Rust Prevention

I've been in the west for almost 40 years and enjoying the rust-free status of my old cars but am now moving back to Minneapolis. I've had a number of Subarus over the years and never had one rust, not even a little. I'd like to keep my current '05 Outback LL Bean in good shape and use it for many more years but I'm concerned, of course, with rust. I'm wondering what the experience of the board has been with the tendency of my generation of Outback to rust and what are some successful techniques that have been used in prevention.

 

Best prevention is don't drive it. Sad but true.

Salt Life, bro. Haha.

 

Ugh. This makes me sad.

 

My '05 Legacy sedan's first rust showed up at the bottom seam on the inside of the rear doors. That happened at the 11 year mark with 71k miles. Nothing visible on the exterior at that point.

Move back would be my advice, unless you are talking California. If your plan was to find a bat-$h!t crazy, liberal state similar to those on the whole west side, mission accomplished.

 

How about the underside of the car? Are exhaust, bolts and frame rails rusting?

 

That crap gets rusty in a couple years, maybe less. If you do your own underbody wrenching, get a torch, air wrench, air chisel, air hammer, and a case of Deep Creep. Oh yeah, a tetanus shot and a box of Band-Aids.

 

Haha. @pillboy , you routinely make my day reading the comments. So good.

A Mapp gas torch is your friend. As well as an impact wrench of some sort. Bolts might/will rust, but anti sieze does wonders for removal later on. I put it on practically every bolt I touch on the car.

As far as rust proofing, I feel like I've heard of people using various random things with mixed results. Boiled linseed oil is one of them.

 

Popular DIY options are Fluid Film or PB's Surface Shield. They're both lanolin (sheep) based, and spray on as a heavy oil that stays a bit ... fluid. Hence the name.

The struggle is finding a place to do it, as I've asked + searched and found no lifts that can be rented in the metro.

 

I used Fluid Film on both of our current cars, and the Escape will be 10 years old this August. I just used the supplied straws and shot enough into the door drain holes (both directions in each hole) until it ran out. And then I sprayed a layer of it on the visible seam at the bottom of the doors and about 6 inches up the sides and let it dry overnight with the doors open. It looks like hell to this day when the doors are open (dust tends to stick to it making it look dirty), but I have never been one to detail my door jambs when I wash or wax the car so it doesn't really bother me all that much. I don't bother trying to protect the underside of the car because I don't have the ambition to apply that crap every year to areas where it gets blasted off from road spray.

Decades ago I used to go the Ziebart route, but our 1988 Jeep Cherokee still managed to develop so much exterior surface rust under the trim that I said screw that and never used their service again after my '89 Mustang GT.

 

If you listen to Podcasts, give "Garage Logic" a try. Used to be local talk radio show hosted by Joe Soucheray that went to podcast format a few years ago. Anyone with any common sense will appreciate the political and economic insight. The topics also gravitate to cars and music with some regularity.

 

My cali 07 wrx went zero to rusty underneath in a winter. Best way to avoid rust in Minnesota is don't drive it here. Even the powdercoated stuff i run finds the weak spot and starts spreading.

 

That's heartbreaking. I had my bugeye WRX for 10 years and 100,000 miles. It was as pristine as a car with 140,000 miles could be. If it had rusted out I'd have felt terrible.

 

I might try the Fluid Film in the doors. How about salt neutralizer?

 

If your travels take you close to a Holiday station with a touchless car wash, I would subscribe to their unlimited wash program. I see "The Works" level of wash is still $29.99 per month. You can manage it through a phone app and turn off the subscription during the summer months. Running through a car wash in the winter on a regular basis is probably the best thing you can do for the car. To start you will have to visit a station and have a tag attached to the inside of your windshield.

 

That car... Commence fappage.

 

Actually use to listen to that "back in the day" with my dad when it was on the radio. WCCO, right? God it was good. I still remember the "cylinder index" thing. And then their talk about "space management" or something like that when it comes to properly shoveling your driveway.

 

You can use the service strictly through the app with no windshield tag, that’s what I do with my STI. Pull up to the entrance, open the app, and send out a signal to the sensor to start.

 

For the unlimited wash service?

 

Wash often. Do NOT park in a heated garage unless it's completely clean (warmer temperatures speed the chemical reaction). Fluid Film.


But yea, the best rust prevention is a winter beater. My wife and I both have Summer only, and winter cars.

 

I get the winter beater idea, I do, but I have a hard time spending six months of the year in a car where half the stuff doesn't work right or work at all, the structure might be compromised by corrosion to the point it puts my life at risk, all sorts of parts might decide to randomly fall off it and endanger other drivers, it might fail to start any day, and my comfort is compromised by a less than perfect heater, seat heaters, stereo, or heated steering wheel (does anyone's beater have one of those?).

To say nothing of the cost of storing the nice car during the winter months - no way am I letting a daily driver sit outside and I have to scrape windows or clear snow in the morning (not that I even work anymore, but still, it's the idea). Then there is dealing with rodents and all the other crap that goes along with a stored car.

Life is too short to drive a ****box for half of it. If you want to keep a car pristine forever, live in a different climate. Cars are made to be used, not kept as a museum piece.

 

Ouch. Some of us have feelings here...

 

I didn't mean it personally, you know that. There are different levels of "beater". And all things are relative...such as the summer car you are comparing it to. I have driven cars whose body panels are flapping in the wind at road speed, so I have been there. I didn't necessarily enjoy it though.

 

I absolutely do know that. Just trying to give some sh!t back. Haha. All in good fun.

 

Most of us would be dead by now if the roads weren't salted in the winter.

 

Nah, i would patiently wait out two winters of natural selection before returning to the road with studded tires.

 

You have faith in other drivers.

 

You must be older than I thought. Last studded snow tires I've seen were on my dad's '69 Montego.

 

Montana still runs studded tires. Had a set on my spectra5.

 

I appreciate all the feedback! In my case the Outback IS the winter beater. It exists to allow me to have sports cars for the summer. It's got a lot of miles and it's not perfect but it is absolutely rust free and I do want to keep it in good shape. I know heated garages accelerate corrosion, but I will be keeping it there. I'm thinking about film in the doors and regulars treatment of rust neutralizer. I have a drain in the floor so I don't need to be outside to treat the underbody.

 

Correct, I have the 29.99 plan. You can sign up directly from the app.

 

So, if I don't need the sticker on my car, what prevents me from taking my wife's car through the wash and using my phone when I do it? When at the reader/display, I don't think there is any equipment positioned to read a license plate.

 

You have to enter the vehicle information when you sign up, I’m assuming they use cameras to double-check and would ding you if you use another vehicle. Probably not at the time of wash, but later if they review them.

 

I might have to sit down and read that whole thread. Just looking at page one tells me it might be comedy gold.