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

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.
Much truth to this. I was working at Toyota when they were doing the tacoma frame recalls for rust through issues. The more often the owner had washed the truck in the winter, the more rust and holes the frames had. The best condition/solid frames were from owners who never washed it during the winter and parked outside. Seems counter intuitive but we saw the results first hand.
 
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Much truth to this. I was working at Toyota when they were doing the tacoma frame recalls for rust through issues. The more often the owner had washed the truck in the winter, the more rust and holes the frames had. The best condition/solid frames were from owners who never washed it during the winter and parked outside. Seems counter intuitive but we saw the results first hand.
That’s really interesting. I never would’ve thought that.
 
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Of note: a lot of municipalities here in Illinois aren't using straight salt anymore. There's a mixture of several components that have been found to be effective on ice. Oddly enough, beet juice is one of them.

That's not to say that you shouldn't take precautions. It's more to point out that there's less salt hitting the streets than there once was.
 
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.

Much truth to this. I was working at Toyota when they were doing the tacoma frame recalls for rust through issues. The more often the owner had washed the truck in the winter, the more rust and holes the frames had. The best condition/solid frames were from owners who never washed it during the winter and parked outside. Seems counter intuitive but we saw the results first hand.

Agreed. This is the science behind it, and is something that I also tell Fluid Film users. A bunch of water getting inside the frame often during Winter, likely feeding the salty mixture once a week, and sitting an above-freezing garage while it slowly dries...not a good idea. Coat the undercarriage and frame inside and out with the Fluid Film, but don’t don’t power wash it off every time you get a chance when salt gets under Jeep. Let it be the barrier that it is designed to be AND park outside in the cold to slow down the chemical reaction. If you have to wash it once in a while, do it infrequently, and when it warms up so you can park in the sun to dry. Never power wash the undercarriage on high on and wash the Fluid Film away. Do it on low, carefully and as indirectly as possible, so you don’t wash it away.
 
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Of note: a lot of municipalities here in Illinois aren't using straight salt anymore. There's a mixture of several components that have been found to be effective on ice. Oddly enough, beet juice is one of them.

That's not to say that you shouldn't take precautions. It's more to point out that there's less salt hitting the streets than there once was.
Maybe true, I’m all for intelligent solutions. I’ve seen beet juice discussed and used in Ohio as well, but it is typically mixed with the salt brine to lower to freezing point. If it keeps the salt in liquid form longer, then it will just accelerate the corrosion problems, even if the beet juice itself is harmless. It should allow them to use less though as you said, since they are more effective, so there is less on the roadways in the long run.

Unfortunately, there are also other nasty salts being used these days like MgCl. Check out this info about MgCl and how corrosive it is, especially in humid environments. They claimed that MgCl was supposed to be better for corrosion, but that turned out to be a myth they still like to perputuate.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/its-friggin-cold.28037/#post-451871
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/its-friggin-cold.28037/#post-451875
 
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You guys are crazy suggesting to get a beater for winter!
Right? ;)
Oh how much fun this looks.
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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.

Same thing here in WV. No real snow at all yet the state road just keeps salting the roads over and over. It’s barely been cold enough to freeze a couple of days so far this winter. You would think that they would have to be some sort of environmental impact from all that salt and chemicals. If a private company put something like that in a river or stream it would be a million dollar fine lol. I also vote for avoiding the salt all together. You can do a few things to slow down the damage but nothing better than avoiding 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 agree. (y) I oil my Jeeps annually with Krown T40 and while I work on them. My LJ developed some rust but it's in areas I can easily address. I can't imagine going through the winter without a Jeep.
 
Never power wash the undercarriage on high on and wash the Fluid Film away. Do it on low, carefully and as indirectly as possible, so you don’t wash it away.

Once the Fluid Film is on there I won't even think about washing underneath my Jeep or my truck until some time in April. Heck I don't even want to wash the outside of them for the same reason but sometimes I just have to. My Jeep is kinda lucky though, being silver it only needs washed about 1/3 as often as my Yellow truck.
 
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Same thing here in WV. No real snow at all yet the state road just keeps salting the roads over and over. It’s barely been cold enough to freeze a couple of days so far this winter. You would think that they would have to be some sort of environmental impact from all that salt and chemicals. If a private company put something like that in a river or stream it would be a million dollar fine lol. I also vote for avoiding the salt all together. You can do a few things to slow down the damage but nothing better than avoiding it.
While I think you may be on to something with the salt and local impact..as soon as the local govt doesnt anticipate a freeze or snow and doesnt put out the salt and other road prep, the forcast gets it wrong...(imagine that?) it snows, and people lose their minds because the roads were not prepped. They’ll ask, “you knew there might be a chance,” and still you guys did nothing?”

Damned if they do, damned if they dont.

Thats an easy call for their leadership. Put down the salt and prep the roads just in case. Proactive and likely not a lot of money spent.

Can you imagine the risk in not doing the salt and prep only to wake up the next morning with snow and ice covering the roadways?
 
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Nobody bothered to ask which city you're moving to. Big city, small town, 2 mile commute, 60 miles on the interstate. Small towns don't use tons of salt. So if you live in a small town and commute to a rural factory, its different than Indianapolis.

