Using an old car daily over the winter

[Viperz888]

Unfortunately it looks as if I'm going to have to use my old (well retro anyway) Sierra daily over the winter. Not ideal, as I had planned to only use it in the dry, but needs must.

I'm not concerned about it's reliability, more about the salt and grit encouraging the rust. I've heard that giving a car a quick wash down with a hose after a journey, including some of the reachable underside will help to slow down the process by washing away much of the salt. I'd do a proper wash with shampoo at the weekends. Anyone have any theories on this, or any other ideas? Many thanks.

[gog440]

If you are really worried about the Sierra dissolving why not buy a £200 snotter to keep you mobile?

[bearman68]

Or waxoil the vulnerable bits....

[DaveCWK]

Get the underseal checked and touched up if required, and it will be fine.

I'll be doing 300 miles a week in a 20 year old Toyota this winter. Wish me luck

[aeropilot]

Viperz888 said:

Unfortunately it looks as if I'm going to have to use my old (well retro anyway) Sierra daily over the winter. Not ideal, as I had planned to only use it in the dry, but needs must.

I'm not concerned about it's reliability, more about the salt and grit encouraging the rust. I've heard that giving a car a quick wash down with a hose after a journey, including some of the reachable underside will help to slow down the process by washing away much of the salt.

Use a garden hose with low pressure rather than a power washer Karcher etc., as you run the risk of just forcing salt into the crevices rather than washing it off.

[Viperz888]

I can't manage another car due to lack of time, space, and the fact that a £300 banger is likely to be a £1000 banger with insurance.

[s p a c e m a n]

Spray a couple of cans of this underneath.

http://www.bilthamber.com/dynax-s50

[elementad]

I've been driving throughout winters in my second motor (shed) which is a 22 year old honda civic (the boxy shspe).
I paid £300 with 46k on clock.
Everything still works on it (electric sunroof, windows, mirrors), the engine now has 98k on it and runs great. It will outlast the bodywork for sure.

I've had a couple of small areas welded to pass mots but the car is great, and because it's old school, it weighs nothing, is very nippy for a £300 shed and handles great.

Apart from having some dented pride (and looking like something from Wayne's World) I actually love driving it and not having to care about where I park it etc.

I would highly recommend a winter shed of Japanese origin and a coat of underseal

[spitfiresteve]

As has been said, waxoil or builthammer type products sprayed in vulnerable areas are essential, then add a weekly hose down and all will be well. You will never stop the rust, just slow the process.
I have driven a spitfire daily in all weathers for the past four years and this is what I do.

[Sir Fergie]

spitfiresteve said:

As has been said, waxoil or builthammer type products sprayed in vulnerable areas are essential, then add a weekly hose down and all will be well. You will never stop the rust, just slow the process.
I have driven a spitfire daily in all weathers for the past four years and this is what I do.

This - plus also id suggest that in spring/summer time id check over the Sierra again to identify if any (new) rust issues have arisen during the winter - and get them sorted out while still fixable.

Imo - it isn't just the fact that its used during winter that kills off old cars like a Sierra - id say its more of a case that its that the rust issues don't get picked up until its too late.

Also consider what condition its in now - if theres rust on the car at the moment - then it probably makes sense to fix it now - if the car is intended to be a long term ownership proposition.

Rather then waiting until spring when the rust could have spread more.

Just my opinion though

[sparks_E39]

I'll wash my car once a week come November. It's 11 years old, and the particular car is prone to rust. It'll also benefit by looking great and standing out more against all the other road users that won't bother!

[M4cruiser]

I agree with the need for Waxoyl or similar, but the government doesn't, what do you make of this:-

[Petrolhead_Rich]

M4cruiser said:

I agree with the need for Waxoyl or similar, but the government doesn't, what do you make of this:-

Quite obviously a rust bucket and an owner hoping to blag it through an MOT with 10 tins of underseal......

[Petrolhead_Rich]

Viperz888 said:

Unfortunately it looks as if I'm going to have to use my old (well retro anyway) Sierra daily over the winter. Not ideal, as I had planned to only use it in the dry, but needs must.

