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Protecting exposed threads on vehicle

Hendrik

Hendrik

Member
On car and truck suspension and steering linkage components one commonly finds one to four threads sticking out of nuts and being exposed to water spray and dirt. What do you apply to these threads to prevent rust so that disassembly after, say, three years is doable without too much fuss?
My preference would be something that can be sprayed on.
Thanks.
 
I usually spray under the whole vehicle with fluid film one or more times a year as I live in a very rust prone area. Need to be a bit careful about rubber and brakes though. Sam
 


I roll under twice a year with an air charged can with WD-40 to penetrate the moisture in rust prone places. I follow that up with aerosol chain lube, and spray steel lines and spots that I may want to take apart later at the same time.
 
Keep in mind that none of this is a "one and done" thing. You have to keep after it, month after month, year after year, if you expect to have any sort of positive effect.

All rust needs is one tiny chink in the armor, one little stone chip that exposes bare metal, and its off to the races, working its way under any protective coating you put on.

That's why undercoating is largely a waste of time and money. You can't get to everywhere the salt and water can, and once that rust gets started up on top of a frame rail, it's all over.
 
(quoted from post at 05:03:54 04/25/18) Keep in mind that none of this is a "one and done" thing. You have to keep after it, month after month, year after year, if you expect to have any sort of positive effect.

All rust needs is one tiny chink in the armor, one little stone chip that exposes bare metal, and its off to the races, working its way under any protective coating you put on.

That's why undercoating is largely a waste of time and money. You can't get to everywhere the salt and water can, and once that rust gets started up on top of a frame rail, it's all over.
Click to expand...

I disagree. Salt water takes forever to evaporate so it is working away at the steel for weeks while evaporating. A little WD-40 penetrates any where that the salt water goes and chases it right away. The aerosol chain lube or Fluid Film sets up a flexible self healing film.
 
I use new oil(20w) mixed with something like STP that is tacky and spray bolts and underside of vehicles. Neighbor is a car collector and uses fluid film and says it's ok but washes to easy.
 
Brush on grease or anti seize, then fit a length of fuel hose or clear tubing over thread that is proper size where it can threaded on.
 
I disagree. Salt water takes forever to evaporate so it is working away at the steel for weeks while evaporating. A little WD-40 penetrates any where that the salt water goes and chases it right away. The aerosol chain lube or Fluid Film sets up a flexible self healing film.
Click to expand...

The salt has had months and thousands of miles to be driven up into every nook and cranny on a vehicle. No matter how careful and thorough you think you are you will never get to every spot with your WD40. Fluid film only "self heals" so many times before there isn't enough left to "self heal" and you have to reapply.

So again, it's not a "one and done" thing. If you think it is, enjoy your rusty vehicle.
 
If you have enough threads showing just put some never seize on then put on enough nuts to cover the threads.
That's what what I do when changing the points, shares or what ever they're called on a plow in your area. You can usually use the nuts that held the old share on and it makes it a lot easier to change them next time
 
(quoted from post at 09:28:27 04/25/18)
I disagree. Salt water takes forever to evaporate so it is working away at the steel for weeks while evaporating. A little WD-40 penetrates any where that the salt water goes and chases it right away. The aerosol chain lube or Fluid Film sets up a flexible self healing film.
Click to expand...

The salt has had months and thousands of miles to be driven up into every nook and cranny on a vehicle. No matter how careful and thorough you think you are you will never get to every spot with your WD40. Fluid film only "self heals" so many times before there isn't enough left to "self heal" and you have to reapply.

So again, it's not a "one and done" thing. If you think it is, enjoy your rusty vehicle.
Click to expand...

I agree. It's a rite of spring to get under our cars with a pressure washer and wash out the nooks and crannies and inside the frame. Wet, messy job. I want a Fluid Film spray set up, especially for my wifes Jeep Wrangler. We've lost 2 Wranglers and 2 Toyota PU's to plain old rust. A Fluid Film application spring and fall (and maybe mid winter too) is cheap insurance. It appears far more effective than my old standby of drain oil!
 
I "rotate" my tires every 7-8000 miles; dont really have to worry about the threads....they stay clean. Thats roughly twice a year for me.
 
For those of us deep in the rust belt, the options are:
- undercoat your car every year with the stick oil based undercoating. Rust check is one brand. If you do it every year the car will last about 20 years instead of 10.
- nothing, wire brush and an impact wrench removes the nuts or bolts. Torch when needed.


WD40, washing, painting, etc don?t work more than a short time.

Anti-seize is great for the covered area of the threads and reduces the number of bolts you break on older vehicles. Does nothing for exposed threads. Everything has to have been taken apart and had anti-seize applied in the first couple of years or it?s too late.
 
How does rotating the tires keep the steering linkage from rusting????? I must have missed something here!
 
No that stuff doesn't work at all in my experience. Does help protect from gravel / rocks damage to paint. Needs to be undercoated with oily type fluid or water gets behind it via pin holes and it rots out.

Burns really well too when trying to work on the car fixing the rust.
 
(quoted from post at 05:28:27 04/25/18)
I disagree. Salt water takes forever to evaporate so it is working away at the steel for weeks while evaporating. A little WD-40 penetrates any where that the salt water goes and chases it right away. The aerosol chain lube or Fluid Film sets up a flexible self healing film.
Click to expand...

The salt has had months and thousands of miles to be driven up into every nook and cranny on a vehicle. No matter how careful and thorough you think you are you will never get to every spot with your WD40. Fluid film only "self heals" so many times before there isn't enough left to "self heal" and you have to reapply.

So again, it's not a "one and done" thing. If you think it is, enjoy your rusty vehicle.
Click to expand...

Barnyard, why not read? It doesn't hurt, and it helps to keep you from looking so uninformed.
 
If you have at least 2 threads exposed, a little grease and a second nut.
Same for any place subjected to mechanical abuse.
 
Typically, the nuts/threads you wrote about will never need to be dealt with 'til the tie rod end or ball joint they are a part of needs to be replaced.

At that point, who cares if there's some rust? If they don't want to cooperate and unscrew, a smoke wrench will make pretty quick work of a part that is going to be tossed in the scrap bin anyhow.

Am I missing something here?
 
(quoted from post at 17:42:20 04/25/18) Typically, the nuts/threads you wrote about will never need to be dealt with 'til the tie rod end or ball joint they are a part of needs to be replaced.

At that point, who cares if there's some rust? If they don't want to cooperate and unscrew, a smoke wrench will make pretty quick work of a part that is going to be tossed in the scrap bin anyhow.

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

Yes Bob, what you are missing is the insignificance of the time and product needed to hit a few threads while under there protecting the sheet metal and tubing, compared to the time to go and get the torch eight different times and to chase down the resultant needed new parts.
 
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