Looking stay off rear sill rot? I've got something for you...
- Thread starter peteinjp
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Very interesting mod. Any problems with the fender flap pulling into the tire and wrapping up about the tire liek a mud flap on an 18 wheeler?
- Thread starter
- #3
Well I have a MWB so the tire is far away from the flap however there are 2 nuts remaining on the frame that were used to hold the original tail light guards. It would be easy to add a stay here that would keep the guard at the rear of the truck. The stay could be bolted to the guard or just a bar running across. I in fact considered that but I figured I'd try without first..... also I was late for dinner and that doesn't go over well.....
Pete
Pete
Pete
Pete
I see what you are saying. I really do like this idea.
Looks good for keeping the muck and crap out but in my location its the water and salt that needs to be kept out and that would
just trap it back there from being hosed off in the winters.
just trap it back there from being hosed off in the winters.
- Thread starter
- #6
Actually it just lifts up out of the way. I was concerned about the same thing. Stuff enevitably works it's way back there. In my case I found the stock covers while they do protect from stones, trap stuff worse than not having them. This will keep most of the salt spray off.
I've thought of doing a similar solution with some aluminum bolted in there like that. I have mud flaps on mine now, but they start at the frame and hang down. They helped some through the years, but all the patching I did on my rear sill 18 years ago has rotted back through, even worse than before. Prior to that my dad had hung rubber mud flaps all the way down from the fender towards the ground, he claimed that may have helped the sill, and it was okay back 1996, but was beginning to rot through and bubble at that point. The problem with his long flaps was that if they did hang up on something, it had pulled on the fender some. So we built brackets and hung flaps on the frame.
The getting in there to wash it is a problem though. I thought with my aluminum idea I would leave a hole in such a way that little mud would get tossed back, but you could stick the hose, or pressure wand in it and still blast out the back. Either way it is a terrible mud catcher and hard to get very clean. I also think my accelerated rot came from preexisting hidden rot and the drastic increase in the use of magnesium chloride in my area for winter de-icing, and dust suppression on the local dirt roads, of which I have always commuted on each day. It makes the mud on them very sticky and caustic, it's really worse than the liquid mag on the highway, it allows the mud to actively absorb any moisture. When my dad was still daily driving my 40 back in the late 70's and early 80's mag was not an issue.
I need to do some serious rebuilding of my tub, again, in the future, I've though about totally enclosing that area and sealing it off, I don't know if moisture alone will rot it out like the bottoms of the rear barn doors and front doors at that point. However, it would be easier to wash out without that hidden shelf holding the mud.
The getting in there to wash it is a problem though. I thought with my aluminum idea I would leave a hole in such a way that little mud would get tossed back, but you could stick the hose, or pressure wand in it and still blast out the back. Either way it is a terrible mud catcher and hard to get very clean. I also think my accelerated rot came from preexisting hidden rot and the drastic increase in the use of magnesium chloride in my area for winter de-icing, and dust suppression on the local dirt roads, of which I have always commuted on each day. It makes the mud on them very sticky and caustic, it's really worse than the liquid mag on the highway, it allows the mud to actively absorb any moisture. When my dad was still daily driving my 40 back in the late 70's and early 80's mag was not an issue.
I need to do some serious rebuilding of my tub, again, in the future, I've though about totally enclosing that area and sealing it off, I don't know if moisture alone will rot it out like the bottoms of the rear barn doors and front doors at that point. However, it would be easier to wash out without that hidden shelf holding the mud.
The 72s and 71s that had the split back rear bench seat also had a steel emission recovery tank in the back of the passenger's fender wheel. The tank attached to the bottom side of the fender wheel. This was protected by a skid plate that bolted to the bottom fender well and bottom of the tank. I've collected a few of these skid plates. Was thinking of installing far enough forward to install a easy to remove plate behind that would cover the rest of the opening. Then remove it a couple time a year and wash the area out. Not sure there would be enough to hang a mud flap on a FJ40 so it would clear the exhaust tail pipe.
I did something of the same but used sheet metal and used silicon sealant around the edges. Seal all the backing plates also. You are on track in helping stop that rear rusting.
Good job.
Good job.
- Thread starter
- #11
That's a good looking solution there Mike. In my case it occupies the spot where my trail pipe sits. Also I see lots of brush and branches so I was concerned with having the stay down low. The own flaps on my bj44 were in that location more or less but further forward and too close for comfort when I put on chains on the 7.50 tires (essentially making a 33" tire.)
Your comment about leaving room for drying is a good one and so I will add stays using the remaining holes from the original light guard to keep the flaps forward a bit like so:
Pete
Your comment about leaving room for drying is a good one and so I will add stays using the remaining holes from the original light guard to keep the flaps forward a bit like so:
Pete
Last edited:
Great idea.
Funny thing, the first 40 I owned was in 1972 and in was a 1970 model. That was one of the first modifications. I didn't use rubber flaps. I bent up some 18 gage sheet metal in the form of a large Z and mounted them to the underside of the inner fender top and the bottom of the rear crossmember. Worked great other than taking them out now and then to clean behind them. They fitted fairly tight so the mud build up was small. Like your idea of rubber as it would dampen the rocks on gravel roads and trails. Having it loose at the bottom sure makes them easy to clean.
