200 Series Rust - Opinions? (1 Viewer)

[SilverHundo]

Hey all. Looking at getting a 200 for the wife. We typically don't keep vehicles for more than 2-3 years so this would not be a long term purchase. I'm in South Carolina so don't deal with rust much. This 200 spent it's first two years in Maryland, then was in North Carolina for the past 11 years. Really good maintenance records, body and interior are in excellent shape. Drives like a dream, and the price is great (probably 4-5K below what I've been seeing for similar year and mileage).....I'm just worried about the rust.

I'm not afraid of getting dirty and treating it. Based on the research I've done, my plan would be:

1) Knock off as much rust as possible with wire wheel and wire brush.
2) Spray any rust with Rust Reformer
3) Coat the undercarriage with Fluid Film

And I don't mind "staying on top of it" in a year or so and repeating process.

The inside of the frame seems pretty rust free.

Any thoughts from some of the Northern owners would be great. Like I said, we just don't deal with it down here much. My 100 series is completely rust free.

Thanks you in advance!

 

[Sandroad]

It’s sad to see one like this, but given your use case, other history, your length of ownership, and your care plans, I’d say it’s a buy. I assume it’s a 2010. Get it, clean it up as much as possible, and enjoy it! I’ve seen much worse!

 

[SilverHundo]

It’s sad to see one like this, but given your use case, other history, your length of ownership, and your care plans, I’d say it’s a buy. I assume it’s a 2010. Get it, clean it up as much as possible, and enjoy it! I’ve seen much worse!

Thanks Sandroad. It is sad that it's been maintained so well (every 5k miles on the dot) but they totally ignore the underside. I do think that I can put some elbow grease into it and at least slow it WAY down for a few years.

 

[paulunm]

1. What happened to the underside skid plates? Removed for the pics or did they rust away?
2. Something leaking there (protecting some of that crossmember from rust!), steering rack?

I'd personally skip. When you go to sell it in a few years you could have someone like me peek underneath.

 

[SilverHundo]

1. What happened to the underside skid plates? Removed for the pics or did they rust away?
2. Something leaking there (protecting some of that crossmember from rust!), steering rack?

I'd personally skip. When you go to sell it in a few years you could have someone like me peek underneath.

Skid plates removed for inspection and pics. They are actually pretty clean.

I noticed small oil leak too. Coming from above steering rack but haven't traced it back up to source. Not enough to leave a drip spot on parking lot.

Thanks for the reply paulunm.

 

[bentonrover]

Get it. That's a premium rig up here in CT

 

[bloc]

The leak is probably the timing chain cover, which a number of us have. Mine was there when I got the rig at 105k and it has progressed by now at 190k, but with a good degrease every 5k with the oil change it still isn't hitting the ground. Personally it wouldn't dissuade me from buying a rig.

Normally I'd be a hard pass on a rig with that much corrosion, but with plans to move on in a few years I say go for it.

 

[SilverHundo]

The leak is probably the timing chain cover, which a number of us have. Mine was there when I got the rig at 105k and it has progressed by now at 190k, but with a good degrease every 5k with the oil change it still isn't hitting the ground. Personally it wouldn't dissuade me from buying a rig.

Normally I'd be a hard pass on a rig with that much corrosion, but with plans to move on in a few years I say go for it.

Yep looks like it's coming from bottom of timing chain cover! I'll hit it with some good degreaser whenever I change the oil.

Seeing this makes me want to keep my 100 forever though....not a hint of rust on it!

 

[stonepa]

What rust?

 

[SilverHundo]

What rust?

Guess it's geographically dependent. Like I said, my 100 is 10 years older than this 200 and has literally zero rust...

 

[stonepa]

Guess it's geographically dependent. Like I said, my 100 is 10 years older than this 200 and has literally zero rust...

This is why I wool wax / fluid film once a year and don’t look otherwise. This is less rust than on my 100 but it has been sitting at my house on the seashore for 25 years. About the same as my 200.

 

[bicycleagent003]

I hate rust, and have little tolerance for it as I live in SoCal. Having said that, I don't think that rust looks so bad. I'd buy it. I'm confident your plan will prevent progression, so it won't be getting worse. I think what you have there is manageable, and you plan to be proactive about it. Maybe the seller will even knock a bit more off the price when you tell him the guys on Mud told you it's a hard pass.

 

[LC2011]

Did you end up getting this? Mine looks pretty similar (got it a few weeks ago). What all work have you done on it?

 

[SilverHundo]

Did you end up getting this? Mine looks pretty similar (got it a few weeks ago). What all work have you done on it?

I did! I spent a few weekends underneath and it looks great. I used a hard bristle drill attachment and wire brushes to knock off and loose rust. Then sprayed any rust with rustoleum rust converter (it's not a paint that covers the rust which makes me feel much better.... It chemically converts the rust). Then sprayed the entire under side with Fluid Film to slow down any future rust spread. No regrets, but again, I don't tend to keep rigs longer than a few year.

 

[LC2011]

Sweet. Did you just hit the places you could see or did you remove stuff like the bumber to get to the hidden places?

 

[SilverHundo]

Sweet. Did you just hit the places you could see or did you remove stuff like the bumber to get to the hidden places?

I removed all of the skid plates and the rear bumper.

 

[molanginaeda]

I did! I spent a few weekends underneath and it looks great. I used a hard bristle drill attachment and wire brushes to knock off and loose rust. Then sprayed any rust with rustoleum rust converter (it's not a paint that covers the rust which makes me feel much better.... It chemically converts the rust). Then sprayed the entire under side with Fluid Film to slow down any future rust spread. No regrets, but again, I don't tend to keep rigs longer than a few year.

Fluid film stink/smell. I recommend using woolwax on your next treatment.

 

[stonepa]

Fluid film stink/smell. I recommend using woolwax on your next treatment.

Woolwax is good also but fluid film aroma doesn’t last long. I kinda like it.

 

[Leelanau]

@SilverHundo did you take any after pics? I bet it looks way better now.

 

[SilverHundo]

@SilverHundo did you take any after pics? I bet it looks way better now.