Undercoating?

[HDJdreams]

I am looking at an 09 that came from the northeast. Clean carfax, the body looks to be in great shape, but the undercarriage is very rusty (looks to be just surface, no cancer).

Are there any professionally applied undercoatings that are effective in stopping rust? What is reasonable price? What should I look for (brands, process, etc)

 

[HDJdreams]

From what I gather, the rubberized stuff they sell for DIY is a poor choice, it flakes then traps moisture making problem worse.

Any professional products that last well?

Anyone have experience good or bad with POR-15? (Seems it would be very labor intensive.)

 

[LukisStyles]

you can undercoat it with a cocktail mix of wax and diesel. Fluid film is also good and there are shops around the US that spray it on for you

 

[M1911]

You need to grind the rust off before sealing it in with an undercoating.

If you haven't bought it already, skip it and find one that isn't rusty.

 

[chilibit]

I am looking at an 09 that came from the northeast. Clean carfax, the body looks to be in great shape, but the undercarriage is very rusty (looks to be just surface, no cancer).

Are there any professionally applied undercoatings that are effective in stopping rust? What is reasonable price? What should I look for (brands, process, etc)

If the vehicle is not pristine I find Fluid Film to be magic. I was introduced to it for use on tractors and heavy equipment. It is amazing given the price and simplicity.

 

[bjowett]

Skip and find a clean one.

 

[Rando Kuruza]

Walk away and find a clean one... Undercoating plugs up all the drain holes and trap moisture and makes the problems worse.... I have seen 98-2002 100 series stull rust free

Walk away

 

[Markuson]

Walk away and find a clean one... Undercoating plugs up all the drain holes and trap moisture and makes the problems worse.... I have seen 98-2002 100 series stull rust free

Walk away

Agree.
I just sold my '99 100 series, and it had ZERO rust. West Coast helps with that...no salted roads, etc., but there are plenty of rust-free cruisers.

 

[M1911]

I had an '03 4Runner that I bought new. I live here in New England. In December of last year, Toyota replaced the frame on mine, due to rust. I had to pay about $2000 towards the repair -- Toyota picked up the rest. I thought that after that, I would keep the truck at least another 50,000 miles, taking it well over 200,000 miles.

But I sold it last month. I had already replaced the transmission cooling lines last year. But then in September of this year, the steering got stiff very suddenly while we were on Martha's Vineyard on vacation. I was able to nurse it home. That was due to a rusted U-joint on the steering intermediate shaft. The steering hard lines were also rusted out. And the driver's side running board support brackets were rusted. All that (and a torn CV boot) cost me $2,500.

Then a week after that, I noticed that the rubber around the edge of the moonroof was puffed up. I tilted up the sunroof to take a look at it and saw that the metal under the rubber (around the edge of the moonroof glass) was rusted, and that was what pushed up the rubber. I was able to get the moonroof closed with the rubber more or less in place, but now I was basically not going to be able to use the moonroof unless I repaired it, and I'm sure that would be a ton of money. I'd already dumped $5500 into the 4Runner in the last year, and that was probably about what it was worth. The rust problems were just never ending.

So skip that Land Cruiser and find one without rust. The rust on the frame may be just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Markuson]

I had an '03 4Runner that I bought new. I live here in New England. In December of last year, Toyota replaced the frame on mine, due to rust. I had to pay about $2000 towards the repair -- Toyota picked up the rest. I thought that after that, I would keep the truck at least another 50,000 miles, taking it well over 200,000 miles.

But I sold it last month. I had already replaced the transmission cooling lines last year. But then in September of this year, the steering got stiff very suddenly while we were on Martha's Vineyard on vacation. I was able to nurse it home. That was due to a rusted U-joint on the steering intermediate shaft. The steering hard lines were also rusted out. And the driver's side running board support brackets were rusted. All that (and a torn CV boot) cost me $2,500.

Then a week after that, I noticed that the rubber around the edge of the moonroof was puffed up. I tilted up the sunroof to take a look at it and saw that the metal under the rubber (around the edge of the moonroof glass) was rusted, and that was what pushed up the rubber. I was able to get the moonroof closed with the rubber in more or less in place, but now I was basically not going to be able to use the moonroof unless I repaired it, and I'm sure that would be a ton of money. I'd already dumped $5500 into the 4Runner in the last year, and that was probably about what it was worth. The rust problems were just never ending.

So skip that Land Cruiser and find one without rust. The rust on the frame may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Was thinking the same thing.

If that much is VISIBLE? Probably a LOT more you can't see.

 

[M1911]

Was thinking the same thing.

If that much is VISIBLE? Probably a LOT more you can't see.

The scary part about rust on the frame is rust on the inside, boxed sections of the frame that you can't see and can't fix. Those will rust from the inside out.

That is basically what happened on my 4Runner. Several years back, I saw significant rust on the box sectioned cross member under the transmission. I used a wire wheel to remove as much rust as I could and painted it with POR 15. Several years after that, that some box sectioned cross member had rusted so badly that it was basically a U-section -- the entire bottom plate was gone. I believe that it rusted from the inside out. My coating of POR 15 might have stopped the rust on the outside, but it did nothing for the rust on the inside of the box section.

 

[HDJdreams]

Got it, run away screaming! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[HDJdreams]

Fluid film is also good and there are shops around the US that spray it on for you

When I do find a cleaner 200, would Fluid Film be worthwhile to help it last longer since my area uses some salt? (Nothing like Rust Belt though). Other than cost, is there disadvantages of using it?

 

[nuclearn8]

Fluid film is a great product. It's cheap and easy to apply. The drawbacks are it needs applied at least annually, probably semiannually to be effective depending on your area of the country. Do that and get the inside of the frame with it and its time and money well spent in my eyes. Smells a little funky for a couple days but it's worth it.