Thanks jb
Funny thing, the first 40 I owned was in 1972 and in was a 1970 model. That was one of the first modifications. I didn't use rubber flaps. I bent up some 18 gage sheet metal in the form of a large Z and mounted them to the underside of the inner fender top and the bottom of the rear crossmember. Worked great other than taking them out now and then to clean behind them. They fitted fairly tight so the mud build up was small. Like your idea of rubber as it would dampen the rocks on gravel roads and trails. Having it loose at the bottom sure makes them easy to clean.
Thanks jb
- Thread starter
- #14
Just a little follow up
In terms of the mud flaps they are working well. But I do need to add some stays to keep them in place. It turns out that the weight of the snow attached to the flap pulls it down from time to time. Even as they are they do the job of keeping snow and mud from building up on the rear crossmember and the protect the rear tail lights better than the original guards which always trapped mud. I have not cleaned behing them once since I put them on and although the pic came out blurry you can see that they are doing the job. First the front of the truck just to show that I was in deeper than the bumper. Then in the second pic yhou can see the biuld up on the bottom of the 4-plus tail light guard but non above it on the rear of the tail light.
Pete
In terms of the mud flaps they are working well. But I do need to add some stays to keep them in place. It turns out that the weight of the snow attached to the flap pulls it down from time to time. Even as they are they do the job of keeping snow and mud from building up on the rear crossmember and the protect the rear tail lights better than the original guards which always trapped mud. I have not cleaned behing them once since I put them on and although the pic came out blurry you can see that they are doing the job. First the front of the truck just to show that I was in deeper than the bumper. Then in the second pic yhou can see the biuld up on the bottom of the 4-plus tail light guard but non above it on the rear of the tail light.
Pete
That nice clean snow will melt off. Here in Illinois, in the heart of the rust belt, where the roads will soon have a continual salt coating, you can't keep it off or away if you drive in it. There is a constant salt spray from traffic and it goes into every crack anywhere it can possibly get. Cars ahead of you throw it and you drive into it. You can think you stayed out of it and if it's clean see the crap on the outside and on windows when you get out. Your fan and belts make sure its getting coated well under the hood. Your tires spray it nicely underneath. It runs down your windows into your doors and when you get in and out you track it into your floors. Even when they don't salt for a few weeks the coating on the road is picked up by dampness or runs into the road from the snow on the sides melting. It's false security thinking that you can keep it off or that putting it in the dry garage after will get rid of it. All that you can do is to get on your hands and knees and start flushing it away from every angle possible-through holes in the frame-across the bottom of the body inside the fenders=crossmember-hood open-firewall-radiator-engine-hood-etc-etc over and over. After it is dry later you may still see areas where salt has crept and dried and know to hit there next time. As soon as spring hits I take the ones I drive in salt and hit all the hoses and puddles in the road during downpours like a watercrossing to flush more off.
This is why my 40 sits in the garage all winter...Original, chipped/missing paint + East Coast Salt = a rapidly evaporating cruiser if I take it out. I may look into a mudflap or Pete's alternative down the road, when I start taking the truck offroad. For now, it's "fair weather only." Later, when it has good paint, it will become a "3 season" vehicle. Something tells me that no matter how well I seal it with paint, driving it on salted roads will result in instant, cancerous rust.
^ Guaranteed! Seen it so many times...
Ya if you really love your cruiser just don't drive it anywhere in the winter time if salt or calcium chloride is used unless you have had the whole frame and body galvanized and undercoated. Thats just how it is. The spray from the road turns into a mist and gets everywhere. If you do drive in it you gotta rinse like crazy-and even then its likely some will get missed. In NY state they use salt, but the NYC cars have very little if any rust-reason being is because when it rains their the water forms huge puddles on the city streets which usually naturally rinses off the winter salt. It will even rain their off and on between snows in the winter. But outside of the city the water runs off the road rather than forming puddles and cars rust away.
To add: When the salted roads dry-out, the salt dust flies everywhere conceivable and sits waiting to get re-energized with any signs of humidity or condensation throughout the year.
Running through un-salted snow has a better, though not perfect, chance of avoiding the cancer, if technically ALL surfaces are painted and/or coated; but who can see into hidden cavities and compartments. Best not to risk it if you have that option.
Manufacturers don't need to design for planned obsolescence when their cars get run in the winter !!
Running through un-salted snow has a better, though not perfect, chance of avoiding the cancer, if technically ALL surfaces are painted and/or coated; but who can see into hidden cavities and compartments. Best not to risk it if you have that option.
Manufacturers don't need to design for planned obsolescence when their cars get run in the winter !!
I like your idea, peteinjp ... the rust battle is never ending ...
its worse than its ever been here, in part because its not JUST salt any more ... its some kind of chemical cocktail ... I oil spray my dd every season and it helps ... no way the 40 goes out ... even a fibreglass/aluminum tub doesn't fully solve the problem, because the frame is steel ...
its worse than its ever been here, in part because its not JUST salt any more ... its some kind of chemical cocktail ... I oil spray my dd every season and it helps ... no way the 40 goes out ... even a fibreglass/aluminum tub doesn't fully solve the problem, because the frame is steel ...
Last edited: