Rust on Shocks

I had purchased them with the UCA's and rear Fox's as a package deal.....the rears don't look anything like the fronts. The maintenance sheet they sent suggested to wax the bodies to keep them healthy. I did a few times and this still happened. Still awaiting a reply from FOX.

 

much like you we live far far away from the salt belt so most of our builds that are coming back into the shop on a regular basis stay extremely clean and rust free but in my opinion Icon is the only brand with a recognized and advertised solution to the problem straight out of the box, that would probably be my first choice and recommendation to anyone ordering from that neck of the woods. The new 2.0 VS rear shocks are aluminum bodied as well.

 

Yeah i have heard great things about their coating. Thats cool they have an aluminum bodied shock now, before that it was just the Blackhawk right? Does ICON still use proprietary valving shims?

 

On their vehicle specific shocks yes but you can now order just about anything in any size/valving you want from them or us. For instance the 5/1600 car is getting 3.0x14 quads out back and 2.5x10" tripples up front.

I believe you are correct on the blackhawks, The VS aluminum bodied shocks are completely rebuildable too.

 

I looked up the Fluid Film stuff on their website, I hope it does what it claims. I have a shelf in my garage dedicated to all the cleaners and lubricants I have used trying to clean and protect so far. It's been a losing battle. It seems the only way to keep them clean here is to wipe down and coat every time they get wet.

 

I really want to try something with these fox co's. Mine barely saw salt and they are starting to shows signs of deterioration. I wash the shit out of the truck too. I'm going to try fluid film.

 

I have sprayed mine with fluid film from day one and they also turned to shit within a month. I can't believe that such an expensive Coilover is not rust resistant. I also clean my truck like a full retard and even then they turned to shit. I'm thinking of switching for icon and turn these Rusty pieces shit back in to FOX. If I had known that they were rust I would I've never bought them at the first place. I'm in a really calm guy and like to give second chances to people but I am really really pissed off. I am also waiting for a response from Fox customer service I hope they have good news for me because this is going to be the end of it.

 

Is why I went icon, would have bought King but for some stupid reason don't make them for 2Nd Gen with no resi, icon doesn't do the ivd coating anymore but said that they discontinued because without the coating they were still very rust resistant

 

My Icons (bought without the ion vapor deposit coating) are also rusted like this after four years.



The paint on the springs is flaking off, too. Of course my winter operating environment is T.I.T.S. (Tacoma In The Salt):

 

I use Krown anti-rust spray on my truck and Icons. I also use Rust Check. I live in Ontario, Canada = salt. Second winter with the Icons. No rust.

 

Any of you guys ever spray clear-coat on prior to install? I have new Bilstein 6112/5160's still in the box, and I was going to spray the bodies (avoiding shafts). We get a shit ton of salt in MN here.

I'll look up that Krown spray too.

 

I know it's a late reply, but I figured I'd aeast chime in. I'd say go for it. It can't hurt anything as far as I know. Thinking about doing it to my front and rear Fox.I go to school in the mountains with a lot of salt so I was seeing what other people had done. Also, I saw one guy on here that would put a healthy coat of WD-40 on...he said it worked great but I don't know..I would think the coating already on them would be fine with it but seeing how easy these things rust it may speed up the problem I don't know.

 

Holy crap , that rust is nasty guys. It makes me think I should be going for the TRD Pro suspension package - it is supposed to be better for corrosion protection than most.

 

Looking at getting new fox 2.5 RR C/O fronts and 2.0 RR Rear with dakar and ran across this thread. I design pressure vessels for all the major refinery's and this is a common issue for longevity of equipment in the field. The issue is actually quite funny that the fox shocks or any other shock MOC using the combination of Steel and Zinc/Aluminum. Straight from the fox website "Body Plate : Zing-plated and double-clear coated for long lasting finish" and "External Reservoir: 2.5" Smooth bore 6061-T6 Aluminum is hard anodized black." When designing vessels we attach a earthing tab/grounding lug so the equipment will not corrode which is normally electrically charged to pull the ions off the equipment eliminating erosion of shell material. Another form of cathodic protection is "Sacrificial cathodic protection" which is when you introduce a dissimilar metal to the steel structure to pull the ions of the protective metal to the cathodic protection essentially sacrificing the metal. Guess what 2 out of the 3 metals used for sacrificial cathodic protection?... Zinc, Magnesium and Aluminum! Also for boats Zinc blocks are usually attached to the prop shaft to prevent propeller corrosion. Essential Fox and who ever uses the combination of Zinc/aluminum and steel are designing a product that is designed to corrode on the exterior to essentially protecting the internal steel components.

Irony is that fox claims that the zinc and aluminum are to protect the shock but in all actuality its designed to corrode and erode. Really surprising that this issue hasn't been covered by all the major suspension company. All SS MOC would be nice but probably pricy.

 

Just saying... you don't see pictures of king shocks rusting like that. Instead of getting new fox's maybe look at kings?

 

You are correct I haven't seen to many pictures of corrosion on Kings but that doesn't verify they don't rust. The link attached is a side by side comparison of Fox vs Kings MOC and you can see where rust has already begun. The combination of DOM Steel and Aluminum are present of both manufacture shocks therefore corrosion will be a factor.

http://www.offroad-engineering.com/foxvsking.html

Note: Another issue pointed out was kings RR was constructed from aluminum which has a higher expansion rate compared to steel therefore leaks would be an issue once they are heated up.

 

We have been having really good results with the MavCoat Steel Shield. I know a number of guys on the forum are using now.

 

So basically you're saying the rust is just cosmetic right? I mean I still want my 1500 dollar c/o to look good and last a long time. Could you re-coat it cheaply?

 

Just picked this up from you guys. How do you suggest cleaning coilovers before applying this stuff? Just soap and water?