rust woes :(

4

4x4RunnerSR5

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ok i'll see if i can snap some pictures tomorrow but for now here's my story.

i got the car in immaculate shape, or so i thought. there's a ton of rust on the undercarriage. turns out the guy had the car in NY and this is pretty common in the northern states (maybe due to the salt?). how do i get it off? what product/method do i use?
 
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Check out rustoleum "rust reformer." Very low-prep easy way to fix up rust in places where looks aren't too important. I've started using it on a few small things and have been thinking about going to town on the under carriage (my runner has lived all 14 of its years in New England so very rusty).
 
Where are you located? Still in a rust area?

Welcome to the club. I had the same thing happen to me. The best way to take it off is to get an angle grinder and heavy duty twisted wire brushes. I have taken off tons of rust with that setup. It takes all the rust off, but doesn't dig into the good steel; leaves clean, shiny steel exposed.

The big key is what you do after stripping the rust off. I am using POR-15, with metal etch and cleaner; it seems to be about the best product you can get, though nothing is 100%. If you don't do that, just be sure that you do it right, with required primer, etc. If you don't do it right, then you will end up in the same place again down the road.


BTW, if you have alot of rust, you may want to check some key spots. Check the rear axle housing for how much comes off, and if you have any holes in it. Myself and one or 2 others have had that problem (in my case, it drained the gear oil, nearly completely, which could have toasted my differential). Also check your rear heater lines, brake lines, fuel lines, fuel filler pipe, and parking brake bell cranks. Any of these could fail or malfunction due to rust.

Definitely post some pics, including a view of the rear axle from the back of the vehicle.
 
VinnyM said:
Check out rustoleum "rust reformer." Very low-prep easy way to fix up rust in places where looks aren't too important. I've started using it on a few small things and have been thinking about going to town on the under carriage (my runner has lived all 14 of its years in New England so very rusty).
Click to expand...

FYI, rust reformer is garbage. Several of us have used it before and it doesn't work. I found it very sensitive to the amount of rust you have, and how much you put on, and even when it worked like it was supposed to, it wasn't too great anyway.
 
is there anyway to fix the rear axle besides replacing it? Im in Ohio and just found a small pinhole in mine that is leaking fluid. Is there any way to grind it down and "armor" it up or is that metal to weak or small of a tolerance to take welds. Any info anyone has on this would be much appreciated. For my underside there is a local guy that sprays the whole underside with hydraulic oil you cant park on concrete for a week but you cant beat it for a rust inhibitor
 
I used wire brush attachments for my drill and went to town. Over the last week I repainted most of my frame, rear axle, gas tank skid and muffler. I used eastwood's rust converter, rust encapsulator and extreme chassis black. The results were very good. I also sprayed 3 cans of Eastwoods internal frame coating in the rails. My frame had a hole in it that had to be patched 3 months ago. My 4runner lived its whole life in MD where they use salt.
 
I have some Por15 paint that will be going to be going on my undercarriage this spring. Stuffs expensive ( seriously hold onto your wallet when you order) but it really stops rust if its not to late.
Heres my starter amount ready for use.
DSC00227.jpg~original



Rust spreads fast so get it taken care of, I lost a 94 yota pickup due to frame rot. Body looked mint, it was originaly from upstate NY aswell.


As far as spraying it with oil, I hear that helps , I tried it on my pickup but the frame already had holes in it so it was to late .. Used motor oil works great because its already broken down. But Id recomend por15 first to be honest.
 
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all good info thanks guys. keep it coming!

i'm in florida now so not worried about future rust much but need to get the current situation cleaned up!
 
Any rust areas that cause a leak such a axle seals I've been able to fix with an application of JBWELD and sanding to match conformity and a new axle seals. I've used the JBWELD on several other aps and never had any problems and have only experienced good results.
 
Jon said:
Any rust areas that cause a leak such a axle seals I've been able to fix with an application of JBWELD and sanding to match conformity and a new axle seals. I've used the JBWELD on several other aps and never had any problems and have only experienced good results.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing to mine as a temporary patch (I used the JB weld putty so that none would drip inside the diff case) and drove it for a few months like that while I searched for new rear axle. Regular JBweld is probably better, but I felt my hole was too big for it. The putty seemed to stand up fine, but I want to be able to beat this vehicle up a bit (plus withstand additional rust of New England), so I went the replacement route. I'm not trying to say that patching is insufficient for what you want to do with it; if your budget is tight and it is going to be a street vehicle in a non-rust area, then JB weld patching will probably be fine. Just be sure you do it right by draining the diff, cleaning it up first, and making sure no JBweld leaks through.

I actually had 2 holes and knew the rest of the diff cover area was super thin, if you aren't in the same boat, then you can get away cheaper. I am not sure about JBweld on axle seals, that seems odd since they are pretty cheap anyway. It should be ok on the housing.
 
I had a rear housing leak aswell.. I used JB weld putty cleaned the heck out of it and a new breather just in case to relieve any excess presure.. I will let you know how it holds up it is just a daily driver so i dont beat on it...
 
cpd1751 said:
I had a rear housing leak aswell.. I used JB weld putty cleaned the heck out of it and a new breather just in case to relieve any excess presure.. I will let you know how it holds up it is just a daily driver so i dont beat on it...
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, checking the breather is a really good idea as well. In fact, just do the extended breather mod so it doesn't corrode in the future.
 
I live in North Eastern Ontario in Canada. Road salt is used liberally, and cars don't stay looking good for long around here.

My recommendations:

- Clean up your diff. as other's have advised, and use the JB Weld to seal the pin hole.

- Spray your truck with the Gear oil. You can also do what I do, which is use recycled Motor oil from your oil changes (assuming you do your own oil changes). It's free, and all you need is a decent sized air compressor and a "undercoating" spray gun. (gun should run you about $30.00, and you have it forever)


That being said, spraying your undercarriage with oil is very messy, and not for everyone. You have to be willing to get your hands more than a little dirty when working on your truck......some guys (even mechanics) hate working on trucks this greasy....he he he!

P1110581.jpg~original


P1110573.jpg~original


The truck had some rust on it when I bought it used, but the rust has been kept at bey with this setup...I also use multipurpose grease on the insides of my bumpers, skidplates, and even used to coat my cable for the spare tire....
 
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