the dreaded RUST!

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hi guys! have a 2008 cadillac DTS, always washed, waxed, oil changed, etc.. 56,000 miles.

my friend and i replaced the brakes yesterday, and he noticed a SMALL amount of rust just starting in the rear wheel well. tough winters in massachusetts. lots of salt on road. i DO the undercarriage wash lots of times in the winter.
smile.gif


dumb questions:
1. should i bring to a GOOD body shop and ask them if they can fix it?
2. does rustproofing work? only for NEW cars?
my friend has a volvo with a ding in the hood down to the BARE metal. it has not rusted in 6 years. he said volvo uses galvanized metal. what is wrong with GM?

any ideas?

thank YOU!

bob
 
I just did some rust repairs on an 06 GMC rusted at the wheel wells/rockers.
My god when you start cutting it out there is nothing left.
A small hole turns into a major project in no time and is expensive to fix properly.

You can rustproof them at this age but it takes special stuff and equipment. It must be applied properly in every nook and cranny, no half arsed measures or quick jobs.
The product will a few hundred bucks alone.
I drive an old Subaru or some other beater in winter in MA, never a good car.

BTW its not just GM. Ford trucks just don't rust up here the frames break in half.
It gets almost every car here in one spot or another.
 
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I had a solid 22 year old volvo up here in Maine, which is actually not as bad as Massachusetts, less brine on the roads and less just-freezing temps. But the eight-to-ten year old N-bodies (Malibu) and cavaliers are rot-buckets. GM used to rustproof pretty well but then slacked off.
 
I don't care what you do for prevention, you run sheet metal around often enough in salty winter road spray & splash and its going to corrode somewhere. Matter of time. Hate to hear of it on a Caddy, though.
 
Kept on top of the rust in my 2002 F-150 every year. About 5 years ago the bottom of the doors and tailgate showed signs of rust at the seams. I had that taken care of. Then NJ started using a salt brine mixture in addition to the rock salt and within 2 years the bed started rotting out rapidly where body supports meet it on the bottom sides of the bed. It's common rust areas in this body style Ford F-150. I'm slowing the rust down but once it starts you can't stop it, you can only slow it's progression at best.

Whimsey
 
Sorry to hear that on a 2008 Caddy. Once you see a little rust on the outside, inside will be a lot worse. Doesn't GM have the 100,000 mile corrosion warranty?

I suggest an oil spray of Fluid Film or Krown (Carwell here in the US) and try to stop anymore rust from forming or at least slow it down alot. Rust repairs are expensive and many I've heard have no guarantees afterwards.

GM uses galvanized metal, but I'm amazed how much rust I still see on what I think are fairly new cars/trucks today. I guess paper thin galvanized sheetmetal rusts out just as fast as old thicker primed/painted plain steel from 70's.

Fluid film can be bought at Autozone or tractor dealerships or over the mail. Krown is petroleum based so I'm not sure if FedEx moves it?
 
THANK YOU GUYS!! for all the great comments. i will take it to a GOOD body shop i know, that my friends use. will see what he has to say!

i really did wash it all the time and underbody wash in the winter!

my other friend just leases his cars for 36 months. never does anything to them. just oil changes. no tires, brakes, fluids, batteries, etc. everything under warranty.

thanks!
Bob
 
Originally Posted By: Robertslowpoke
hi guys! have a 2008 cadillac DTS, always washed, waxed, oil changed, etc.. 56,000 miles.

my friend and i replaced the brakes yesterday, and he noticed a SMALL amount of rust just starting in the rear wheel well. tough winters in massachusetts. lots of salt on road. i DO the undercarriage wash lots of times in the winter.
smile.gif


dumb questions:
1. should i bring to a GOOD body shop and ask them if they can fix it?
2. does rustproofing work? only for NEW cars?
my friend has a volvo with a ding in the hood down to the BARE metal. it has not rusted in 6 years. he said volvo uses galvanized metal. what is wrong with GM?

any ideas?

thank YOU!

bob


Auto Rust Technicians, Cranston, RI. (401)944-4444
 
Get it fixed and then apply rust proofing annually. There are Krown locations in Albany and Plattsburgh, NY if you ever end up in this state.

That'll slow it down, but once it starts it's hard to do much about it. Is it time for s new Caddy?
 
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
Kept on top of the rust in my 2002 F-150 every year. About 5 years ago the bottom of the doors and tailgate showed signs of rust at the seams. I had that taken care of. Then NJ started using a salt brine mixture in addition to the rock salt and within 2 years the bed started rotting out rapidly where body supports meet it on the bottom sides of the bed. It's common rust areas in this body style Ford F-150. I'm slowing the rust down but once it starts you can't stop it, you can only slow it's progression at best.

Whimsey


You can stop it, i did on my old Grand Prix but it takes cutting out entire sections of the car. I did both inner and outer panels and doorsills, lots of sand blasting and weld through galvanizing. That was 7 years ago and nothing, not even a bubble.

Doing that kind of work at $125 an hour would cost a fortune. From start to back on the road 100 hrs for both sides inc paint.
I wouldn't do it again, its one of those thing, you know, your in up to your eyes and you have to finish it.
 
My 15 year old Explorer is basically rust free after bring used every winter. I oil spray it once per year. I have noticed the paint is starting to flake off in a few spots, but solid steel below...I guess paint is only good for so many years...
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: fxrider
spray it with wd40 every month .


Yeah, that will do absolutely nothing...


You are correct! However our local Mennonites suggest WD40 is good for arthritis
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: fxrider
spray it with wd40 every month .


Yeah, that will do absolutely nothing...


There is a Canadian military study that proves otherwise and it scored 3rd or 4th in that study ahead of a bunch of other products. Fact is that the product, as long as it's oil based and creeps, makes little difference as long as it is properly applied. If the product is thin, then it has to be applied more often.
Krown is hailed by many as THE rustproofing product, but it washes off very easily and IMO is no better then Rust Check. Corrosion Free in fact scored first in that study, but since it is mainly applied by kids at Canadian Tire, it gets bad rep. Application is what counts the most, not the product.
 
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