidizing. So with a capacitor and a coupler run off the battery you can create a negative DC charge and apply it to the entire chassis, just enough overpotential to resist the chemical reaction that causes rust. In very wet or snow conditions salts from the water containing Na2+ and Cl- as you all know are the main culprits in oxidation. So instead of the rust being produced you are basically reverse plating from your truck creating a half cell electro-chemical reaction which you are simply pushing back the other way by providing a pulsating negative charge just big enough to form a ferric oxide layer on the exposed metal surfaces; which means it can't rust.

I've seen systems advertised for hundreds of bucks, but with a little wire, and about $20 spent at radio shack, you can stop any rust from forming without ever getting dirty, or buying products which you need to use every year.

 

[ld50]

Well for every vehicle I've owned I've used a trick I learned from my father who was an electrical engineer.

Please outline exactly what you are doing here. I don`t quite follow, but know a little about corrosion. Couldn`t you use some sort of sacrificial anode setup to shed the charge to earth through? I always pondered a method like this, similiar to what boats will have to slow corrosion.

And this doesn`t cause a problem with the negative ground system?

Please show me any diagrams, pictures, drawings, schematics, 3d images, and videos of this proceedure!

 

[jaybyrd]

Basically what you need to do is take the voltage from your battery and invert it to output low amperage high voltage (400-450 D.C. Volts ), and at 3 or 4 points around the vehicle you send this voltage into the frame and chassis through capacitive couplers, essentially turning your entire vehicle into a giant coupler with the vehicle acting as the negative plate and the capacitive coupling points as the positive plates. The charges are localized but continually hold an overpotential on the metal surfaces of your vehicle thanks to the insulating layers of paint on the body. So while normally during corrosion OH- are being generated as a byproduct of the iron giving up 2 electrons, the constant field charge of the coupling effect your vehicle now has stops the chemical reaction from shifting electrons to the right. This is especially important in preventing chips, and scratches from starting the initiation step in the reaction of Fe(solid) = Fe - 2e- which in turn would normally generate oxidizing hydroxyl groups when mixed with moisture or good old H2O.

Should also be noted that because this is DC voltage with almost no Amperage it has absolutely no effect on your vehicles electrical systems or computer. I mean your could hold on to a million volts with your tongue as long as there was no amperage.

Hope that helps explain it a little better. Don't have pics or drawings but I'll see if I can borrow a digital camera and show everyone my setup and lack of rust looks like.
I'd even be willing to put together some kits if enough people are interested. I could sell them for about $50 with a profit to me of around $10 per unit.