Life in the rust belt.

[PWMDMD]

NY has some of the worst roads (pothole and maintenance wise) in the country despite being one of the highest taxed and tolled
states in the nation.
It's no wonder people are leaving in droves.

As a former NYer who grew up there, still has family and friends there and has watched many leave the state, no one is leaving NYS because of potholes and road conditions. Other reasons, sure, but not because of roads.

 

[PWMDMD]

Correct. Car washes around here use recycled water so im just blasting more salt water at the car.
At hone spraying is a no go since I winterize/shut off my outside water faucets.

If they just recycled salty water, cars would dry covered in salt, and they don't. Where I go, I know the final rinse is fresh water.

 

[Boomer]

Great being retired and not having to drive when the roads are covered in salt slush. My cars sit (one in the garage) during the winter, only venturing out when the roads are plowed, dry and basically salt free in terns of slush. Both of my VWs are completely rust free here in central PA.

When I had to drive to work on a daily basis, it was a different story.

And remember the four seasons in PA...Winter, more winter, road repair and football.

 

[fantastic]

If your car is sprayed rust proofing then some brands say not to do undercarriage car wash. At least NH Coatings states that.

I completely understand not doing that to not wash off the coating but the other poster was saying they use high salty water at the car wash.? Everywhere I'm from they use water straight from the ground.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Those poor Hyundai's don't stand a chance. My mother gave her 2017 CRV to her grandaugter in 2024 with 20k on the ODO. I maintained it. It was garaged and barely saw any snow. What little salt it got, already started eating away at it. I was astonished as to how fast that stuff just got in there and starting eating like termites. She even took it to the car wash after every snow with an undercarriage bath as an add on feature. Then my BIL's Mazda CX5 rear springs snapped in half ( He lives a few miles away, but he's an idiot ). " Why did my springs snap ??? " he asks me. I said ROAD SALT YOU MORON.. You take it to work on the highway in the snow right ?? " Yeah I do"....IDIOT..... I blame the car manufacturer's. Like I said in my earlier post. That 2000 Toyota had tons on rust proofing on it. It was built in Canada. There was even a thin layer of plastic covering every brake line,fuel line, EVAP line right back into the engine bay.

I take it you don't get along with the BIL?

 

[50yr Street Mech]

^ This ^ No, that ship sailed.

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

I left the rust belt when I noticed I was beginning to get rusty.

 

[joekingcorvette]

It seems where I live in SD a vehicle will generally make it 10 years before the rust shows up everywhere. Sometimes only 7 years depending on conditions.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Same in WNY. Power outages all the time.

 

[Donald]

I left the rust belt when I noticed I was beginning to get rusty.

Did you consider spraying some rustproofing on your body? I mean if WoolWax came from sheep can it hurt you skin?

 

[Encinoman]

I think I'll be leasing my next vehicle. Sure, it will cost me a little more but I don't have to worry about salt exposure, rust, questionable long term reliability due to overly complex systems, etc. Just turn it in after 3 years.

 

[IndyIan]

Anyone have an aluminum part fail from corrosion on their car? Any AL engine or transmission casing here seems to last 20+ year in my experience. I think there is a couple AL parts in the suspension of the Outback, but they look pretty good so far.
Now salt does help dissimilar metal corrosion, and I have had a couple bolts seize in AL blocks.

 

[Skeet6]

I like to buy "unlimited" washes (with undercarriage wash) at the drive thru car wash for the few winter months. I have one right off the interstate I drive daily to work. Keeps 'em going a few more years for sure.

 

[Bob in Utah]

Some guy in Arizona is probably rolling his eyes at this.
"Yeah my car isn't rusty but everything rubber and plastic on it is now fine pixie dust"

Yea

I grew up in west PA so I’m familiar with rust

That’s why my clean one owner ‘02 2500HD crew is rust free with 148K miles

Gets washed when exposed to salt…otherwise its hibernating

Probably hard to find a rust free 20+ YO truck in the NE

Here’s another…hibernating’03 LX WITH 220K and rust free

Rust and pot holes suck

 

[Snagglefoot]

Whilst changing front shocks on the JLU - noticed the rotors were rusted - pads might have just 10k left (46k on them) …
Anyone have product ideas or methods for removing some rust and preventing it? Was hoping to just do a pad slap & bleed.

It might be worth shooting some Krown or other anti rust fluid down between the inside of the twin discs. Not sure if it would smoke when hot.

I order a 6 pack of Krown from Amazon every few years and spray whenever the wheels get pulled off.

 

[Snagglefoot]

This what the suspension on a 3/4 Chevy looks like with a winter worth of road grime on top of a layer of Krown.

 

[Donald]

Yea

I grew up in west PA so I’m familiar with rust

That’s why my clean one owner ‘02 2500HD crew is rust free with 148K miles

Gets washed when exposed to salt…otherwise its hibernating

Probably hard to find a rust free 20+ YO truck in the NE

Here’s another…hibernating’03 LX WITH 220K and rust free

Rust and pot holes suck

View attachment 325872

No rust preventative spay like Fluid Film? I am thinking it does not get exposed to salt very often.

 

[The_Jeff]

Anyone have an aluminum part fail from corrosion on their car? Any AL engine or transmission casing here seems to last 20+ year in my experience. I think there is a couple AL parts in the suspension of the Outback, but they look pretty good so far.
Now salt does help dissimilar metal corrosion, and I have had a couple bolts seize in AL blocks.

Yup, the bumper beam in a 2nd gen Prius. Pure aluminum. A washer on a fastener holding it to the unibody caused galvanic corrosion and led to the hole getting big enough to fall off the fastener.

After I removed it, I realized I could have just gotten some monster sized fender washers and gotten a few more years out of it!

 

[Snagglefoot]

Whilst changing front shocks on the JLU - noticed the rotors were rusted - pads might have just 10k left (46k on them) …
Anyone have product ideas or methods for removing some rust and preventing it? Was hoping to just do a pad slap & bleed.

I took a bullet for the team and sprayed between the two edges of the discs with crown. It will either smoke or eventually dissipate. I’ll check next time I rotate the tires. Those are markings on the discs and not pits. 8 years on the discs. Maybe a few more years

 

[Pablo]

I took a bullet for the team and sprayed between the two edges of the discs with crown. It will either smoke or eventually dissipate. I’ll check next time I rotate the tires.

View attachment 327988

View attachment 327989

View attachment 327990

She’ll smoke on long steep down hill braking. But it will be glorious oh and smell that smell….