I'm not concerned about it's reliability, more about the salt and grit encouraging the rust. I've heard that giving a car a quick wash down with a hose after a journey, including some of the reachable underside will help to slow down the process by washing away much of the salt. I'd do a proper wash with shampoo at the weekends. Anyone have any theories on this, or any other ideas? Many thanks.

pay particular attention to the rear of the sill under the back door, I've yet to see a sierra that hasn't rotted there!

[s m]

Petrolhead_Rich said:

Viperz888 said:

Unfortunately it looks as if I'm going to have to use my old (well retro anyway) Sierra daily over the winter. Not ideal, as I had planned to only use it in the dry, but needs must.

I'm not concerned about it's reliability, more about the salt and grit encouraging the rust. I've heard that giving a car a quick wash down with a hose after a journey, including some of the reachable underside will help to slow down the process by washing away much of the salt. I'd do a proper wash with shampoo at the weekends. Anyone have any theories on this, or any other ideas? Many thanks.

pay particular attention to the rear of the sill under the back door, I've yet to see a sierra that hasn't rotted there!

Plus the rear chassis legs especially where the rear springs are - once they start to go there it's a pain

[aw51 121565]

Petrolhead_Rich said:

M4cruiser said:

I agree with the need for Waxoyl or similar, but the government doesn't, what do you make of this:-

Quite obviously a rust bucket and an owner hoping to blag it through an MOT with 10 tins of underseal......

Or perhaps an overcautious owner - this is just the MoT tester covering his back should there be a complaint go in to VOSA within 3 months (assuming that the owner is getting an MoT then selling a wreck), after all his livelihood is potentially at stake if he gets it wrong! I use Waxoyl myself (admittedly the Bilt Hamber product mentioned upthread is the stuff of choice to use) but it's transparent and doesn't hide anything .

1987 E-reg 309SR daily driver here, bought it in April 2004 for £300 with 5 months MoT and 35,300 on the clock, now it's on 56,000 miles and just passed its latest MoT with one advisory (handbrake cable outer casings cracked, they've been like this since I got the car)... It's also zinc-coated on the important chassis bits, and the surface rust on these (MoT-sensitive) bits just stays much the same from winter to winter (the car deserves better, it really does!). It also has 165/70/13 tyres, and has no trouble at all getting going on snow and ice even when it's a level 30cm deep .

The wife's Jazz falls by the wayside a long time before the 309 when the snow and ice are bad; the Jazz also has more surface rust underneath (at 7 years old) than the 309 (26 years old) .

[Faust66]

I used my 1990 XR4x4 as a daily for 6 years (brilliant in the snow!) and rust & some dodgy electrical issues are what killed it in the end.

OP: As others have said, you need to sort out some rustproofing on your car NOW, before you start using it on salty, gritty roads. I never did on mine, to my lasting regret.

Get yourself down the jet wash and give all the nooks and crannies a good cleaning to get rid of any muck. Then get yourself a few cans of bilt hamber S50 wax and give the arches (behind the liners) and sills and damn good coating. You might want to use a heavier duty uderseal product for the actual floorpans as it will be more resilient to damage - I like the hammerite underseal with built in waxoyl.

Make sure that the sunroof drains are clear and that water can't get inside the car. Make sure the fusebox is watertight (bit of silicone sealant should do it) and make DAMN sure that the bonnet bulkhead rubber seal is intact - mine wasn't and let water in. Which the fusebox sat in with predictable results (like a fool I didn't check regularly enough as I had a new project on the go).

You can't take too much time and effort in rustproofing a car IMO. My Volvo Amazon is 43 years old, lives outside and is my daily driver - it's never been welded to the best of my knowledge and I want to keep it that way.

[Sir Fergie]

M4cruiser said:

I agree with the need for Waxoyl or similar, but the government doesn't, what do you make of this:-

One persons opinion I would say - yes the codes are probably standard for that issue (I don't know - not from the Uk so not familiar with UK MOT) - for example 013 for underbody corrosion...

But the comments on Wexyol are probably the testers own views - intended as guidance for the owner.

[lightthefuse]

Ran my Sierra as a daily in the winter when needs precluded (S80 written off by SWMBO, the Sierra was my station car when working away). As previously stated, lashings of rustproofing underneath and regular washing helps a great deal. Something heavy in the back if it's a bit too lively for your liking (I was actually disappointed at the lack of oversteer until I ran out of talent once!).

[cozmcrae]

Couldn't resist