As part of my restoration, I have the frame removed and stripped down which allowed me to do something of a case study on rust.
The car is from 2005, well kept from salt, used mostly in Southern Europe - Spain. I didn't think to take photos underneath when I got it, as it was more or less spotless. Fast forward 18 months and surface rust has started appearing both on the chassis and body. I have been offroading a lot, most of it through mud. During the winter I was washing it from salt as far as I could reach underneath on the driveway every couple of weeks.
Before I took the body off I had the car on a lift and meticulously cleaned underneath. There was no visible dirt or mud, it was very clean. After removing the body, it turned out that there are several areas that collect large amounts of dirt with no easy way to clean them.
Above the rear axle, between the spare tire and the tank. If the spare tire is removed, while washing, the dirt on the carrier might be cleaned. The dirt on top of the coil seats and shock mounts is almost impossible to reach, tucked under the body. The trapped moisture slowly eats trough the shock brackets. Apparently often the reason for AHC oil leaks.
The body area immediately above. The tubes in the middle are the end of the fuel tank neck. Some places trap dirt and again are almost impossible to reach and clean.
The AC line brackets suffer a lot from the moisture trapped between the bracket and the insulation. The lines corrode too. That's also why often the AC leaks from somewhere in the rear and people just seal it and leave only the front. This probably was one of the few already rusted parts when I got the car.
The tank shield (this one is for diesel) starts to rust around the holes and on the edges that drag through the mud. Mine was intact 18 months ago.
Behind the rear axles it rusts due to all the dirt that gets trapped in the corners and the sand and stones thrown by the tires. The driver side has it worse, as there is a hollow spot behind the plastic liner that I am pulling on the photo. To get there, you have to remove the tire and unbolt the liner. Mud accumulates and starts a lot of rust. In there is the fuel neck, behind that place is an AC drain.
The front of the body is faring much better. I guess the engine and gearbox arm it up and dry it and there are few dirt and mud pockets.
The engine bay is spotless. Dirty thing in the middle is the hood liner seen from underneath
Lots of seam sealer, but far from covering every seam underneath. By now most of it is cracked and is actually trapping moisture in the seams
The wheel arches are coated with the same material as the seam seals. Coverage on mine is inadequate. Inwards, towards the chassis is thick, but outwards it's very thin to nonexistent. Road debris have started lots of rust. This is the rear passenger wheel arch. I have removed the lining in the bottom half, top is all damage from debris.
The front wheel arches have plastic liners that protect them well. No issues there. The front of the chassis rusts around the tires, again thrown and trapped moisture, dirt, etc. Again it can corrode AHC lines that enter the shocks (rams)
The rest rusts along the welds (mine were rust free 18 months ago) and under the various mounting plates
While it might not be representative of each and every 100 out there, the development of rust on my car falls in line with what becomes evident at later stages with other people's cars.
The rear is having it the worst. That's why the rear axles, spare carrier, coil seats, tailgate usually have the worst rust. Judging by threads and posts the body is not particularly rusty, but one it gets rotten, it would be the skirts and wheel arches.
The car is from 2005, well kept from salt, used mostly in Southern Europe - Spain. I didn't think to take photos underneath when I got it, as it was more or less spotless. Fast forward 18 months and surface rust has started appearing both on the chassis and body. I have been offroading a lot, most of it through mud. During the winter I was washing it from salt as far as I could reach underneath on the driveway every couple of weeks.
Before I took the body off I had the car on a lift and meticulously cleaned underneath. There was no visible dirt or mud, it was very clean. After removing the body, it turned out that there are several areas that collect large amounts of dirt with no easy way to clean them.
Above the rear axle, between the spare tire and the tank. If the spare tire is removed, while washing, the dirt on the carrier might be cleaned. The dirt on top of the coil seats and shock mounts is almost impossible to reach, tucked under the body. The trapped moisture slowly eats trough the shock brackets. Apparently often the reason for AHC oil leaks.
The body area immediately above. The tubes in the middle are the end of the fuel tank neck. Some places trap dirt and again are almost impossible to reach and clean.
The AC line brackets suffer a lot from the moisture trapped between the bracket and the insulation. The lines corrode too. That's also why often the AC leaks from somewhere in the rear and people just seal it and leave only the front. This probably was one of the few already rusted parts when I got the car.
The tank shield (this one is for diesel) starts to rust around the holes and on the edges that drag through the mud. Mine was intact 18 months ago.
Behind the rear axles it rusts due to all the dirt that gets trapped in the corners and the sand and stones thrown by the tires. The driver side has it worse, as there is a hollow spot behind the plastic liner that I am pulling on the photo. To get there, you have to remove the tire and unbolt the liner. Mud accumulates and starts a lot of rust. In there is the fuel neck, behind that place is an AC drain.
The front of the body is faring much better. I guess the engine and gearbox arm it up and dry it and there are few dirt and mud pockets.
The engine bay is spotless. Dirty thing in the middle is the hood liner seen from underneath
Lots of seam sealer, but far from covering every seam underneath. By now most of it is cracked and is actually trapping moisture in the seams
The wheel arches are coated with the same material as the seam seals. Coverage on mine is inadequate. Inwards, towards the chassis is thick, but outwards it's very thin to nonexistent. Road debris have started lots of rust. This is the rear passenger wheel arch. I have removed the lining in the bottom half, top is all damage from debris.
The front wheel arches have plastic liners that protect them well. No issues there. The front of the chassis rusts around the tires, again thrown and trapped moisture, dirt, etc. Again it can corrode AHC lines that enter the shocks (rams)
The rest rusts along the welds (mine were rust free 18 months ago) and under the various mounting plates
While it might not be representative of each and every 100 out there, the development of rust on my car falls in line with what becomes evident at later stages with other people's cars.
The rear is having it the worst. That's why the rear axles, spare carrier, coil seats, tailgate usually have the worst rust. Judging by threads and posts the body is not particularly rusty, but one it gets rotten, it would be the skirts and wheel arches.
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I power wash often.