I lived in the middle of nowhere and we had no salt damage, but rocks and sand would sandblast the underside and paint of our cars. Our oldest truck had holes in the floor from decades of rock. Every car had mudflats not for mud, but to limit damage from dry sand and rock.

If you don't drive it in the winter, make sure you put it up on blocks, never modify it, never take it on a trail, never take it on large rocks, never take it into a forested area, never risk an accident, never take it out of the garage again. Otherwise it will lose its investment value.

I can't believe the damage some people do to theirs on the rock trails in CA. They drill holes in the side of them on purpose just to install guards on the sides to minimize scratches and dents. They have pinstriped paint and spend thousands just to get places to break components.

Salt is a problem if you don't do basic maintenance and pay close attention with inspections each year. You know the issue so address it or sell it now.
 
If you don't drive it in the winter, make sure you put it up on blocks, never modify it, never take it on a trail, never take it on large rocks, never take it into a forested area, never risk an accident, never take it out of the garage again. Otherwise it will lose its investment value.
Not passive aggressive at all.
 
Nobody bothered to ask which city you're moving to. Big city, small town, 2 mile commute, 60 miles on the interstate. Small towns don't use tons of salt. So if you live in a small town and commute to a rural factory, its different than Indianapolis.

That is true. I live in a very small town with a very short commute. We also have a lot of really cold days during the winter and road commission switches to sand instead of salt.
 
Not passive aggressive at all.

Not really. It's valid. Everyone says park it because it will rust. Nobody ever says don't modify it and go to MOAB or take the Rubicon trail. I bet trails have destroyed more TJs than rust.
 
Nobody bothered to ask which city you're moving to. Big city, small town, 2 mile commute, 60 miles on the interstate. Small towns don't use tons of salt. So if you live in a small town and commute to a rural factory, its different than Indianapolis.

I lived in the middle of nowhere and we had no salt damage, but rocks and sand would sandblast the underside and paint of our cars. Our oldest truck had holes in the floor from decades of rock. Every car had mudflats not for mud, but to limit damage from dry sand and rock.

If you don't drive it in the winter, make sure you put it up on blocks, never modify it, never take it on a trail, never take it on large rocks, never take it into a forested area, never risk an accident, never take it out of the garage again. Otherwise it will lose its investment value.

I can't believe the damage some people do to theirs on the rock trails in CA. They drill holes in the side of them on purpose just to install guards on the sides to minimize scratches and dents. They have pinstriped paint and spend thousands just to get places to break components.

Salt is a problem if you don't do basic maintenance and pay close attention with inspections each year. You know the issue so address it or sell it now.
I’ll be in Auburn/Fort Wayne area commuting to Waterloo for work. Just off I-69.
 
Not really. It's valid. Everyone says park it because it will rust. Nobody ever says don't modify it and go to MOAB or take the Rubicon trail. I bet trails have destroyed more TJs than rust.
You're right to a point, except the Rubicon trail and Moab trail system does not seem to have the same impact on a Jeep as much as salt exposure does. One could argue that the salt exposure happens more often, being some TJ’s/LJ’s are daily drivers and have potential to see the salt more often than the damaging trails.

You just dont see this kind of damage from a day or even a wekend out on the Rubicon or Moab. This is the result of water and salt.
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If you don't drive it in the winter, make sure you put it up on blocks, never modify it, never take it on a trail, never take it on large rocks, never take it into a forested area, never risk an accident, never take it out of the garage again. Otherwise it will lose its investment value.
LOL, Wut?! There are ways to protect the vehicle from rock rash and other off-road damage. There are ways to build the driveline to minimize mechanical breakage. There are ways to drive it without trashing or rolling it.

But rust, a relentless cancer that will make your jeep disappear out from underneath you. Skid plates hanging on for dear life, control arm mounts attached to thin air, body mount boxes telescoping into themselves, self ventilating floors and fenders, and everything with threads turns into a broken bolt.
 
There is plenty you can do to combat rust, you just don’t want to do the work...

Ships spend 30 years nonstop in the ocean, we can keep our jeeps from rusting.
 
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There is plenty you can do to combat rust, you just don’t want to do the work...

Ships spend 30 years nonstop in the ocean, we can keep our jeeps from rusting.
Ships last more than twice that in the fresh water Great Lakes, and some boats on display in the water are over 100 years old. Are the salt water ships not taken care of as well? No, it's just the fact they live in a hostile environment that drastically shortens their life. It's no different with vehicles. The point is how long do you want to keep your jeep? Corrosion issues are well known and having seen first hand the bone head ways these vehicles are designed and put together it's no wonder they rot out so quick.

You can spray and coat and wash all you want, but the salt is like the casino and in the long run the house always wins. Do whatever you want with your jeep, it's your's, not mine. I'm telling the OP the best sure fire way to keep his jeep rust free is to store it in the winter. Anything else is just rolling the dice at the craps table.
 
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So sell it then. Buy a Taurus you never have to do any work on and drive a rust bucket POS.

Or do your maintenance and drive what you want.

My biggest fear isn't the salt they put down but the drivers on their phones. Three accidents in 4 years due to other's negligence means every drive in salt makes me nervous about other drivers not spray.

I can wash my cars and treat them just fine. I only worry about things I can't control.
 
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