For you guys in the Rust Belt, how do you guys manage the rust from road salts?

Joined
Jun 25, 2019
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25
Location
Eufaula, AL
Moving to Northeast Indiana in March due to my job relocating, and my TJ is in pretty great shape with low miles (87K). I hate to bring it with me and just watch it eat itself over the next few years. I've considered selling it due to this fact because I know I can get more for it now than later.

Are there any precautions up there that I should know about if I decide to keep it?
 
Hose it down with 6 cans of fluid film. Get the spray adapter to get inside the frame. May not hurt to loosen the bolts that hold the skid plate, drop it down about a half inch so u can spray there too.
 
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also make sure your frame has drain holes. unfortunately the way the frame was constructed, traps a lot of water causing rusting from inside out.
 
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Give all the body work a good wax job in the fall going into winter too. I prefer something synthetic that last a while like nufinish. The floors can rot out too from snow and salt soaking into the carpet from your shoes getting in and out of the vehicle. Go with good floor mats like weather tech to contain that mess
 
Regularly wash the underside of your Jeep. I applied a couple coatings of por 15 on the exterior of the frame and bottom of the tub, and applied Eastwood internal frame coating on the interior of the frame rails. Every spring and fall I power wash the inside of the frame rails with a clog hog, and re-coat after dry with Eastwood heavy duty anti rust Amber coating which is similar to fluid film. And as @schmoupe mentioned make sure you have drain holes!
 
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I would seriously consider getting a commuter car and parking your TJ in the winter. It’s value as a rust free vehicle is not going to go down. Keeping it as a fun weekend and warm weather toy can give you an entirely new outlook where you never want to sell it.
 
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I would seriously consider getting a commuter car and parking your TJ in the winter. It’s value as a rust free vehicle is not going to go down. Keeping it as a fun weekend and warm weather toy can give you an entirely new outlook where you never want to sell it.
ThIs^^^ You can do all you want to try and protect, but you can't beat keeping it out of that cancerous environment altogether.
 
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+1 for Fluid Film. @ErikOffroad - 6 cans total or 6 inside the frame?? Ha, I think I used two and the leftovers from third on the inside/outside. Wondered if I shouldn't have put more on knowing it couldn't hurt...
 
ThIs^^^ You can do all you want to try and protect, but you can't beat keeping it out of that cancerous environment altogether.

sad but true, mine spends a goodly amount of winter inside for this reason. We're almost a month into winter and we have yet to have a snow or ice storm here however PENNDOT has already spread salt and/or brine probably 5 times in anticipation of these forecasted events that have yet to materialize. It's brutal. Just this weekend alone it was nearly 70 degrees BOTH DAYS yet there were still salt crystals on the road from earlier in the week when there was a 'chance' of snow which never came... I guess they've got to use it or lose it in next year's budget so use it they do, and the guys driving the salt trucks need their hours.
 
Moving to Northeast Indiana in March due to my job relocating, and my TJ is in pretty great shape with low miles (87K). I hate to bring it with me and just watch it eat itself over the next few years. I've considered selling it due to this fact because I know I can get more for it now than later.

Are there any precautions up there that I should know about if I decide to keep it?
Honestly, the only way to avoid it, is to avoid it by parking it all winter in a garage/storage bay.
 
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I park mine during Winter AND I also still use Fluid Film periodically to help repel and drive out moisture and keep other contaminants off the frame, inside and out. While some vehicles will fair better than others in the rust belt, the TJ just isn’t one of them. With the brines and all the types of other de-icing salts they use today, I won’t be subjecting the TJ to any of that. It just isn’t worth it with the money I have into it. Winter is the time for wrenching, maintenance, and making it better :).
 
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Nothing survives winter. No matter how much spray you put on, how often you wash it, the salt will eat it.

The only thing you can do is park it in a garage or storage unit for the duration of winter. Wait until all the snow melts and there's been a good spring rain storm to wash the salt off the roads, then bring it out for the summer.

Frankly IMO these SWB jeeps suck in snow and ice. Do like everyone else does up north and get a winter beater.
 
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+1 for Fluid Film. @ErikOffroad - 6 cans total or 6 inside the frame?? Ha, I think I used two and the leftovers from third on the inside/outside. Wondered if I shouldn't have put more on knowing it couldn't hurt...
Haha, I buy it by the gallon for all my vehicles here in Maine. But I also vote for not making it your daily driver, mine isn't. I am having heart palpitations because I have to drive it to the garage tomorrow to have some work done. But I also vote for keeping it, you will regret it if you sell it.
 
You guys are crazy suggesting to get a beater for winter! What fun is driving in winter weather and risk getting stuck in your shitbox beater when your TJ is sitting at home?! Get her winter ready, drive her, enjoy your life and try to get the salt off her as often as you can/time allows.
 
I've been using Fluid Film, but apply it with a spray gun. Buying it by the gallon was cheaper than by the can. Once the spray gun is loaded, it takes me about 10 minutes to spray the undercarriage of both my Jeep and truck. Two weekends ago, we took it for a ride on dirt forestry roads. No salt, but plenty of mud. I washed the mud off at the car wash, and was happy to see that the Fluid Film was still coating the frame.
 
2 things,
Heat is a catalyst and accelerates rust.
Water is required to for rust to work.

Park outside or at least in a cold unheated space.
Never add water. Wash is as infrequently as possible during winter.
 
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You guys are crazy suggesting to get a beater for winter! What fun is driving in winter weather and risk getting stuck in your shitbox beater when your TJ is sitting at home?! Get her winter ready, drive her, enjoy your life and try to get the salt off her as often as you can/time allows.
Fine, you go right ahead and do that. Driving mine in the winter for just 10 years rotted out the frame, torque boxes, fenders, rear boxed support, floor pans, B pillar cavities, and rocker seams. Doing a complete restoration now with a new frame and lots of tub repairs. I'm guessing the OP would like to keep his TJ cancer free.
 
You guys are crazy suggesting to get a beater for winter! What fun is driving in winter weather and risk getting stuck in your shitbox beater when your TJ is sitting at home?! Get her winter ready, drive her, enjoy your life and try to get the salt off her as often as you can/time allows.
I agree! I have a lot of fun wheeling in the snow. Adds a whole new challenge.