Ex-rust-orer, or aka "Rust Bucket"

[FIND]

Hmm...seems you are always the one trying to sell the cars I go to look at buying. "Sir, I thought your ad said rust free." Seller - "It isn't?" :scratch:

In all seriousness, feel grateful that you have any metal around the gas filler cap at all. Mine (and everyone I've seen in the junkyard) don't have any left at all. Some of the more creative fixes I've seen are completely filling it with bondo (the guy who had mine before me) and completely riveting on a new piece but leaving exposed rivets so it looks like a battleship (junkyard).

I just want to randomly rivet parts of my truck together now.....

 

[beauboy]

That blows my mind! Glad I don't live in Arkansas (for more reasons than just the rust). I bought my '91 Ex brand-spankin' new in South Carolina. 4 years later, I shipped it to the rust capital of the world - Hawaii! 2 years later, back to South Carolina for another 5 years, and now in Florida for the past 9 years. Still no rust! Little bit of fading paint (after it's 2nd paint job 11 years ago).

Under my hood is lots of dirt, grime, and dust, but no rust.

I'd offer my 2 cents and say "shoulda used more wax and armorall."

 

[Baddecision93]

That blows my mind! Glad I don't live in Arkansas (for more reasons than just the rust). I bought my '91 Ex brand-spankin' new in South Carolina. 4 years later, I shipped it to the rust capital of the world - Hawaii! 2 years later, back to South Carolina for another 5 years, and now in Florida for the past 9 years. Still no rust! Little bit of fading paint (after it's 2nd paint job 11 years ago).

Under my hood is lots of dirt, grime, and dust, but no rust.

I'd offer my 2 cents and say "shoulda used more wax and armorall."

Hey, no wax and armorall in the world stops it up here. Ohio and Michigan coat the roads with salt like it's going out of style.
I dare you to give your truck to me or any other Ohioan/Michiganite and let it spend two winters without a garage .

 

[nitemare]

For the year you are doing great, but I am totally impessed with my 99, no rusted panels but had a front bearing changed a while back and as I hit the brakes driving out my pedal hit the floor. Rear brake line went, totally rotten, I drive hard and rely on my brakes good thing it happened there. Everyone should check them and if in doubt change them it's cheap enough and not worth getting killed over. I am in middle of Ontario where salt rules in the winter

 

[beauboy]

You got a good point, Baddecision. I'm pretty lucky that I've never had my Ex in an area that uses road salt.

 

[FIND]

Like I said before, up here, even our plastic parts rust.

 

[huntman58]

I know relatives of mine in the northern states buy autos every few years. They buy when the winter auto rust out. When that happens they get a newer one but it is a garage queen in the winter and the older one becomes the salt eater. And the circle just keeps going. In Idaho they use a sand that was more like small gravel did not eat parts with rust but it did eat pain and windows big time. Now in the big city of Boise they were using a liquid mix and it did rust things out. No idea what it was but melted ice and kept it melted really good but any thing like that I know eats metal big time

Now here in Calif. no rust at all in the valley here but pain and plastics do not live a long life under our hot beating sun in the summer with temps over 100 as a normal. so at 220,000 miles there is almost no rust at all not even were I damaged the door over 14 years ago and it has had bare metal showing all the time and is now only showing a bit of surface rust so I should think about fixing it in the next 100,000 miles LOL.

Now as for the power steering line I would just cut it off and then do what I need to on a bench as when they get that bad as you have found out its hard to get any wrench to fit right as not all side rust away or build up scale the same so even cleaning it to bare metal you will still have an odd sized hut to deal with.