Found some rust...

[jhstatts]

Well, I tried to grease my chassis this weekend and while I was under my 60 I found a small area of rust. The area is about 10 inches by 4 inches, but is only really bad (through the metal) in two spots (about 1.5 inch diameters). It is located on the underside right under the driver's side. It starts at the edge of the wheel well and goes back a little ways.

I am really bummed about it, but am sure I can get it fixed. It is the only spot on the truck. What would you guys recommend besides taking it to a body shop and having a new piece welded in? Thanks.

 

[Doc]

Take it to a body shop and have a new piece welded in....



Doh!


You might look into getting the truck undercoated.

 

[jhstatts]

Doc,

Yeah, I was going to ask about undercoating at the body shop. I am pretty sure that is the only spot, but there may be more hiding under the paint.

What bums me out is that I bought the truck as "rust free" and didn't notice the spot when initially looking to buy it. Thanks for the quick reply.

How worried should I be about the cancer spreading? I live in Georgia, so the climate is pretty mild.

 

[photogod]

I had my frame and under body sand blasted to see if there was any rust spots in the body and there wern't (is that a word)? Then I coated it with rust prevent and had it undercoated again. Looks brand new and the sb cost was 200 bucks. Well worth it. The body shop might be able to do that while they are under there as the rust spot should be blasted any how if you want to get rid of all the rust that is there. Just a thought.

 

[jhstatts]

Thanks, photogod. Great idea. I thought of using Rust Bullet before the undercoating. I DO want all the rust gone, if there is any more than what I have found.

 

[Doc]

I wouldn't be worried too much about the rust spreading- you should see my truck! It's literally falling apart because of rust, but I live in the midwest too...

a pro-active approach now will save lots of time and headaches (and money) in the future though.

 

[lovetoski]

what product to use?

photogod,

Very interested in your approach. I'm going to look into sandblasting. Did this clean up axles/diffs too?

What product did you have applied as a rust preventative and undercoating?

Thanks for the advice,

 

[photogod]

I had the shop sand blast everything from the floor boards down and immeadiatly drove to my studio (one block) and sprayed two heavy coats of Zero Rust on the entire underside and drive line. Cool Cruisers of Texas has it for $7.00 a can. It took 12 cans to do the job. The surface has to be pretty well preped for Zero Rust. Some guys here have used POR 15 but I opted not to use it because it is messy and takes more effort to apply, especially upside down. I let the ZR set up for a week and drove to Ziebart for the undercoating. I had them do a patch test to make sure the undercoating would not lift the ZR and then had the entire drive line and underside coated. The blasters were very carefull around the gas lines and brake lines as well as all other sensative arias like grease seals, zerks and brakes. They did a really nice job and the underside really looks better than new. The blast cost 200 the undercoat was 155 and the ZR was under 100 shipped. I took off all the skid plates, gas line protectors and spare tire cross member and did them myself with some 3M spray undercoating from the auto parts. It was a bit costly but I can rest easy knowing it will last another 20 years or so.

 

[photogod]

Forgot to mention,,, The Ziebart shop wanted to pressure wash the underside before the undercoat. Didn't make much sense to add moisture where it wasn't wanted so I told them not to spray.

 

[lovetoski]

Thanks photogod...this info helps. I'm a little slow though and have a few more questions if you don't mind?

Did the sandblasters tape off things like the back side of the knuckle (where it stays shiny?).

When you sprayed the ZR, did you hit the shocks too? (I'm not clear on how accurate you can be.)

Any issues with needing to remove nuts/bolts later? For example, it sounds like you covered the axle/diff/etc. If you needed to remove a diff (for repair, or to install a locker) how hard would it be to remove the nuts?

Does Zeibart have multiple products, if so is there one that you prefer?

Any impact on noise from the work you did? That is, did the undercoating make the truck quieter?

Thanks again!

 

[cahilc]

Ziebart has been changing formulas across the years. Primarily, they use two, but similar products ... cosmoline(sp?) based.

Carry a fire exstinguisher because these product do have a flash point if left in contact with an open flame. Yikes !!!

There is a clear product which has a slight yellow haze to it and then the darker product which appears almost black. The clear is for internal cavities and chambers and the black is for external surfaces.

The clear will not harden, will maintain a semi-runny disposition and the dark will harden and require *YEARLY* touchups.

The above IMNSHO ... so opinions will vary.

Cheers,
Cahil

 

[cahilc]

Ah, one last thought ...

Ziebart and pressure washing.

The products Ziebart uses are supposedly water dispersing sooo ... pressure washing immediately before application of product is no problem.

I wouldn't do it to my truck ... but it shouldn't be a problem.

Cahil

 

[photogod]

No tape just accurate aim. I sprayed everything as the can is just like spray paint and goes on very even and smooth. The POR 15 dries very hard, that's why I didn't use it. Didn't cover my nuts (Ouch!) The Ziebart is a non hardening pliable undercoat so if you need to back out a nut or bolt you just scrape the coating away. I'm not sure if there is more than one product, I just asked them to undercoat the vehicle. They never mentioned if there were any other applications. I didn't really notice any noise difference from before and after. The FJ60 is not as noisy as my FJ40 but a bit noisier than my FJ80 slightly quieter than my Paseo but much louder than my Camry and sad to say not as cute as my CJ2A (Truth hurts sometimes).

 

[jhstatts]

Wow. Thanks for the info, all. I am taking my 60 to a trusted body shop on Thursday. I am going to get the spot I found fixed (cut out, replaced, welded) and ask about rust-proofing and undercoating. I want this machine to last as long as she can.

 

[lovetoski]

thanks photogod

Your info is really helpful. I don't have much rust, for a 17 yr old truck, and it's only on the surface, but now I know how to take care of it so I can get at least 17 more years out of it!

 

[cahilc]

Ziebart and sound proofing ...

Ziebart combines their dark product with something else (chopped fiberglass ???) to produce a thicker coating (i.e. soundproof product) If you didn't ask for it or pay for it my guess is you didn't get it.

If it were my truck ... I would have the undercoating applied then maybe a month or so later when the undercoating has set up I would have Ziebart spray the large underbody sheetmetal areas with their sound deadening product. Should produce a notice decrease in sound proofing. Haven't done my truck yet so haven't a clue on how much decrease.

My truck will be done by end of summer.

Cahil