Preparing for age of BRZ... Rust risk?

[ajcarson11]

Having an intention of keeping my car for a long time, and having just recently had rust pop up all over my very-well-cared-for (but 21 year old) truck, I'm beginning to wonder if/when we will have to deal with rust issues on the twins.

I wonder if there are particular places which may rust first, and will need preventative care?

I live in Indiana where they salt the roads heavily every winter. Simply no way around this, short of completely avoiding driving of the car until things warm up again (and sometimes there is still salt on the roads for weeks after it getting warm).

I know that newer cars these days are treated for rust -- but our cars are nearing the 6 year mark (if you have a 2012/2013 model) and I think this is worth a thought!

[Ultramaroon]

They will. The stamped parts are reasonably priced. I feel the fasteners are the things to watch.

For instance, the shoulder screws that fasten the top of the bumper are prone to contamination and rust. I'm sure there are many places that could be addressed for periodic inspection and cleaning.

Another one which comes to mind is the cavity above the rear light fixture.

[Ultramaroon]

The upper ball joint of the front endlinks.

Alternatively, you could resolve to only disconnect them from the sway bar.

[Luftwaffel]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

They will. The stamped parts are reasonably priced. I feel the fasteners are the things to watch.

For instance, the shoulder screws that fasten the top of the bumper are prone to contamination and rust. I'm sure there are many places that could be addressed for periodic inspection and cleaning.

Another one which comes to mind is the cavity above the rear light fixture.

Agreed. Our fasteners are garbage. Almost all of them, with few exceptions.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Luftwaffel

Agreed. Our fasteners are garbage. Almost all of them, with few exceptions.

I wouldn't go so far as to say they're garbage. They are adequately specified for a reasonably priced sports car.

There's also the idea of replacing the OEM fasteners with more corrosion resistant aftermarket ones. Better finishes cost money.

Do not assume that if a grade-5 was specified, a grade-8 is better. Consider which you would like to fail first if over-torqued. Should it be the bolt, or the weld nut on that fifty-dollar bracket.

[Stang70Fastback]

Salt? What's that?

[ToySub1946]

Move to just anywhere they don't put salt on the roads.

Doing anything else is a waste of time.

Hopeless to attempt to keep ahead of salt damage...been there, tried that.

The newer car bodies hold up quite well, it's all the things attached to underside of car which rot, and quite quickly.

Make enough money to replace car every two years....your best option if you must stay in salted street climate.

I grew up in salt country, moved away from it for about thirty years, made the mistake of moving back for about five years. Relearned my lesson. Now I'm out of salt country for good. Few car repairs and in a warmer climate utility bills are way less. Just makes sense to me.

If I were the president, I'd outlaw salt on roads, require four snow tires on all vehicles being driven in snow/ice.

[Takumi788]

Anti-seize all the hardware as you replace things

[why?]

Originally Posted by ToySub1946

Move to just anywhere they don't put salt on the roads.

Doing anything else is a waste of time.

Hopeless to attempt to keep ahead of salt damage...been there, tried that.

The newer car bodies hold up quite well, it's all the things attached to underside of car which rot, and quite quickly.

Make enough money to replace car every two years....your best option if you must stay in salted street climate.

I grew up in salt country, moved away from it for about thirty years, made the mistake of moving back for about five years. Relearned my lesson. Now I'm out of salt country for good. Few car repairs and in a warmer climate utility bills are way less. Just makes sense to me.

If I were the president, I'd outlaw salt on roads, require four snow tires on all vehicles being driven in snow/ice.

sand is almost as bad. And seriously if you wash the underside of the car weekly it should be fine. But every manufacturer and vehicle is different.

[Stang70Fastback]

I had a 1998 Subaru Outback that had 286,000 miles, and 16 salt-covered winters on it. Did it have rust? Sure. Was it falling apart the way ToySub1946 makes it sound like it should have? No. We washed it often enough that this wasn't an issue.

I've had my BRZ through two salt-covered winters so far, as seen above. Here is the underside after those two winters:

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by ToySub1946

Move to just anywhere they don't put salt on the roads.

Doing anything else is a waste of time.

Hopeless to attempt to keep ahead of salt damage...been there, tried that.

The newer car bodies hold up quite well, it's all the things attached to underside of car which rot, and quite quickly.

Make enough money to replace car every two years....your best option if you must stay in salted street climate.

I grew up in salt country, moved away from it for about thirty years, made the mistake of moving back for about five years. Relearned my lesson. Now I'm out of salt country for good. Few car repairs and in a warmer climate utility bills are way less. Just makes sense to me.

If I were the president, I'd outlaw salt on roads, require four snow tires on all vehicles being driven in snow/ice.

I would absolutely love to move elsewhere. I've complained about the salted roads for years. Unfortunately that isn't in the cards for a while, despite my wishes. I just need to invest in a lift and then I can power wash the underbody all the time..

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Salt? What's that?

This looks remarkably similar to the DIY wash we have here in Muncie, IN...

Enough so, that i've stared at the picture for several minutes now. I'm sure they all look the same.. but dang..

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

This looks remarkably similar to the DIY wash we have here in Muncie, IN...

Enough so, that i've stared at the picture for several minutes now. I'm sure they all look the same.. but dang..

Haha, this was in Schaumburg, Illinois. A car wash called Busy Bee. Not too far from IN, tho :P

[JD001]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

I would absolutely love to move elsewhere. I've complained about the salted roads for years. Unfortunately that isn't in the cards for a while, despite my wishes. I just need to invest in a lift and then I can power wash the underbody all the time..

My all time pet hate (driving related) is coming across a gritting truck spraying salt onto the roads before the anticipated snow fall! The salt/grit is scattered at such force that I fear for my car's paint finish..