Ever had your truck oiled for rustproofing purposes?

This came up in another topic. I took my '14 in for the treatment tonight. Full undercarriage as well as inside the hood panel, door panels, rockers, cab corners and tailgate.

Anyone else using this method to delay the ravages of salt? What's been your experience? Are you having it re-oiled yearly as recommended?

Randy

 

This is the product/process I had done: https://nhoilundercoating.com

 

I think I get the concept, I think I kinda do something similar... I wipe down with ATF, get surface rust off, clean, repaint. Would be alot easier to just spray it with this stuff. In the end does it leave oily residue? Like after you spray it, next time to go to pull parts or something, is everything like coated with oil and messy or does it dry clean?

 

A 20 minute video of a 2011 Tacoma getting the treatment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkwokPnYziA

 

It doesn't dry clean. There will always be an oily residue, although the product/process is described as "drip free."

 

Their just covering over rust in the video to prevent more rust. Would I do it... No.

 

What makes cars and trucks rust isn't the snow and the ice, it's the winter salt and chemicals. This crap is very corrosive, so if you do not protect the underside of your car, it's going to literally eat it up. Paint is not enough, it will eat right through it as well.

An Oil/Wax/Grease mix is the best protection you can have. That's what rustproofing centers use. It does not drip, but there's always some oily or greasy residue that will never dry clean, but isn't a mess if you need to crawl under the vehicle.

If you want to do it yourself, Fluid Film is an excellent product for this purpose.

Rustproofing isn't something you do once and never again think about. You have to do it each year if you want to keep maximum protection from rust

If you have existing minor rust, it will prevent it from spreading while also protecting your car. Of course, if you already have important rust on your vehicle, it's too late to rustproof, as it should have been done before the rust settled in

 

But you have to remove the original rust. Coating it after cleaning I could see being good. Also depending how often you tear you truck down, oil residue all over everything....

Man I swap parts depending on what I'm doing that day, oil over everything adds like an extra hour+ of headache cleaning tools, like 10-20 pairs of extra gloves....

 

Or use a rust converter / reformer. Just clean off the loose stuff and spray the existing rust over and converts it to a base layer. It is not a topical coating. It effectively turns the outer coating of rust to a coverage layer that can be painted. Although some just leave it as is. That should stabilize the rust you see now.

https://www.ncptt.nps.gov/wp-content/uploads/metal-paper-88.pdf

 

The better solution is Fluid film.

 

The only rust proofing I will do is stuff paid for by Toyota.

I’m not taking on an expense for an issue that is their problem. They can replace my frame when the time comes.

I sure as hell wod never spray that stuff in my hood.
Talk about a nightmare to do cleaning under there and do any work you need to do.
You should keep under your hood detailed 1-2 times per year. You shouldn’t be fluid filming it.

Same thing for the door jams. That stuff will increase the risk of rust because it will hold contaminants to the paint which will damage it.
Its not that hard to wipe down your door jams each car wash to keep everything clean. Then you can rub in a sealer every year for added protection.

 

Waxoyl is what I put on my truck...
Two winters in New England and only sight of rust is on the Exhaust pipe. That’s becious that don’t spray the exhaust.
People also use fuid film or used oil.
https://www.waxoyl-usa.com/

 

The type of oil can have an enormous impact on how well it protects your vehicle.
If you just splash it with motor oil, it will wash off pretty quickly and you're back to square 1.
Chainsaw bar oil is great stuff, because it is waxy. BUT, if you leave your chainsaw outside all year without running it a bit to re-oil the chain, it WILL rust.

Ideally, you need to have something on the frame that the oil will soak into.
A lot of people don't like asphalt undercoating, since they say it dries up, cracks, and lets water/salt in to attack your frame, HOWEVER, a combination of asphalt undercoating and a dose of oil will keep the asphalt nice and soft, and the oil will repel water.

 

I have always used fluid film with pretty good results here in New England winters.
I am in the middle of moving and have the FF packed up till i get to the new place. But I did try the new chemical guys Bare Bones undercoating recently for the hell of it.
Im certain its not as thick/durable but it is pretty nice in a pinch, been about a week and a half and still holding up decent.

 

The important thing to understand about undercoating your vehicle with a product that doesn’t dry and stays moist, is that it needs to be reapplied at least once a yr due to it will gradually wash off with road spray from the tires. Undercoating a vehicle isn’t a one time deal. Pick your product and get into a routine as usual maintenance, no different then changing your oil. Lower that spare tire and get that area also. I use fluid film on the undercarriage and use corrosion x in the engine compartment. For the engine area I use a little corrosion x on a 1/2 “ brush and brush any areas that are prone to rust or corrosion, including parts made of aluminum. Aluminum oxidation is stopped dead in its tracks where applied and looks new.
This actually doesn’t take a lot of time, I can do my undercarriage in 20 min. my engine bay in 15 min.

Also, I just like doing this kind of stuff when I don’t have anything else to do. It’s easy, it perseveres the value of your truck, and when you decide to sell, you will get a better return for your effort than the guy that did nothing.

 

I heard spraying the undercarriage with wd40 works

 

You’re gambling that they will open a case for models 2011+. Good luck.

 

In a way, yes.

But for 15 model years Toyota has been replacing the frames on its trucks or has done a buy back program.

Going to be hard for Toyota to evade future liability without changing frame materials, design, manufacturers etc.

You are taking a gamble by buying a Tacoma when it comes to frame rust. Every model year that has had the opportunity has rusted.
Show me a fool proof method for rust prevention when I live in a salt state. You can’t perfectly coat the inside of the frame and I bought mine used with rust already there.
Could I coat my frame? Yeah. Is it going to make any difference when it comes to needing a new frame? No.

 

If history is an indicator, Toyota will do something if 2011+ frames rust in a similar way to previous years. They have built their reputation on making things right for the customer.

The issue is, what if there are problems with rust but it is not as widespread as the previous generations. Your 2011+ Tacoma may have frame rot similar to previous generations, but you may be in an extreme minority. If that is the case, Toyota may not offer blanket coverage to all owners.

 

Idk. For about 15 bucks a year I can spray some FF on everything underneath and it gives me some piece of mind. We will see how well it holds up to Pittsburgh winters. I’ve seen some 2014/15s with some serious rust already so hopefully a case will be made. Even if they did replace the frame however, that doesn’t mean everything that’s rusty underneath will be new.