Is this a bit of overkill ?

[texaxile]

Hi,
I'd like a few opinions on this. On my Lancer I've recently redone the whole underside by removing the old "tetrosyl" underseal I put on 3 years ago (waste of time and effort IMO, rust appearing on the surface already) and going over it again with 2 decent coats of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80. I've also gone into the chassis rails with Dynax and done the high water traffic areas and along the nearside with a further coat of Dynax UB.

I was seriously considering going over the whole underside again with "Gravitex" on top of the existing Hydrate 80, but bearing in mind the Car is covered, in a garage and my annual mileage in it is low, I'm wondering if it's really worth the bother.

Personally I'm happy with the result, and while not being particularly pretty, it is functional and I will be doing a good few , if possible, dry miles in the Lancer over the next year.

BTW, Hydrate 80 while not being cheap, is an excellent product and well worth the cost. One point though, if you get it in your hair it turns into a chewing gum like substance after a few minutes, and it is a bh to get out. 3 hairwashes later and I'm getting low on Timotei but the damage seems to have been sorted

[SV8Predator]

texaxile said:

I'm getting low on Tim o'Tei but the damage seems to have been sorted

[v8250]

SV8Predator said:

texaxile said:

I'm getting low on Tim o'Tei but the damage seems to have been sorted

"Indeed, Matron...!"

OP, no it's not overkill. I've recently removed 37 years worth of waxoyl and stone chip from my car. Thoroughly cleaned every nook and cranny of the underside, wheel arches et al. I've covered the whole underside with two coats of Hydrate80, then primed and about to start respraying soon. The trick with undersides is to ensure moisture can not get above and into the underbody coating i.e. no trapped moisture. So, have you done the right thing? Yes, without doubt.

[TurboBlue]

I think one of the advantages of Hydrate 80 - as it is a paint, not a wax - is that it can be re-painted when it begins to wear off in high abrasion areas; I think once you under-seal you have to be sure that the job has been done completely and dry and that going over it again is no longer possible.

Good tip about the hair though - I've worn a hat as it's usually freezing lying on concrete under a truck - but once dry it is swine to get off and I've no hair to spare!

[woodytype S]

I've been running Jap cars for years.They don't under seal the cars over there.I spray the under side with old engine oil=NO RUST. Oil soaks into the metal bits,I owned one car for 10 years it was as good as new under when I sold it.

[itiejim]

woodytype S said:

I've been running Jap cars for years.They don't under seal the cars over there.I spray the under side with old engine oil=NO RUST. Oil soaks into the metal bits,I owned one car for 10 years it was as good as new under when I sold it.

Yes

Not entirely environmentally friendly and needs doing every couple of years, but it really keeps the rust away.

[Skyedriver]

Using old engine oil was common practice years ago but I was told that it contained various acids and chemicals that would eat into the metal...

[texaxile]

I'm not really a massive fan of using old engine oil, I understand the logic but I'd prefer something that dries off and is designed to do the job.

Really I think I'll just leave the 2 coats of Hydrate on there, plus the areas I've Dynax'ed . Adding Gravitex on top might possibly not give me any benefits.

[MarkwG]

I think the old engine oil trick stems from when engines through engine out all over the place as a matter of course: "if there's nothing leaking out, there's none in there" sort of thing. But that relied on a constant flow onto the affected areas, couple with cars that didn't last as long anyway, & oils being simpler back then: now I suspect a dedicated product would be a better bet.

[lowdrag]

All Jaguars had a built-in rust-proofing system and it worked. It was called the crankshaft rope seal which pissed oil out under the car

[droopsnoot]

I have a similar seal on the back of the Vauxhall engine, and a poor seal on the back of the gearbox. When stripped, though, the inside of the transmission tunnel still has rust despite the covering.

I've heard of engine oil, gearbox oil and I suspect that the use stems from when specialist wax products were either unavailable, or relatively expensive. I don't fancy it dripping onto the drive, either.

I'd suggest having some kind of stonechip / underseal over the paint finish though, from a noise point of view. I didn't put anything in the wheelarches on mine, every time a stone went into the arch it sounded like someone was chucking rocks at the car. I'm now going around it putting stonechip on to try to quieten it down a bit. Obviously won't help on some cars, and in some cases it's a disadvantage.

[shirt]

Skyedriver said:

Using old engine oil was common practice years ago but I was told that it contained various acids and chemicals that would eat into the metal...

now why would an oil designed to lubricate metal components contain such acids and chemicals?

[lowdrag]

The stress is on the word "old". It's not shiny golden new oil, but stuff that's been churning round the engine for 10,000 miles or so and has become contaminated. Like my 202 Mercedes; the service interval lengthens when I add a litre between services. The mileage to the next oil change lengthens because the overall condition of the oil is cleaner.

[renaultgeek]

lowdrag said:

The stress is on the word "old". It's not shiny golden new oil, but stuff that's been churning round the engine for 10,000 miles or so and has become contaminated. Like my 202 Mercedes; the service interval lengthens when I add a litre between services. The mileage to the next oil change lengthens because the overall condition of the oil is cleaner.

the service interval doesn't lengthen, because the bad stuff doesn't burn off, only the oil. as the oil burns, the concentration of contaminants will most likely increase, you're only diluting it back to normal levels.

[lowdrag]

Which is really what I was trying to - perhaps poorly - say. By adding fresh oil the overall contamination level is diluted. But we are both on the same wavelength!

[shirt]

yes but the contaminants from std. petrol are not going to be anything that harms metal. they will be carbon based or metallic elements from wear items.

[Cooper Green]

Fantastic looking Lancer..... Back in the eighties and early nineties I owned and cherished two Gallant Turbo's, one narrow bodied 2.0 and one widebodied 2.6 starion. Had mine tuned by Geoff Blower racing. Wish I had some digital pics to post. Fantastic cars and great road presence, true classics if only the cossies and intergrales hadn't come along to steal mitsubishi's thunder. Please post more pics.

[texaxile]

As you wish













Some of the pics are a bit flattering, the bodywork needs slight attention above the windscreen and on the NSF wing. The seats have since been re upholstered, and the RFX Revolutions are a spare set of wheels I keep it sat on, the standard alloys have all been refurbed and sit wrapped in plastic minus tyres.
It will be striped up as per original "Road Pack" option spec which is White and Orange striping, mudflaps, 2 tone horn and Sump guard.

[Cooper Green]

Fantastic many thanks for the pic's, and of course the ubiquitous Impreza as a daily in the background. Have owned one of each starting with a classic, bug eye sti, and blob eye, and hawk eye prodrive sti with further mods as couldn't find anything better each replacement time. Miss them all but returned to best of British in the form of TVR's for last few years. Enjoy.