Honest question to those who live in the rust belt

That part is so very true. Its the mentality of our society I think. Why bother investing (very minimally) in better education and dedicated snow tires? Why do that when we can cry to the state to treat the roads more heavily than ever before? Why bother mandating a hands-on winter module in drivers ed classes when we can drop thousands of gallons of brine on the interstate any time flurries are forecast?

This is a very big part of it too. To most people a car is just a thing they need to get to their job. They dont give it much, if any, thought. Same goes for lack of oil changes and general maintenance. All of us here are in the minority when it comes to caring for our rides.


One additional thing Ill add to the conversation, I think people are very conscious about rust when it comes to Toyota only because of the extended frame program on these trucks. Every vehicle rusts. Its just chemistry. Toyotas frame design may have been more prone to issues, but how many domestic full sizes do you see on the on New England roads with massive fender rot? Ill give you a hint, its a lot

 

Damn so obviously whatever state dot sprays salt/bribe because it’s the cheapest I think co sprayed cinder for a bit but switched back to brine citing costs

so those who do use fluid film woolwax pb blaster shield cosmoline etc is it 100 percent assuming you hit it with full coverage? Do you just spray during spring and don’t touch it at all or do you still spray the undercarriage with water every few weeks during the winter with said product applied?

 

I always do a full Fluid Film spray in the fall. (still need to get mine done this year actually...)

I find its trouble free in most areas, only exception is high road spray areas - front of front crossmembers, wheel wells, front cab mounts, rear axle, etc. Especially after an off road trip. Those areas are easily touched up throughout the year with aerosol cans.

I will generally hose the frame down a few days before with a regular spray nozzle. Don't want to use a pressure washer or even warm water as that will take off the existing layers of FF and dust.

 

I’ve been in the auto repair business all my life, plus I’ve owned three Toyota’s before this one presently.
Toyota undeniably has the worst rust problem with frames. Sure, other vehicles rust too but how many car companies have had recalls for rusting frames on the scale that Toyota has in the past?
Is it acceptable for me to have to spend hours under my three year old truck to mitigate rust? Probably not but I like the Toyota so I put up with it.

 

My observation is that people from Southern California on this forum worry much more about rust than the average Minnesotan

 

Live in Indiana. Would definitely undercoat any new vehicle.

 

LOL you can't claim that rust proofing doesn't work if you don't drive your tacoma in the winter months. I can 100% attest that doing crc/fluid film yearly plus a little tlc goes a Long way for preventing and protecting the frame. I bought my 2017 around the same time as my coworker. We have identical trucks. And if you look under our cars. You'll notice the difference immediately. He doesn't treat his at all. Midwest trucks. Daily driven and parked outside.

 

Same. Indiana here!

 

Me.........

My 2015 Taco and 1993 Miata have never seen salt or snow. The undersides of both look like they came from Nevada.

 

Mmm from what I’ve seen if you live in Minnesota and don’t do shite after two years your frame is Swiss cheeese. I woolwax and fluid film my rigs if people want to drive around rusted pieces of crap that’s on them

 

This made me laugh out loud. 100% true.

 

I find it interesting that some post here about an oil solution that works as a rust inhibitor. Working in the construction industry I knew a few fellas that would spray their truck’s underbodies with form release oil every fall and would swear by it. I say if you have good results with whatever you are using, go for it.

 

Thiiiiiis, so much this.

In my area, they used to use cinders instead of salt, or a sand/cinder mix. Just a traction aid.

At some point, my dad says in the early 70s from what he remembers, they started using rock salt to melt ice.

Now they use salt in some areas, but when temps are below about 20*, they start using brine and liquid calcium chloride spray.

If you can stand the cold, you can watch this stuff eat your vehicle out from under you.

The second weekend after purchasing my '22, I doused the frame, suspension, underbody and inside the fenders and tailgate as far as could be reached in cosmoline.

 

Joke when I was a teenager was the difference between domestic and foreign was the body. The foreign engine "would" run longer in general but the body and such rotted so fast you'd rarely get to the point of realizing that extra time on the drivetrain.

Not ideal agreed, but I'd rather spend that time on my frame versus thousands of dollars and untold amounts of down time on my old Chevy truck that was the worst vehicle I have ever owned.

 

Some years ago I visited Arizona and was surprised to see leaded gas still being sold at the pump. Then I realized there are tons of old cars still on the road that use it. Cars last forever out there. You can always keep a car going mechanically (look at what they do in Cuba) but once rust gets to a certain point, there's no hope.

 

When I was rebuilding my S10 I watched a video of a guy showing how to pull the transmission pan and change the filter and shift solenoids. He was from New Mexico and there wasn't a speck of rust anywhere under his truck. I was so freaking amazed I had a hard time focusing on what he was trying to teach me!



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