Rust Prevention Thread

Yeah Chris, got a Karcher as well and gets used regularly, might save my money, Cheers Ray

Yep - if I had my time over again, I probably would have just used the under-body Karcher washer thingy... but they weren't around when I got the car! Also reckon that a good clean underneath and around the sills with fresh water after beach work is a must.

I read a fair bit of the thread and am a bit surprised that it wasn't closed by the moderators

I too were wondering where the mods were at the time, some other archived threads make this one look tame though

I don't think we had Moderators back then, after reading that it's not hard to see why they are necessary!

Hi Andy, Prado is only just over 12 mths old and in new condition (no offroad or beach work), I can get a 10 year warranty from Opposite Lock if they do the install, $845 which seems reasonable however seems to be a lot of negative opinions out there. Guess I will flip the coin Cheers Ray

Hi Ray,
$845 seems to much. I only paid $360 and that was only 2 1/2 years ago. The warranty is given by Coupler Tec so you don't have to go to Opposite Lock to have it installed. It is a small box that will sit in the engine bay and a power wire to battery with pads that stick on the body and chassis, I have 6 pads in all. Very easy to install yourself and still get the warranty.
Cheers Andy

Good Morning Andy, Opposite Lock quoted $625 for the Coupler Tec with 4 pads and $220 to install with 10 years warranty and 3 years warranty if I D.I.Y. Purchase price seems to be the same wherever I go, where did you purchase yours from?
Off topic, but heading to Lorella Springs as soon as rain gone
Cheers Ray

I have the booklet from Coupler Tec and they give you 10 years if installed by an authorised installer and 5 years if you install it yourself. Mine was installed by Mid Coast 4wheel drive at Port Macquarie but was in a package deal when fitting my new truck out. The price has gone up a bit but I would install it myself.. have you rung Coupler Tec itself, might be able to go direct.
Coupler Tec International Headquarters
38 Hutchinson St Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast QLD.
WEB; www.CouplerTec.com EMAIL; NoRust@CouplerTec.com.au
Phone;1800068088


Hope to be open by 1st April
Cheers Andy

Thanks Andy, I will take on board what you and other contributers have had to say, but it probably gets down to if you are prepared to take a chance on if it works or not. From what I see though, it can't do any harm to your vehicle, only your pocket if it doesn't work. I don't gamble on the horses, but I am prepared to take a gamble on a $60,000 vehicle for the sake of what works out to be about $80 per year (10 year warranty)
O/T May catch up at Lorella Springs end of April

Cheers Ray













Fr

Hi gbc, used lanolin in the past and will use again as an added protection

Yeah Keith not a lot of money even if it doesn't work, as long as you get that warm fuzzy feel lol

Yes placebos give people peace of mind. Read the following links:

RACQ advice - particularly the paragraph above the heading "Warranties"

retarding rusting

Extensive research has proven that Electronic Rust Control is largely ineffective. Much less expensive to weld or bolt onto the chassis a couple of zinc anodes as used on marine installations, and before any one goes for my jugular, I have used this system for 40+ years and it does work. If you want to spray the underside of your vehicle try Tectlyl 5-56 and ATF in 4 : 1 ratio. The ATF acts as a carrier for the Tectyl and it gets right into the metal. Once again proven over a long period of time in the marine industry.

Thanks for that, I need to look at some sort of protection for my ute. In the past I've used the fish oil on several vehicles, not sure how effective it is but it gave me a walm fuzzy feeling

Gotta agree with dingojim.
The zinc anodes will work well...Provided you keep the vehicle immersed in water or other suitable electrolyte.

I fitted zinc anodes on several vehicles, non of which were used under water, and the anodes worked simply because of atmospheric moisture which, whilst not a constant or perfect electrolyte, was sufficient for what was intended. If you are really enthusiastic about stopping corrosion run a dedicated earth wire for every circuit on your vehicle instead of using the chassis/body as a common earth thus eliminating the primary cause of rusting. I will concede that the anode trick may not be as effective in climates with low relative humidity but anywhere in proximity to the coast does not have that scenario.

Dingojim, you are quite at liberty to believe that it works if that's what you need to do, but even a cursory scan of cathodic protection literature will tell you otherwise.
Here is just a short excerpt on the matter from one of my text books.
quote
"Cathodic protection is a method by which the transfer of ions into, rather than out of, the surface of a metal which is in contact with an oxidising agent is ensured by the introduction of another metal (the galvanic or sacrificial anode) into the electrical circuit of the corrosion cycle.
Having a more anodic surface than the metal to be protected, all the current will flow from the introduced anode and so the metal to be protected becomes cathodic in comparison to the anode.
This effectively stops the oxidation reactions on the metal surface by transferring them to the galvanic anode, which will be eroded/sacrificed in favour of the structure under protection.

For this method to be effective there must be a solid electrical connection between the anode and the metal to be protected, and an ion pathway between both the electrolyte (ie. water or moist soil) and the anode, and the electrolyte and the metal to be protected.
This forms the closed circuit for electron flow of:- anode - electrolyte - protected metal - anode;

The process of bolting a piece of active metal such as zinc to a less active metal, such as mild steel, in air (whether moist or not), which is a poor conductor and so does not present a closed circuit, will not furnish any corrosion protection whatsoever".
endquote.
I am aware that you will not wish to accept my word for this so I attempted to find a similar article on the internet for your interest.
One exists on Wikipedia which is almost wordperfect to the above.

Have a look here, the sentence just above the heading "anode materials" says it all.

Most rust that occurs on a vehicle is the result of localised galvanic cell action which cannot be prevented by either remote cathodic or so called electronic rust protection methods, keeping moisture out by painting, or electroplating are the only ways to achieve corrosion protection on these surfaces

HI
Ditto to BOTH of Brian's post

Having worked with cathodic protection systems[ both sacrificial anodes & applied voltage systems
I can assure you he is correct !!
Much the same goes for the so called ELECTRONIC rust protection systems
They are as effective as all those fuelsaver ,magnets, ETC


PeterQ