Suspension and frame rust prevention

[JCsTruck]

I’ve had a few vehicles over the years and I live in the Northeast which is known for chassis eating and damaging road salt. The municipalities around here pour on copious amounts of this horrible road salt mix that has wetting agents that keep the salt wet and active even in sub 20-degree temperatures. That road brime mix gets into the tiniest crevices and once it gets to the metal it quickly starts the rust process that can turn any metal part into a rusty expanded mess in just a few years. I lost my 2001 Tundra to this and it has taken its toll on my 2014 F-150 despite multiple applications of NH-Oil, Fluid Film, and many other oil undercoating products which I hate BTW.

One of the reasons I purchased the F-150 was because the aluminum body is more resistant to this road salt mix. It still corrodes but not as bad as steel bodies do. Ford however skimped on paint for the rear axle, front half shafts, bearings, front and rear drive shafts and yokes, and suspension components. I took a proactive approach to this issue and painted these components with Rust oleum paint and Rust Reformer paint. I tend to keep my vehicles for 10-12 years so this was worth the effort to extend the life of my components and make future repairs less cumbersome. I’ve had frozen rotors and wheel bearings so stuck from rust that I had to pay a professional to do what could be a simple job if they weren’t rusted solid as one piece.

So here is what some of the components looked like after just one year of use and 10k miles.

Here is what the components looked like after I wire brushed them, treated them, and painted them with at least three coats of black semi gloss paint.

I also painted the rear axle, rear drive shaft yokes, front drive shaft (was bad), and most of the frame front to rear. The aluminum front knuckles are bare aluminum so I sprayed the with clear coat paint. I even painted my brake rotors with gray paint and sprayed the rotor and wheel mating surfaces with CRC SP-400 corrosion inhibitor spray or applied a light film of silicone grease to keep them from becoming one with each other from rust.

I think she’s ready and protected for another winter. I will be getting a subscription to a car wash too and running it through that car wash with undercarriage wash as many times as I can to keep the salt off the frame and components. I will flush the inside of the frame in the spring.

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[BlueFowl]

Looks good. I'm gonna touchup my truck like this soon.

 

[JCsTruck]

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