Shock Covers?

[2dub]

In June I put a suspension lift kit on my 07 GX.

8 Months later and less than 10K total miles which includes ~ 1K miles off road they are what I consider severely rusted. I just placed a warranty claim from the manufacturer because there is no way these will last through their warranty period at this rate and I'm highly disappointed. On my Ram I replaced the OEMs when I put a lift on and replaced the aftermarket shocks later because I wanted a bigger lift. They had about 8 years and 150K miles and there was zero rust that I recall.

I am also pretty religious about washing the underside after either driving off road or on roads that have been salt treated for winter storms. I have the under vehicle pressure washer attachment.

But hopefully the manufacturer will honor my warranty claim, but I want to get some shock covers that cover the body of the shock just for further protection. They came with a piston cover. But I'm looking for something to protect the reservoir body and bottom mount and still allow the heat to disperse.

I've been looking around but haven't found anything - Any suggestions?

 

[Timujin]

Look up @zzyzx85

 

[2dub]

I just got the email from Ironman they won't replace due to rust until it fails.

This is what they look like after only 8 months. Needless to say I'm not too happy. When they do fail I'll go with something else if they won't stand behind their product.

Am I wrong to think this shouldn't either happening at all or at least not this bad???

 

[Jstawgn]

All rear shocks with metal lower body would be like that if you drive on gravel. The rocks would sandblast the body.
Some inverted shocks with plastic or rubber booth would look better just because they are not painted parts.

 

[SteveH]

Rubber boots of any kind over a steel shock body will just promote rust. When they get too ugly, spray-bomb them with satin black primer. There really isn't a cure or prevention for the problem you're seeing there.

 

[2dub]

Thoughts on removing them, treating the rust and coating with a spray on bedliner to protect???

 

[zzyzx85]

Thoughts on removing them, treating the rust and coating with a spray on bedliner to protect???

paint or enamel would probably be better. Shocks need to dissipate heat and adding anything over the shock body will hinder that.

I have shock covers up front but they cover the springs and the shaft, which should save seal from being damaged by dust and debris. (thanks for the tag @Timujin )

 

[Rednexus]

That's normal, my Foam Cell Pros look the same way. As mentioned earlier, they get sandblasted with gravel etc, leaving bare steel. There is no coating that can withstand constant sandblasting. Since the paint/coating has been removed, even a little bit of salt will then cause the bare steel to flash rust. The only want to avoid that issue completely would be to use a shock with an aluminum body as opposed to a steel body. If you install a shock cover, all it is going to do is trap moisture and dirt next to the shock and accelerate rust. Same thing with bedliner or hard undercoating, they'll either trap moisture under the coating and cause more rust, or just get sandblasted right off after more driving.

I'd just buy a can of lanolin undercoating and spray them. Honestly, if your shocks are getting sandblasted like that, the whole underside of your rig should probably be treated with Woolwax or Fluid Film. The pictures show that your lower shock mounts, the shock bolt, lower control arms, and E-brake cable clips are also getting sand blasted and rusted. Lanolin undercoatings are cheap and easy to apply yearly or so.