HELP: rust on 2001 driveshafts

[Hawken]

Hello Guys,

I am new to this forum and Explorers so I hope you pros can give me some advice. I have a 2001 Exp XLT 4 door sport SOHC 4x4, just under 2900 miles. I was changing my oil last night and I noticed that the font and rear drive shafts as well the "U-joint" brackets were covered with surface rust. The rear more than the front shaft. The rear shaft is totally covered with surface rust . I want to get a long happy life out of my baby, what should I do?? I was thinking that I might use naval jelly and scotch brite pads to get the rust off and paint the shafts with undercoating, the DIY stuff, but what about the U-joint brackets? Is it ok to paint them with undercoat spray or should I just coat them with grease? I don't know much about trucks but I know that rust is not a good thing.


PS: How tight should I screw on the oil filter? It was mighty damn tight when I took it off. I was using a cap wrench so I put it on tight but not too tight. I probably could have gone another 1/2 -1 turn.


Any and all help would be gladly appreciated.


Live free for we live in freedom

Hawken

 

[JDraper]

Hi Hawken, Welcome to the site. We hope you enjoy your stay as much as the rest of us do!!

As for the surface rust on your driveshafts, it's completely normal. Don't do anything to them. If you clean them off, you will accelerate the corrsion process by removing the oxidation layer that helps protect the shafts. DO NOT use undercoating on the shafts. It may cause an imbalance and make them vibrate.


As for the oil filter tightening, most of the filters have the amount to tighten them right on the box. Usually it is 1/2 to 1 turn after they contact. You don't want to crank them down as it may push the seal out and cause a leak.

Hope this helps

 

[mrboyle]

Jeff is right on on the rust and use of under coating. If you feel that you need to paint the driveshaft to prevent rust try Rustoleum (sp?) spray paint. Just be sure to keep the coats as even as possible. Though in all reality, surface rust is no big deal on driveshafts. They all (except aluminum and composite) have surface rust and it would take well over fifty years for the rust to even affect the strength of the driveshaft.

As for the filter, my rule is: If you can't get it to break loose by hand 3 months after you install it, you over tightened it.

 

[srpauliesr]

Also don't forget to apply some clean oil to the seal before installing the new filter. I have also gotten in the habit of filling the filter most of the way before installing to prevent a dry start. If your careful you can do this with out a spill.

 

[Lamah]

i dont think filling the filter is neccisary, the engine should be coated enough to run for a few seconds until the oil enters it.