Rust Considerations

[Zill]

I sold my heritage edition land cruiser a month ago for 100k and instantly regretted it. CarMax has a 2017 Land Cruiser for sale, 33k miles, Blue Onyx Pearl with Terra interior for 77k. One previous owner who lived in Virginia so I was a little concerned with rust if they traveled north during the winter.

My thoughts are - the rust is just starting on the welds and I’ll get down there with a power washer to clean off all the mud and then wire wheel and Por-15 all of the rusty spots on the frame. Then apply wool wax every fall to slow the spread. I live in eastern Washington and they do use magnesium chloride on the roads here. Rust does form on the vehicles but not near as bad as rust belt states. Do any of you think this is a bad idea? Or do you think I’m getting hosed on the deal? Pics and link to ad to follow…

https://www.carmax.com/car/21385119

 

[Lester did that]

Depends where you live in VA. It's a decent sized state and the weather varies a lot from the mountains to the coastal areas. That looks like it did see a little brine but it looks very clean. POR-15 requires a lot of proper prep to get it right. It's advertised as a "just paint over the rust and it will convert everything to not rust" but thats not the case at all. Check out POR-15 auto restoration videos and how a restoration shops uses it and the amount of prep involved and what happens if you don't get it right and the damage it can cause. Personally I would never paint any part of the frame or under body. Any weak spot with the paint adhesion is a spot that will allow salt and moisture in. The paint may not even bubble for a few years. But under that pretty paint the damage is already done. Poke that glossy paint and rust rot just falls in your face. This is the first thing I do when someone asks me to go look at a questionable rust free vehicle. You can check with a car key...

I do love WoolWax black. If that where mine with small amount of surface rust, skip the paint, just a nice heavy coat of WoolWax everywhere. Except the exhaust lol. The lanolin is an oil the creeps into everything. Rust needs water and O2 to do it's thing and salt accelerates it. That thick lanolin stops both on the spot. Now it won't replace the metal that is already gone. It just stops it or prevents it from spreading. If it's totally rust free it will prevent it rusting. It is maintenance. You have to do it at least once a year because it does wash off. The very front of the truck especially the lower control arms will most likely need to be reapplied 1-2x's in a season. This is more true if you go thru a lot of freeze/thaws. During the thaw when the roads are wet it will slowly wash away.

That's the thing with FluidFilm. It's fantastic but it washes away faster. So if your lazy like me WoolWax is better option for maintenance. Where FluidFilm shines is getting into tight spaces. Inside the frame is a good example. They have these 360 degree 3' wands that fit right onto the rattle can. You can soak the entire inside of the frame and then plug up the frame. That's like 5 years you don't even need to think about it unless you are hitting water frame deep. If you are don't plug the frame and reapply. (I might catch hell without that disclaimer )

It doesn't matter where you live or how you use it rust proof it. Besides the less rust it accumulates while you own it the better. Rust of any kind brings down the resale value. It's thee first thing everybody looks at even if they don't know what they are looking at. The under body could be rust free and they will drive it away with a blown motor. "I don't understand it was so clean."

 

[Zill]

Thanks Lester! With that being said, sounds like I will skip the POR-15 and will apply only the wool wax black (after washing off the mud). I’m guessing the black is easier to see if you need to reapply?

 

[Sandroad]

Agree with everything @Lester did that said, and I would add pay special attention to KDSS valve rust prevention. See many threads on those. They will already be very rusty on an untreated ‘17, so clean ‘em up and grease ‘em good.

 

[yonah]

Agree with everything @Lester did that said, and I would add pay special attention to KDSS valve rust prevention. See many threads on those. They will already be very rusty on an untreated ‘17, so clean ‘em up and grease ‘em good.

I got a gallon of this magic sauce (Woolwax High Viscosity (HV))

https://www.woolwaxusa.com/Woolwax®-HV-Wheel-Well-Grease_p_60.html

Then coated all of the KDSS components - there are more machined (unpainted) surfaces beyond the valves themselves. It has the viscosity of creamy peanut butter and sticks like glue. There are some comments above about wear spots (like lower control arms) where Fluid Film and Woolwax washes off easily. I think these spots, along with KDSS components, are the ideal application for Woolwax HV.

 

[yonah]

I sold my heritage edition land cruiser a month ago for 100k and instantly regretted it. CarMax has a 2017 Land Cruiser for sale, 33k miles, Blue Onyx Pearl with Terra interior for 77k. One previous owner who lived in Virginia so I was a little concerned with rust if they traveled north during the winter.

My thoughts are - the rust is just starting on the welds and I’ll get down there with a power washer to clean off all the mud and then wire wheel and Por-15 all of the rusty spots on the frame. Then apply wool wax every fall to slow the spread. I live in eastern Washington and they do use magnesium chloride on the roads here. Rust does form on the vehicles but not near as bad as rust belt states. Do any of you think this is a bad idea? Or do you think I’m getting hosed on the deal? Pics and link to ad to follow…

https://www.carmax.com/car/21385119

View attachment 2851450

View attachment 2851451

View attachment 2851452

View attachment 2851453

View attachment 2851454

View attachment 2851455

Congrats on making a nice profit on the HE.

