rusting hitch and other parts

[useport80]

hey all,
Im a complete car noob so please dont laugh. lol. i have an 08 urbanrunner and i noticed that i have some rust on the underside of my hitch, on some of my wheel locks, and on the brakes.

i'm assuming the rust on the brakes is normal. its not on the brake pads but on the roters(i think). confirmation?

i have some rust on the lug nuts as well. but im assuming thats normal as well. confirmation?

on my hitch i have rust at the bottom which i dont think is normal. take a look at the attachment.

the car is less than 2 years old which worries me. we dont get THAT much snow in northern virginia, but we have had some bad snow a few times this winter. but i dont think my car should be rusting

what should i do?

thanks all.

 

[Jed]

4Runner do tend to develop quite a bit of surface rust on the undercarriage. It shouldn't be a problem though, as long as it is just on the surface and it doesn't get out of hand. We have a lot of salt-covered roads during the winter here in NY, so my 4Runner has its share of rust underneath too.

I'm considering cleaning everthing underneath and coating it with POR-15 this summer, just to keep the rust under control. Has anyone else tried this stuff? The guys who restore cars absolutely swear it is the best thing for controlling chassis rust.

 

[sr5hi]

Metal parts exposed to the elements are eventually going to show rust. How long before this happens depends on how well they are painted, plated or protected and the degree of exposure. As far as your hitch, wire brush or sand off the rust and paint it with a good quality paint. For your chrome lug nuts, use chrome polish to remove the surface rust and apply a coat of car wax or a light spray of silicone lubricant. Do this as a part of routine maintenance or as needed. You may also want to take a look at your chassis to see if any areas may need a little paint or undercoating to control rust.

 

[olsen_karl]

I'm considering cleaning everthing underneath and coating it with POR-15 this summer, just to keep the rust under control. Has anyone else tried this stuff? The guys who restore cars absolutely swear it is the best thing for controlling chassis rust.

POR15 works great - I've used it on several Jeep projects in the past.

It adheres better to rough surfaces than smooth. I'm going to use some on the rusty bits under my 4R this summer too; it seems like some of the factory paint/prep wasn't that great. All I'm going to do for prep work before using the POR15 is to hose clean everything, then use a wire brush (hand tool, not a rotary wire brush) to remove any loose paint and rust particles, then brush the POR15 on.

It dries to a shiny black finish, so it will not match the matte grayish black finish on the frame/undercarriage, but I don't really care.

 

[Jed]

POR15 works great - I've used it on several Jeep projects in the past.

It adheres better to rough surfaces than smooth. I'm going to use some on the rusty bits under my 4R this summer too; it seems like some of the factory paint/prep wasn't that great. All I'm going to do for prep work before using the POR15 is to hose clean everything, then use a wire brush (hand tool, not a rotary wire brush) to remove any loose paint and rust particles, then brush the POR15 on.

It dries to a shiny black finish, so it will not match the matte grayish black finish on the frame/undercarriage, but I don't really care.

Well, even a shiny black finish will look better than a rusty finish. But I am surprised they don't make it in flat black, considering how popular it is for frames/chassis.

 

[charlier180]

I'm considering cleaning everthing underneath and coating it with POR-15 this summer, just to keep the rust under control. Has anyone else tried this stuff? The guys who restore cars absolutely swear it is the best thing for controlling chassis rust.

I live in Pennsylvania also and have rust in the same places that you have.
A couple of years ago I used POR-15 on the problem areas. It has held up VERY WELL since I applied it. Unfortunately, back then I only applied it to the rusted areas. Since then, other areas rusted so back around Halloween this year I bit the bullet and did as much of the frame and undercarriage as I could get to (using a lift).

The key to using POR-15 successfully is to follow the manufacturer's directions EXACTLY and use their other products as indicated. 99% of the time when someone complains that POR-15 did not work it is the result of them "knowing better" or "not wanting to spend the money on the other prep products".
Yes, POR-15 and it's other prep products are not cheap but they DO WORK when used correctly.

For more information about this product check out their web site at: http://www.por15.com/

I usually order the 6 packs of POR-15 since a little goes a long way.
The 6 packs are more expensive but they keep better/longer than the quart cans. With the 6 packs you can also order a combination of different colors if you need them. For undercarriage I stick with gloss or semi-gloss black.

BTW, I have no connection to this company other than being a very satisfied customer who has used their products on my vehicles for the last 10+ years.

 

[MikesToy]

I spray painted mine with the same spray paint i used on my bbq grille. Damnit i forgot what name of the paint was.

 

[Uneek]

I live in Pennsylvania also and have rust in the same places that you have.
A couple of years ago I used POR-15 on the problem areas. It has held up VERY WELL since I applied it. Unfortunately, back then I only applied it to the rusted areas. Since then, other areas rusted so back around Halloween this year I bit the bullet and did as much of the frame and undercarriage as I could get to (using a lift).

The key to using POR-15 successfully is to follow the manufacturer's directions EXACTLY and use their other products as indicated. 99% of the time when someone complains that POR-15 did not work it is the result of them "knowing better" or "not wanting to spend the money on the other prep products".
Yes, POR-15 and it's other prep products are not cheap but they DO WORK when used correctly.

For more information about this product check out their web site at: POR15, Inc. - Stop Rust Permanently - Repair Gas & Fuel Tanks

I usually order the 6 packs of POR-15 since a little goes a long way.
The 6 packs are more expensive but they keep better/longer than the quart cans. With the 6 packs you can also order a combination of different colors if you need them. For undercarriage I stick with gloss or semi-gloss black.

BTW, I have no connection to this company other than being a very satisfied customer who has used their products on my vehicles for the last 10+ years.

:iagree: Use Marine Clean and Metal Ready prior to POR-15.