Electronic rust inhibitor

"homepc" wrote in news:n%dRg.41487$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe16.lga:

My daughter has installed one, 3 years ago. She paid over $600 Her car is still rusting. She went over because the work was warranted. They said to her, that her car is warranted against perforation, not surface rust. On top of that, this is a great product used on many ships and smaller boats. Cars typically don't stand in a conductive body of water. I do not recommend this type of product.

I wouldn't do it. First of all, who knows what other problems futzing with the electrical system might create. Second of all, it's a brand-spanking new Toyota for goodness sake! One of the reasons you pay a premium for Toyota (versus similar sized cars from GM/Ford, for instance) is because of the quality, which includes rust resistance. You could be dead by the time the car rusts out, if ever! Rust is just not an issue these days until vehicles are near the end of their life anyway (engine wearing out etc). Save the money and drive on!

~"homepc" wrote in ~news:n%dRg.41487$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe16.lga: ~ ~> Just negotiated a purchase for a 2007 Corolla CE and was considering ~> getting an electronic rust inhibitor offered by the dealership ~> installed at the same time. I was told the dealer version is a ~> better, more robust model that the electronic Counteract rust ~> protection system being sold at Canadian Tire because it generates a ~> higher charge on the car body and it has a safety cut off to prevent ~> killing the car battery. ~> ~> Is this snake oil or is there something to it? Are there any users ~> from eastern Canada that have a similar product installed on their ~> car? ~> ~> ~> ~ ~My daughter has installed one, 3 years ago. ~She paid over $600 ~Her car is still rusting. ~She went over because the work was warranted. ~They said to her, that her car is warranted against perforation, not ~surface rust.

Aren't all new cars guaranteed against rust perforation for 5 years to start with? So you get nothing that isn't already included with the car to start with, except you save $600 by not installing the rust preventer. It sounds good, but really there's no coverage or warranty over and above the Toyota perforation warranty to start with.

~On top of that, this is a great product used on many ships and smaller ~boats. ~Cars typically don't stand in a conductive body of water. ~I do not recommend this type of product.

The biggest problem with a device that relies on current is that many metal parts are mounted with rubber isolators so the current will not reach every part.

Modern cars are much more rust-resistant than ones in the past. I'd skip the electronic rust inhibitor.

Interesting question.

Does it work? I dunno...I had one installed on an '88 Honda by the dealer. Did it STOP rust? No, Hondas rot out by the rear wheels, period. It did NOT stop the rust!

Did it delay the inevitable? Maybe. It did take a while before rust started appearing (about 8 or 9 years), but then again, my totally NON rustproofed '85 Corolla took SEVENTEEN years before it started showing rust (The Corolla was not driven much in the winter...maybe 3 winters in

It does appear to have some effect. I didn't think they were even making these things anymore. the last one I saw...was on my Honda...

Do cars in your area rust (they certainly do in my area, including Toyotas). How long do you plan on keeping your car? My daughter has a low mileage '97 Corolla that has rusted through in areas not protected by a good oil-based antirust (not enough access holes drilled to reach those areas) while the rest of the car shows no rust at all.

A few months ago, I checked several 4-5 years old Corollas and most had minor rust in some areas. "homepc" a écrit dans le message de news: n%dRg.41487$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe16.lga...

There might be something to it, but I can't see how it can work. I'm going to stick it in the "Snake Oil" category until I see real double-blind studies and real unbiased lab results, which I sincerely doubt the manufacturer is going to do. They can already guess what the results would be, and they really don't want to see solid proof of it so they can keep spouting rosy platitudes.

And anything the dealer is adding onto the car is GUARANTEED to only be worth about a quarter of what they want to charge you for it, if that. They buy the device for $20, spend $30 for a junior mechanic to bolt it down and hook it up to the battery, and charge you $400 for this so-called "valuable device"

Rust on cars happens when salt water and air get to exposed metal on your car and the steel reacts with the oxygen and water, the salt accelerates the effects. Applying an electrical charge to the car body does nothing for that - this is not a steel pipeline buried in the dirt where galvanic protection and sacrificial anodes can be effective, there's no ground counterpoise for this gizmo to work against...

The only thing that will really work in keeping rust away is getting all the exposed unpainted items on the car protected as best you can - up to plating or Teflon or powder coating brake and axle components that often are left unfinished. Keeping the paint and other protective coatings on the body and chassis intact and un-perforated. And aggressively attacking the rust wherever it shows up, as soon as you notice it. Scrape, sand, neutralize, prime, paint.

