OP
Rust Belt
- Thread starter Artsifrtsi
- Start date
That is what I am afraid of now that my son teaches in NH. He has a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek that he used in college (Keene State) and now commuting to work. I have sprayed the undercarriage with fluid film and flushed the frame out every spring when he was home on break. Going have to continue that when ever he comes home from now on as well.
You probably don't have to worry too much about rust on the Subaru. My wife has had her 2014 Forester since April 2013. For 100,000 miles and 7 winters so far, we haven't done much but drive it through the car wash a few times every winter and it still looks like a solid car when looking from underneath. Yes there's some random surface rust but nothing anywhere near having holes. I'm not saying stop what you're doing but I don't think any modern Subaru will ever be collectable nor will their CVTs outlast the bodies.
did not buy it for collect ability that is for sure, I maintain the cvt, flush out the fluid at 60K regardless of what SOA says about lifetime fluid. I just know what NH salt can do to any car. My 2016 Outback came from Cortlandt NY (PO had it 3 years) and I can see the metal underneath is totally crusty.
Yeah, salt sucks. That brine mix gets EVERYWHERE and contaminates everything. You have to run through the wash like, everyday, to keep it from building up and causing problems. Even then, cars will rust. It just takes longer. Its a fact of life though, here. Its all a trade off. I deal with salt every winter, but I've never been evacuated from my town for a forest fire, or been told that I can only water my lawn once a week. I live a half hour away from one of the nicest beaches in the world. We have four real seasons. We don't have many critters that will kill you. So...I deal with rust.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
Yeah, I grew up here and I'm still here even though I've been all over the US and most of the world. You learn a lot of tricks to working on stuff here. The threads about "a little kroil oil" etc are amusing. Kroil sure does help, but without a torch setup, most of the bolts in these vehicles won't come out up here. You need heat. This is one of the reasons I also post rust porn for people to see. I know a lot of people haven't worked on this kind of stuff, and its gotta be amusing to see what we go thru. Every time I'm in California I look with wonder and jealousy at the beautiful condition of all of the old vehicles. No Rust. Ever.
The other funny threads are some guys posting pics of a northern TJ frame asking if its ok. Half the forum is saying throw it out when for the northeast, its actually a very good frame. They don't always look great, as in there's some rust on the outside, but if you check the inside and beat em' with a hammer all around, you'd be surprised that there are some good ones. Tho not many lol.
My daily driver is an 05 Ram. I fluid film it every thanksgiving. The frame is still immaculate, tho there are some crevices in the body that the salt inevitably gets into and rots out (think bed wheel wells). My TJ was born and daily driven here. It was a highway vehicle I believe and somehow didn't get rotted all to hell. Frame is good, there are some cosmetic body issues (front fenders, rockers) but the torque boxes are in good shape. Drivers floor needs some work but not much. It will never see salt again.
I've had lots of fun cars growing up, and even 35 years ago we always had winter beaters. You put your good car up, swap the plate for $25 (what it was then, not sure now) and run your winter beater till the snow stops. Just a fact of life here.
OP
I lived up in NY for 5 years and got to see my XJ start to dissolve.
I lived out west in ID for about 15 years, and they did not salt, but used black sand, so ID vehicles didn't see much rust, unless you drove out of state. (I swear UT used so much salt their lake was probably originally just "The Great Lake" and it was contaminated...) I had a '65 Wagoneer ex forest service, that was in ID it's whole life, and only had a little more rust than what you'd find in AZ and CA.
I lived out west in ID for about 15 years, and they did not salt, but used black sand, so ID vehicles didn't see much rust, unless you drove out of state. (I swear UT used so much salt their lake was probably originally just "The Great Lake" and it was contaminated...) I had a '65 Wagoneer ex forest service, that was in ID it's whole life, and only had a little more rust than what you'd find in AZ and CA.
OP
Nice Comanche!
I see you like Duratracs haha.I'm also more concerned with people sliding into me, which combined with the salt is why my TJ will be living in the garage for winters. My XJs all rusted out eventually even with lots of washing and care.
Nice Comanche!
I'm also more concerned with people sliding into me, which combined with the salt is why my TJ will be living in the garage for winters. My XJs all rusted out eventually even with lots of washing and care.
I'm on my 3rd XJ. I bought the first one new in '90 and treated it like a "normal" car. It was fine after 5 yrs. of ownership. The 2nd one did suffer from rust. My current one, an '89, is rust free except for a few stone chips which I need to get at.