Silverado Rocker Panels

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Must be a regional thing, I have never seen rust on a rocker panel first hand in 12+ years of being in the auto industry.


Nothing rusts in CA, so you guys don't really count.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
And I am amazed that GM doesn't have wheel well liners in the box wheel wells.


Same here, I like the look of some of the newer GM trucks, but was shocked when I saw rust bubbling around the rear wheel well of a ~2010 Chevy Silverado.

The local shops say that the stuff being spread around here is the worst they've ever seen. They have had cars as new as 2008 come in completely rusted out. I didn't believe it until I saw one.


CT DOT has a big budget and has to use all the ice melt they buy. They started pre treating bridges on I95 two weeks ago. Anytime it drops below freezing they break out the pre treat.

 

[AMC]

I have never seen a chevy truck younger than 10 years old with the rockers rusted. Honestly, I see rusted rockers the most on Ford Rangers and vehicles that were in an accident and never repaired.

Either way, the fix is very easy! Have the wheel wells truck bed lined and fluid film inside the rocker panels. Almost every truck on the road has access holes that go into the rocker panels and door panels. The holes are found inside the doors, around the tail lights, or in the bed somewhere so you can stick a flixible tube attached to a can of rust preventer and spray it in there. You only need to do this once every few years

I did every cavity I could find in my truck in the summer and it turned out great. It cost me 2 whole cans of fluid film but I am sure I will never have a problem now.

Here is a link that will show exactly what you need to do this. These tubes work with any areosol of your choice!

http://www.kellsportproducts.com/fluidfilmwand.html

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: AMC
I have never seen a chevy truck younger than 10 years old with the rockers rusted. Honestly, I see rusted rockers the most on Ford Rangers and vehicles that were in an accident and never repaired.

Either way, the fix is very easy! Have the wheel wells truck bed lined and fluid film inside the rocker panels. Almost every truck on the road has access holes that go into the rocker panels and door panels. The holes are found inside the doors, around the tail lights, or in the bed somewhere so you can stick a flixible tube attached to a can of rust preventer and spray it in there. You only need to do this once every few years

I did every cavity I could find in my truck in the summer and it turned out great. It cost me 2 whole cans of fluid film but I am sure I will never have a problem now.

Here is a link that will show exactly what you need to do this. These tubes work with any areosol of your choice!

http://www.kellsportproducts.com/fluidfilmwand.html


That's not a fix, that's a preventative measure. Best done prior to the damage. Also, depending upon usage you may have to do more like twice a year, not every other year.

Takes like two cans just to do the frame on my truck, toss in a couple more to get sheetmetal and whatnot. Don't forget to get exposed bolts and hose clamps and wiring. Best I can tell, soaking everything short of rotors and exhaust is the way to go.

 

[jeepman3071]

What exactly is fluid film? It seems like a liquid wrench type of product.

I had some rust under my Jeep. I wire wheeled it and painted with truck bedliner. Would fluid film work better than bedliner? I figured the bedliner was a more permanent fix.

 

[morepwr]

I cant believe how spoiled we are in California for rust issues. I have a 23 year old truck that has sat outside since it was new and there isn't a spot of rust anywhere on it. It hasn't even started surface rusting on the body even though the clearcoat left a long time ago.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
What exactly is fluid film? It seems like a liquid wrench type of product.

I had some rust under my Jeep. I wire wheeled it and painted with truck bedliner. Would fluid film work better than bedliner? I figured the bedliner was a more permanent fix.


http://www.fluid-film.com/

It's basically a light oil; you can buy it in aresol cans (or by the gallon if you have an air sprayer). It's claim to fame is that it is slow to evaporate, slow to wash off; yet is light enough to flow into every nook and cranny, creating a water and air tight bond.

What makes it better? A rubberized undercoating can get nicked, and let water in behind it. Scratch FF, and it tends to just flow back onto itself. More important: when people have a car undercoated with something permanent, they tend to never do anything else. FF requires yearly application. That yearly application, while a pain to "have" to spray it again, means that it is always getting renewed. Unlike the undercoating, which, when compromised, tends to only be found long after the compromise means $$$$.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: morepwr
I cant believe how spoiled we are in California for rust issues. I have a 23 year old truck that has sat outside since it was new and there isn't a spot of rust anywhere on it. It hasn't even started surface rusting on the body even though the clearcoat left a long time ago.


Lucky you!

I sometimes wonder about leaving my state, high rust, brutal cold winters, high property taxes; but in so many other ways we still love it. Lovely fall leaves, winter sports, mild summers, and brutal winters to keep away the more soft people...

I suspect if I lived more south, like southern NH or esp MA/CT areas I'd want to move much more south--or more north--as IMO the weather is worse in NY/CT/MA. The worst place to be is to hang out around the freezing point; and IMO NH/ME (VT?) seemingly stay good and cold.

Salt is brutal on our vehicles, but those of us who haven't left already, well, it'll take a bit more!

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I live in Phoenix, AZ. Salt on the road? Are they trying to make it taste better?

Haha jk


No, we're just afraid that in the winter our roads will get dehydrated so we up their salt intake so they retain fluids better.

 

[AMC]

Originally Posted By: supton

That's not a fix, that's a preventative measure. Best done prior to the damage. Also, depending upon usage you may have to do more like twice a year, not every other year.

Takes like two cans just to do the frame on my truck, toss in a couple more to get sheetmetal and whatnot. Don't forget to get exposed bolts and hose clamps and wiring. Best I can tell, soaking everything short of rotors and exhaust is the way to go.


I was specifically talking about spraying fluid film inside all of the cavities of your vehicle. Since there is no real way for large amounds of water, salt or contaminates to get inside the cavities, a heavy application of fluid film once every few years should prevent any problems. Even in non corrosion regions like down south, I still think this would be a good idea.

As far as the undercarriage goes, I have been experimenting with undercoating recently. Those treatments need yearly application and but I do feel they are worth the price and trouble if you do them yourself. If you are going to pay someone.... probably too expensive. I say either do it yourself or just pressure wash your undercarriage weekly if you live in a corrosive region. Fix any scratches in the paint, wash your car frequently and wax frequently for the best results. It's no secret, take care of your car and it wont rot out.

I wasn't going to say this for fear of a flame war but I think I have to. One reason you see American vehicles with rust more so than imports, I think is because of the type of owners that American vehicles have. People who drive Chevrolet trucks especially, tend to do less cleaning and maintenance than drivers of imports, especially the people who buy imports new. Also, trucks of any brand tend to be used hard, offroaded, ripped through the snow and just generally beat on more so that cars and SUVs, worsening any rust issues. This issue of certain cars have certain "types" of owners is certainly a valid one. Here is the wall street journal confirming something else I have noticed, BMW drivers tend to be rude, pushy and impatient type drivers. I have been saying that for a while and now it seems a fairly reputable source has data that agrees with me on it.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/08/13/bmw-drivers-really-are-jerks-studies-find/