Snow-Salt-Corrosion!

We are about to get out first good snow of the year and with it comes lots of salt. I have always left the Jeep in the garage till Spring trying to avoid corrosion issues. A year ago I put some new bead lock wheels on my Jeep made by ATX. The only exposure to salt was towing it on a trailer over I70 in Colorado in a snow storm after EJS. I washed everything really well when I got home but pulled the wheels apart this Fall to put on new tires and was amazed at all the corrosion in the wheels. The helicoil like inserts were nearly rusted away and lots of white aluminum corrosion.

What do you guys do in the winter where you have snow and salt?
 
Spray them lightly with rustproofing. You can buy a spray can from most decent rust proofing places. I use Krown here in Ontario, where we get a tonne of salt due to the ice and snow.
 
I do not live in an evironment where they salt the roads, but I do work on Naval Aircraft which are exposed to a high salinity evironment when deployed aboard ships. We have a 28 day corrosion inspection cycle where we open all panels and look for corrosion and treat as necessary. We use a preservative called Fluid Film, which is lanolin based and very enviromental friendly.

How a 28 day corrosion inspection would look for a JK is this.

Wash and dry.

If you have beadlocks reduce tire pressure and remove the outer ring and inspect the helicoils for corrosion. clean and treat as requried.
Wipe down exposed area with preservative and reinstall outer ring. Soak bolts in preservative. This does two things, one puts a coating of preservative on the threads which will reduce the chance of the bolts corroding to the helicoil and second adds a barrier which prevents water intrusion into the helicoils.

Wipe down all bumpers and apply preservative to all places including the areas you cannot see. For these areas I would recommend using a bug sprayer. Apply a liberal coating of preservative.

Grease all fittings. Pump grease until clean contaminate free grease is coming out. This ensures all grease is fresh.

For a 90 or 120 day inspection or Spring Cleaning.

I would do the same as the 28 day but add the following. On the components you can disassemble do so. Clean and preserve as necessary.

Yes it does seem like a lot to do but it will pay dividends in the long run.

I have worked on helicopters which fly about 1,000 feet above the ocean and land 12 feet above sea level. When landing they create a fine salt spray which covers everything. We do a fresh water rinse on them every day and wash them with soap every week. It works just takes some time to figure out just exactly where you need to focus your attention.

R/
Will
 
I do not live in an evironment where they salt the roads, but I do work on Naval Aircraft which are exposed to a high salinity evironment when deployed aboard ships. We have a 28 day corrosion inspection cycle where we open all panels and look for corrosion and treat as necessary. We use a preservative called Fluid Film, which is lanolin based and very enviromental friendly.

How a 28 day corrosion inspection would look for a JK is this.

Wash and dry.

If you have beadlocks reduce tire pressure and remove the outer ring and inspect the helicoils for corrosion. clean and treat as requried.
Wipe down exposed area with preservative and reinstall outer ring. Soak bolts in preservative. This does two things, one puts a coating of preservative on the threads which will reduce the chance of the bolts corroding to the helicoil and second adds a barrier which prevents water intrusion into the helicoils.

Wipe down all bumpers and apply preservative to all places including the areas you cannot see. For these areas I would recommend using a bug sprayer. Apply a liberal coating of preservative.

Grease all fittings. Pump grease until clean contaminate free grease is coming out. This ensures all grease is fresh.

For a 90 or 120 day inspection or Spring Cleaning.

I would do the same as the 28 day but add the following. On the components you can disassemble do so. Clean and preserve as necessary.

Yes it does seem like a lot to do but it will pay dividends in the long run.

I have worked on helicopters which fly about 1,000 feet above the ocean and land 12 feet above sea level. When landing they create a fine salt spray which covers everything. We do a fresh water rinse on them every day and wash them with soap every week. It works just takes some time to figure out just exactly where you need to focus your attention.

R/
Will

I fluid filmed my jeep about a month ago. I used the aerosol cans. Three of them was enough for a 4-door. I cleaned with simply green first then went to town coating everything metal and all the joints. I have a 2013 that's less than 6 months old and already had rust on the frame and of course the drive shaft.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
I fluid filmed my jeep about a month ago. I used the aerosol cans. Three of them was enough for a 4-door. I cleaned with simply green first then went to town coating everything metal and all the joints. I have a 2013 that's less than 6 months old and already had rust on the frame and of course the drive shaft.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using WAYALIFE mobile app

When simple green was first released the Navy was going to use it. After some internal research they discovered it was causing corrosion on aircraft, so much so they banned it from being used near aircraft. I personally do not use it on anything I do not want to corrode.

To save you some money get the gallon can and a bug sprayer. I was able to do fluid film a SH-60B helicopter with about 1/2 gallon. Once the rags became saturated it does not take much to spread around.

R/
Will
 
I think I'll try the Fluid Film. Just before I hit the snow in CO I stopped and soaked the wheels and rings in WD40 thinking I would only be in the snow/salt for a couple hours and could then wash it off, it didn't help keep the salt out.
 
I have had pretty good results here in northern Illinois using Corrosion X, it's pricey but has worked well for me.

Sent from the"Zone of Influence"
 
Not the answer you were looking for, but I live close to a power wash so I bring my jeep there twice a week in the winter. Haven't bad an issue with anything in terms of corrosion. I soap it down and hot wash it. I live in Michigan, by the way.
 
In the winter I thoroughly wash my JK 3 times a week. No issues after 3 NY winters. 2 winters left and I'm out of this crappy state forever so I'll keep it up!

Also, the stuff below is pretty amazing!



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Lots of good suggestions, thanks everyone.

Anyone else run beadlocks in the winter? They seem to be my biggest problem right now. I washed them with soap and warm water less than 24hours after the salt/snow bath. I'll take them apart this winter and replace the helicoils.
 
That's the biggest reason I'm not going with bead locks is I know the corrosion prevention is horrible, especially in Michigan. I'm sure there's something out there that works well.
 
In the winter I thoroughly wash my JK 3 times a week. No issues after 3 NY winters. 2 winters left and I'm out of this crappy state forever so I'll keep it up!

Also, the stuff below is pretty amazing!



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My friend what you have there is MIL-C-81309 Type III which is used as corrosion prevention spray for electrical connectors. Be aware this is great stuff but does require cleaning and reapplication. We usually reapply it every 56 days.

R/
Will


Sent from my fRuit product using WAL
 
Lots of good suggestions, thanks everyone.

Anyone else run beadlocks in the winter? They seem to be my biggest problem right now. I washed them with soap and warm water less than 24hours after the salt/snow bath. I'll take them apart this winter and replace the helicoils.

When you are putting the wheels back together use a protective barrier. I highly recommend using Fluid Film when setting the bolts on the ring. Also use a liberal amount of Fluid Film when putting it back together.


Sent from my fRuit product using WAL
 
When simple green was first released the Navy was going to use it. After some internal research they discovered it was causing corrosion on aircraft, so much so they banned it from being used near aircraft. I personally do not use it on anything I do not want to corrode.

To save you some money get the gallon can and a bug sprayer. I was able to do fluid film a SH-60B helicopter with about 1/2 gallon. Once the rags became saturated it does not take much to spread around.

R/
Will

Will,

Thanks for the heads up. I wanted a environmental friendly degreaser. I was going to buy a gallon, but didn't want to get a paint sprayer at the time. I pulled my muffler and painted that while I was coating the undercarriage. Which helped me get in the spots above the exhaust. I live in Jersey and they love to salt the roads, also my jeep will be going on the beach during the summer. So I am hoping fluid film keeps my jeep rust free.

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