If you’re not in a position that’s forcing a quick buy, I would personally wait and try to fine a cleaner example. Though, this 200 doesn’t look horrible, but I would be curious the condition of the inside of the frame, KDSS components, and inside of the cross members.

I think there is also a benefit to getting a 2018-2021. All of the final updates for the 200-series were captured in those final years - the power lift gate and updated radiator come to mind.

 

[Zill]

Thanks Yonah and Sandroad. I will definitely check these items out. Would a thick layer of blue marine grade grease work on those KDSS components instead? I do have a tube of that sitting in the garage.

 

[yonah]

Thanks Yonah and Sandroad. I will definitely check these items out. Would a thick layer of blue marine grade grease work on those KDSS components instead? I do have a tube of that sitting in the garage.

Oh yeah, I think that would work fine. IIRC, that was the product recommended on many of the early KDSS rust prevention threads here on Mud.

 

[Zill]

It’s getting fairly hard to find 16-21 cruisers that aren’t insanely priced. If they are reasonable, they usually have an accident or 3-4 previous owners. The remainder of this car checks out and looks great - it’s just those small rust spots. If I can get 15 years out of this truck, I would be happy. Just need to make sure I tackle the rust issues proactively rather than reactively.

 

[Zill]

I also did check with them that the blend door isn’t busted.

 

[CharlieS]

Congrats on making a nice profit on the HE.

If you’re not in a position that’s forcing a quick buy, I would personally wait and try to fine a cleaner example. Though, this 200 doesn’t look horrible, but I would be curious the condition of the inside of the frame, KDSS components, and inside of the cross members.

I think there is also a benefit to getting a 2018-2021. All of the final updates for the 200-series were captured in those final years - the power lift gate and updated radiator come to mind.

An updated radiator costs less than $300, and the power lift gate is a downgrade (in my opinion). I wouldn't let that stuff drive a decision.

 

[yonah]

An updated radiator costs less than $300, and the power lift gate is a downgrade (in my opinion). I wouldn't let that stuff drive a decision.

The power lift gate was a must for my wife, so that drove the decision

—-

Edit to add:

But it’s more than just $300 for a new radiator...

It’s the tow bill home if the radiator pops on the road (worse case scenario). Uber ride home if the family is in the 200 when that happens (even more worse case scenario). Then the vehicle downtime while you’re hitting refresh on the UPS tracking app. If you catch the radiator crack early and upgrade proactively, then you start here with the shipping cost of the new part. New coolant. Then the time to actually install the new radiator. Time to properly dispose of the old coolant. ...or one could skip all of that and take it to the shop and lose even more money, maybe less time, but still deal with the hassle of it all. Not things I want or care to deal with due to my work and family schedule, but to each their own. I like the fact that my 200 has the upgraded radiator, installed by the experts in Japan.

Regarding the lift gate - I’m sure this has been covered on here before, but the auto lift gate is more like a factory installed accessory, if you will. The upper lift gate can still be manually/traditionally operated at any time and the auto function can be overridden at any time via the membrane switch on the door, or it can be cancelled outright by the dash switch. Overriding the auto lift function (manually or electronically) in no way damages the mechanism, as it would in most cars. If you call all of that a downgrade, I’m not following the logic. But again, to each their own, I suppose.

 

[stonepa]

iMHO, that rust is irrelevant. You will get similiar rust in Spokane. If it is a good vehicle, buy it. Frame rust for a 200 series is irrelevant over the life of the vehicle. You will get 25 years out of the frame no matter what.

I would stop staring at the frame and enjoy the vehicle.

 

[Zill]

Thanks Stonepa - I am having similar thoughts as well. The car is on a truck to Spokane and should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. As long as everything else checks out, I’m thinking there is a good chance I will be buying this one. These Blue and Terra combos are like hens teeth. I did purchase a set of heritage wheels prior to selling my HE, so I think they will compliment the blue exterior nicely.

 

[liv2bike]

My favorite combination of colors. If you end up pulling the trigger and some day want to part ways with it...holler at me!

 

[welchsoft]

Enjoying this discussion. Just got a 2016 LC with 120k for $57,995 and the underside looks very similar. New England vehicle with one (very gentle) owner. Lost my FJ60 to rust partially because I didn't protect it, so with the new vehicle I'll be very proactive about rust protection.

 

[Zill]

Quick status update - the car arrived and I checked it out today. It had a bit more rust than what was demonstrated in the pictures (KDSS valve was very bad) and the car also smelled like it was previously smoked in. Not terrible, but not worth dealing with these issues for a 77k price tag. They thankfully refunded me for the shipping fee because I asked about these issues before the car was shipped. I guess it’s back to the drawing board and to hold out for a clean one in the future.