Please rinse out your frames...

[Scramble]

I didn't want to start another frame rust thread but I think this should be part of everyone's maintenance. Lets call it a "how not to let your frame rot out from the inside" thread.

Last Oct when I got back from my wheelin' trip I had a lot of mud on the truck. I figured it would be a good idea to rinse out the frame because I did a few water crossings & one of them was a thick & syrupy water hole. I stuck the pressure washer in there with the soap nozzle & then rinsed it with a mid pressure water nozzle. A bunch of dirt came out & I figured it was good. Then last week when I decided to stick my finger in one of the big rectangle holes on the side of the frame to see how much sand & salt got in there from the winter. Holy crap! Sand, pebbles, rust flakes! There was a ton of sh;t in there. I would say 3/4" deep. I should have checked last year after the pressure washing but I figured it all came out because the water went from brown to clear. All I did was force the silt from the front to the back & it all built up...guess where? Right in front of the control arm mount. That's where the frame starts arching up, the silt has no where to go and there's no drain hole there. It was on both sides but there was a lot more silt on the drivers side for some reason.

That looks to me to be the most important place to have a drain hole. The closest hole is only about a 1/4" dia & 18" in front of the control arm mount which is too far away. I plan on drilling a drain hole in front of the mount, either 3/8" or 1/2" unless someone here gives me a good reason not to. All of the drain hole's are pretty small except the ones in front of the front doors which about an inch in diameter and the round.

So please remember to rinse from front to back & then back to front. I used my fake "pressure washer" wand that attaches to my hose so that I could get it in the side holes & force the silt to move around & drain out. It took a long time to completely rinse out & there are still some larger pebble's in there. I got 2 out with my fingers but obviously some will be hard to get to. Even those of you that don't have salty winters need to do this. Dirt + Moisture + Metal = Rust

 

[MattJakobs]

Noted. After my 4Runner went for a little swim in the ocean in January, I've been rinsing my frame pretty nonstop. I spent 15 minutes in an underbody car wash right after the swim and still found plenty of sand, almost a scary amount.
Last week when I was installing my coilovers, I decided to stick the hose in the front holes of the frame to try and clean it out and sandy water poured out by the gallon. I'm out on vacation now but when I get back in town, I plan on spraying it out again trying to get any leftover stuff out of there.

 

[Scramble]

Just drove an 18 mile round trip at 50mph to help dry it out. No garage, otherwise I'd have a fan & dehumidifier on it.

 

[Kanoe]

I have mentioned this a few times in the various rust threads.

I use a chopped garden hose that I feed up the frame from the rear. It will snake all the way to the front. I turn it on full blast and over 1/2 hour slowly pull it out. Does a great job. I have been doing it 1 or 2 times a year.

Once it dries I spray a whole can of wd-40 inside. Why wd-40? I find the heavier oil sprays hold too much dirt so I only use them outside.

 

[Kanoe]

I too have been thinking about an additional drain hole. So far I have not been brave enough.

 

[Scramble]

I too have been thinking about an additional drain hole. So far I have not been brave enough.

I drilled a few holes in the front of the frame for the Shrockworks bumper brackets. Just make sure you hit it with primer & paint.

 

[Scramble]

I took a few pics even though I didn't think they would show much. My little old Canon A470 still does the job.
My driveway is clean so anything you see came out of the frame.

The tan is dirt & the brown chip is rust. This was from the back.

 

[RPS99SHO]

I put compressed air through every frame hole I could find, then proceeded to run many many gallons of water from the back of the frame to the front, then through each hole in the frame front to back. I PORed the outside then fluid filmed the inside. After each snow I give the frame a good bath.

Subbed to see who is brave enough to drill additional drainage holes.

 

[7echo]

I have been wanting an inspection camera and putting it off. Checking the interior of the frame is another reason to get one.

I think I will drill a few additional drain holes when I mount my 4XInnovation sliders.

 

[Scramble]

I have been wanting an inspection camera and putting it off. Checking the interior of the frame is another reason to get one.

I think I will drill a few additional drain holes when I mount my 4XInnovation sliders.

Plumbers use them. Maybe you could find a used one online.
I'm scared to see my inside. LOL The hammer test & finger test feel fine though. Like I said in the other rust threads, my trucks been to the car wash after every snowstorm since new. The frame is still solid and I'd like to keep it that way now that I know there's surface rust inside.

These rust chips came out of the passenger side.

 

[Scramble]

Here is some iron powder that came out.

 

[Scramble]

More iron

 

[Scramble]

Bigger rust chips that came out of the big drain hole. Drivers side front.

 

[Scramble]

Big pebble on the left & more rust chips.

 

[Scramble]

3 more pebbles, it's amazing what gets in there. Remember that these small rocks will block the drain holes & keep dirt & moisture in.

 

[Jabberjaw]

I'm a fan of bathing the underside in WD40 before off-roading. Doesn't insure the build-up O' shit, but makes clean up a lot easier.

 

[Scramble]

Draining the beast. :bounce:

 

[Scramble]

The little Canon had a tough time focusing in on the rock, sorry, but I got 5 of these out of the drivers side. Two with my fingers & 3 came out of the big front drain hole.

 

[Bry838]

You guys with a lil surface rust inside the frame. If you weren't aware Eastwoods makes a couple different rust inhibitor products in an aerosol can with a long flexible extension tube that you slip into the various holes throughout the frame and proceed to spray away! [MENTION=7105]Scramble[/MENTION] you would pry benefit from this! Give ya a little more piece of mind atleast?

 

[beliboy32]

I too have been thinking about an additional drain hole. So far I have not been brave enough.

just wait new drain holes will appear....... rust gets me everytime