-->--

The last car I had was a 91 Tercel, now 15 years old and up for sale. There is surface rust forming on the wheel wells and along the bottom edge of the car body. My Tercel was originally rust proofed and had a Diamond cote paint sealant applied at the dealership. The paint sealant was not very helpful. There are a lot of trains nearby where I work and the white paint soon got spotted with small black specks. The dealer said it was industrial fall out. I figure it was probably caused by continuous exposure to diesel exhaust and rail dust. Nevertheless, the paint protection was not warranted against that kind of thing, so it was a waste of money. The rust proofing (waxoil) on the other hand, was probably worth it, as the rust just started forming around four years ago, and it only appears on the outside painted surface of the car body. There is little evidence of rust on the underside of the car and no perforations.

I looked at the new Corolla underside and it already appears to be thoroughly coated with a thick rubberized material and the seams are all well sealed, so applying a rust proofing material over this seems redundant. However, I figured if the electronic rust protection system is capable of just slowing the rust from forming on stone chips during the winter months it maybe helpful. That's really all I had in mind. If I'm lucky, I hope to keep my new car as long as my last one.

This is called 'rail dust' and is removable. ALL detailing shops have methods for removing it, but to pay them can be pretty expensive.

Go to your friendly parts or detailing store and tell them you want clay to remove rail dust, and Google "Rail dust removal"

You'll find the methods and items you need.

Basically, the clay is like chewed up bubble gum, you roll the clay around the body and pick up the rail dust, fold the clay up so you have fresh surfaces, and do it again. Folloing with a buffing with a good buffer and good materials (3M or Meguire's is good) and a nice coat of wax or Simonize (get it on e-bay but don't spen more then $45!) The Simonize is a bit better than wax at keeping the rail dust and other things from sticking to the car. A bit. Unless you wax on a regular basis...

Thanks for the heads up on the rail dust removal. Here is a link I found that explains it fully:

The article mentions that the fallout carries a negative charge and is attracted to the car body which carries a positive charge. I wonder if the electronic rust inhibitor ( that creates a negative charge on the car body ) will help slow the fallout from binding to the paint to some degree.

I remember getting really po'd about this stuff on my paint. It was really hard to get off, even with frequent washing, it made no difference at all. The car dealer reapplied the paint sealer to my Tercel after about 8 months but it made no difference. At that point I sort of resigned myself to the idea that it was something I had to live with.

The clay is a clever idea and will keep that in mind.

It is a bit of a PITA, and will take the better part of a Saturday or Sunday to complete.

The other thing I neglected to mention was that, like the 'Teflon' paint sealants like Simonize or the Ultrashield mentioned in the wen page you provided, what you are REALLY paying for with the Electronic Rust Preventer is the warranty.

When caught early, rust can cost a couple hundred $$$ to fix. If acted on later, we're talking thousands. If the warranty covers SURFACE rust, it is worth it. Actually, if it covers perferation for the Life of the car, it is WELL worth it!

If the coverage is only for 4-6 years, forget it. It will take a Toyota longer than that to rot, unless you really abuse it.

I think I paid $399 for mine in 1988.

On the '97 Corolla, the wheel wells also appeared to have surface rust, but they actually rusted from inside because of a lack of antirust (most 93-97 Corollas in my area have the same issue).

Did you ever replace the fuel tank? I never had a Toyota fuel tank last more than 8 years.

No, my fuel tank never had a problem.

I had to get the oil pan replaced a couple of years ago due to corrosion, and that was it. The Toyota mechanic said it was just starting to leak a bit of oil.

Wow...I've got a 20 year old tank in my 'Hachiroku'.

It has been kept FULL since the day I bought it.

It won't help unless the vehicle is kept submerged most of the time.

I doubt this device will void your factory anti-rust warranty, but aftermarket rust treatments that apply coatings or sealants usually will.

I wouldn't bother as I haven't had a rust problem with either of my last two cars. An '87 and '95 Chrysler models, no rust even though I drive to the ski hills in winter.

Really. I've never replaced a fuel tank, even though I've taken 4 of my "terrible NA" vehicles to 10+ yrs. I'm sure learning something about Toyota here, but not what I expected or wanted to learn.

Cathodic rust inhibitors are a technology that works very well in some cases. Unfortunately, the "electronic" ones they sell for cars are just snake oil.