dillema about rustproofing and engine cleaning...

C

chip douglas

New member
I'm in Canada, and winter here is hell, so i have my car rustproffed each and every year, yet today opening my hood, i got hit by this : i'll have my car rustproofed in october, and the painted areas in the engine bay, has rustproof, so what to do ? Sorry if this sound silly but it is a real dillema, unless there s something which i have forgotten to include in my reasonning of course, that s why i ask you guys, as some of you too have winter in some parts of the united states.


Also, am i the only one to have rust (very very little though) on some parts surrounding the engine ? I find despte all my endeavors to avoid them that it s real hard, and many of those pieces cannot be dismantled unless by a mechanic(i wouldnt want to damage anything, and also there are specific torques to be applied when re-installing) thos areas/metal pieces are for the majority quite hard to even be reached by hand or with a brush, so tell me if there s better to do than applying WD40 or something like a sticky grease that will not wash away, to stop the rusting process.

I was looking at those two pieces after diner, not so long ago, in desperation, as i would very much like to make em better but they re so inaccessible.

please help, mind you i might be going overboard with this, at least i think i am :D

take care
 
sorry to say you're fighting a losing battle....unfortunately where you live vehicles take a beating during the winter and the relief comes way too late....

I know of a guy with an entire yard of old 30's & 40"s cars ..they've been there a good part of 40 years and a friend of mine had a mutual friend of the guy and was able to go and actually look at them. He told me that they were in excellent shape considering they don't run or ever move....(I think they guy is a nut case, but that's a story for another day) and he said the guy sprays WD40 all over the cars actually like a bath.
I think you might do the same as you stated before...there is no simple answer other than moving closer to the Fuzz and Dwayne;)
 
Poorboy...

When you say *all over* do you mean in the engine compartment only ? or actually all over the car lol ( the former i guess):D


Best regards to you and thanks for the tips
 
Re: Poorboy...

chip douglas said:
When you say *all over* do you mean in the engine compartment only ? or actually all over the car lol ( the former i guess):D


Best regards to you and thanks for the tips
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I do that to my cars every year. I spray the whole engine bay (including the underside of the hood), door & trunk jams inside the wheelwells behind the splash guards etc. I do this twice during the winter (October & about Feb on a dry day). To date, none of the cars I've done this to have rusted in those areas.

The neon I had went 140,000 miles with no rust because of this (in N/E Ohio even).
 
Yep....in northern parts where snow, sleet, road salt and grit are common sooner or later the rust bug will show up...somewhere.

I personally don't know about using WD-40 in the engine compartment (at least on anything close to hot engine parts like an exhaust manifold). After all, it is flammable! Plus, anyone who owns firearms can tell you that WD-40, as a protectant, is less than spectacular. As a loosening agen for rusted nuts and bolts it works great which is another reason I wouldn't use it around those rusted areas in your engine. It just may loosen up some of the fittings! There are many other choices that will protect metal infinetley better for longer periods of time than will WD-40. Teflon grease (clear in color) is what I use on the hingepins on my double guns. I've used it a few times in the engine bay, chassis components and also door hinges. It is my personal favorite. But, like any grease, once it gets too hot it will simply melt away but it will last longer than most greases.

I'm not exactly sure where under the hood of your car the rust is forming? My wife's Taurus started showing some rust at the top of the strut towers. I just wire brushed then sanded what I could, hit it with a spray of rustoleum primer then duplicolor spray paint. Every now and then I spray a protecant on there that I use on my firearms (the same thing U.S. troops use on their firearms). I doubt the firearm spray actually lasts long enough to really make a difference. It is meant to be re-applied after every use and I'm sure as hell not going to reapply the stuff every time she uses the car. Come to think of it, I'm probably just wasting the darn stuff and it is pretty expensive. :confused:

Ah hell, I really don't know what to tell you. How about stopping by a body shop and asking them what they think? Hey Koop.....you're a body shop man! What doya think buddy?

Howz that post for typing a lot and not really saying anything! :rolleyes:

Natty
 
Canada and Rust

A friend of mine is a used car dealer and I go to the auto auction with him quite often.
A Canadian company brings quite a few lease and rental cars to this auction. Cars that are 1 to 3 years old. It is unbelievable the amount of rust/corrosion that most of these cars have. Even with the salt problems we have in Iowa, it doesn't even come close to what those people have to put up with. I really think that if you were to show me only the engine compartment, I could identify the Canadian cars almost 100%. This is after they have been cleaned up by a production "detail" shop.
 
I've been using the WD-40 trick for over 6 years without a problem. I feel that it gets into the electrical connections, preventing problems there, and I have never had an issue with the exhaust heat (none of my cars have burned up ;) )

One of the areas that I am concerned about protecting is the leading edge of the hood. I try to spray in there fairly heavy. That's one of the only areas I've had problems with rusting in the past (pre-WD-40).
 
During the winter I go to those booth car washs and get the highpressure sprayer with hot water and some soap at the same time and spray the underside of my car and wheelwells to get all the salt and stuff off before my next detail. In the engine bay some parts you cant stop from rusting like the headers and other parts because there iron and its prone to rusting.
 
Thats I find its an endless battle to stop parts from rusting like that all the chrome and stainless steel in my engine compartment looks brandnew along with everything else but stuff like the headers and underside of the engine you cant do anything about. I have seen a jeep once that had a powder coated engine and whole underside once although I would question how it works with the heat from the engine.
 
No ceramic coat everything. You can easily get anything ceramic coated. Im looking into getting my new car compeltely ceramic coated.

Not going to happen though, ill never find THAT much money.
 
Oh Lol It would be cheaper to power coat the whole underbody wheel wells and suspension components and leave the engine bay alone.
 
My first true street car, will be taken apart the day its delivered. Sent to Leigtenfelter, and EVERYTHING will be coated in something or another.

Yeah, im dreaming, I know.
 
I live in Ohio and the winter there is pretty crappy. I'm curious about spraying the engine compartment and fenderwells. So, do I just spray all over most parts and leave it wet or do you wipe it down afterward?:confused:
 
Elbow Grease said:
I live in Ohio and the winter there is pretty crappy. I'm curious about spraying the engine compartment and fenderwells. So, do I just spray all over most parts and leave it wet or do you wipe it down afterward?:confused:
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I'm a bit north of you, and every winter I hose down my engine & bay with WD-40 then wash it out in the spring. It's worked GREAT for me for the last seven years (77,000 mi Jeep, 140,000 mi Neon & lately a 34,000 Cavalier, all rust FREE in the engine compartment)
 
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