Dissembling some parts in the undercarriage for rust prevention (1 Viewer)

[bk928323]

Hi all,

I recently got an LC, but it has some slight surface rust.

I plan to tackle the rust with evapo-rust, rustoleum primer, rustoleum enamel spray then finish with a CRC heavy duty corrosion inhibiter. In order to get as much surface area as possible, it looks like I'd have to dissemble some parts.

However, I have never dissembled anything in the undercarriage before, and I want to be extremely careful with what I'm doing.

What parts do you recommend dissembling to treat the rust? I'd like to remove the rust on the nuts as well - should I reuse them or replace them with new ones?

What parts do you recommend I just replace altogether (e.g., muffler)?

As an aside, what do you think about the undercarriage? Did I score a decent LC? I'm from the south so my standards are much higher, but with the demand of these vehicles, I didn't think I could be picky. Also, because I'm in the south, it's so hard to find a shop who treat rust...

 

[thibaut]

From Europe this looks really good
If the truck is staying in a low corrosion risk environment, I would probably do much less than what you are suggesting.
Just hit the rusted surfaces with a rust converter and that would be sufficient.
The muffler is mild steel. It will rust even in the gentlest environment. I would just keep it as is until it develops a whole / starts leaking.

now if you plan to use you truck to tow into salt water, you can consider something more involved.

If you are keen to spend time working on your truck, I think given the low rust I see on the picture, you may want to save a bit on the rust inhibition program and instead spend time baselining the truck covering all know areas (see threads on the forum).

 

[Njck22]

What rust? that truck looks very clean.
If you really want to protect find someplace that does winterizing (oil film undercoating). Nothing on that truck is going to give you any trouble, very far from needing any restorative work. Spend your money on getting it in mechanical tip top shape.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I’d spray ‘er down with a couple cans of fluid film and call it a day.

 

[WreckDiver1321]

Honestly, that truck looks incredibly clean to me. If you were concerned about dealing with the surface rust and corroded hardware, I'd do a bit of a spa day for the rig. It's probably what I would do, as I'm a stickler for that sort of thing.

Take it to a car wash and give the undercarriage a good clean with a pressure washer, then let it dry. Pop it up on jack stands and hit any surface rust areas with a wire brush to clean it, then hit it with a coat or two of paint. I like Ace Hardware's "Stops Rust" paint, it's good quality and comes in giant cans for the same price as Rustoleum. You could throw on some Rustoleum rust reformer, but I think that's completely unnecessary for this particular truck. You'd be into this project for <$50.

Take all that money you saved and start looking at replacing anything that needs it. Look at the rubber bushings, sway bar links, etc. For the money you'd spend in restorative work, you could have a much more precise driving experience.