Can I treat slightly rusted coil springs with Waxoyl
Discussion
Dear All
I saw my coil springs are slightly rusted? Should I wire brush and apply Waxoyl Rustproofing Aerosol or just not bother
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repa...
I tried Waxoyl Rustproofing Aerosol before it looks like a thick waxy. If I applied that, will it mislead the MOT tester. He might think that thick waxy is like oil leaking?
Thanks
I saw my coil springs are slightly rusted? Should I wire brush and apply Waxoyl Rustproofing Aerosol or just not bother
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repa...
I tried Waxoyl Rustproofing Aerosol before it looks like a thick waxy. If I applied that, will it mislead the MOT tester. He might think that thick waxy is like oil leaking?
Thanks
Dave Brand said:
227bhp said:
Complete waste of time and money.
Most coil spring failures are said to be as the result of corrosion.The reason they rust is because of their exposure and the fact that they flex and the coils sit on top of one another grinding grit into themselves.
It's a pointless exercise, treat them as the consumable item that they are.
I have slightly rusty coil springs on my Porsche that are costly to replace - does anyone know if these rust converters are any good? Just been looking at this product Dinitrol rc 900 it appears to a simple spray application https://www.tiltrak.com/product/dinitrol-rc900-rus...
They are designed to be used under full paint, they are not just a spray & forget job.
As has been said above rust on a spring is not really a problem unless it is massive, just remember rust deposits can be up to 50 times the depth of original metal so 1mm of rust depth is a miniscule amount of original steel.
As has been said above rust on a spring is not really a problem unless it is massive, just remember rust deposits can be up to 50 times the depth of original metal so 1mm of rust depth is a miniscule amount of original steel.
stevieturbo said:
Most coil spring failures are from Chinese steel....speed bumps...etc etc.
I'd say corrosion would be the least likely reason.
Corrosion is the primary cause of spring failure in modern cars. In the interests of weight and material saving, modern springs use smaller diameter wire with few turns, which increased material stress, and the vast majority of cars use struts that put the spring in the line of fire from debris and water thrown up by the tyres. Even quite minor corrosion pitting creates stress raisers that can lead to failure. I'd say corrosion would be the least likely reason.
Older cars had much thicker wire in their springs with more turns (lower stress) and failures were almost unknown. I just help my dad overhaul the suspension on his MGB and the springs are probably 2-3 times the weight of a spring on a modern McPherson strut design, yet despite being over 50 years old and quite heavily pitted I have no doubt they would last another 50 years if the rest of the car stayed together for that long.
OnTheEdge said:
Corrosion is the primary cause of spring failure in modern cars. In the interests of weight and material saving, modern springs use smaller diameter wire with few turns, which increased material stress, and the vast majority of cars use struts that put the spring in the line of fire from debris and water thrown up by the tyres. Even quite minor corrosion pitting creates stress raisers that can lead to failure.
Older cars had much thicker wire in their springs with more turns (lower stress) and failures were almost unknown. I just help my dad overhaul the suspension on his MGB and the springs are probably 2-3 times the weight of a spring on a modern McPherson strut design, yet despite being over 50 years old and quite heavily pitted I have no doubt they would last another 50 years if the rest of the car stayed together for that long.
Agree, but also.Older cars had much thicker wire in their springs with more turns (lower stress) and failures were almost unknown. I just help my dad overhaul the suspension on his MGB and the springs are probably 2-3 times the weight of a spring on a modern McPherson strut design, yet despite being over 50 years old and quite heavily pitted I have no doubt they would last another 50 years if the rest of the car stayed together for that long.
Lots of springs dont compress evenly, they work as a pivot on trailing axles often, increasing the stress they are put under. Coupled with thinner poorer metal and so exposed.
They are virtually consumable items on some cars.
I've had two springs break within the last couple of years. Both on a car that was ~10 years old and both I believe both caused by cracks growing due to stress plus corrosion. I found it interesting that although the car was in daily use, on both occasions the spring failed while it was parked overnight. I guess that the ultimate failure was triggered by thermal expansion/contraction.
GreenV8S said:
I've had two springs break within the last couple of years. Both on a car that was ~10 years old and both I believe both caused by cracks growing due to stress plus corrosion. I found it interesting that although the car was in daily use, on both occasions the spring failed while it was parked overnight. I guess that the ultimate failure was triggered by thermal expansion/contraction.
Are you 100% sure it happened when you weren't driving? I've never known when a spring broke, it's always been noted sometime after as it seems to be the end two coils which break and it isn't immediately noticeable. I suppose it's possible as springs do get warm when flexed multiple times. The oil in a cylinder head is used to cool the valve springs as they get really hot, there is a clip on YT somewhere inside a running engine and you can see the oil vapourising off the springs.
GreenV8S said:
227bhp said:
Are you 100% sure it happened when you weren't driving?
.
100%. I heard it break both times, and the car went from flat / level driveable to undriveable with the spring wedged into the tyre..
Maybe it's a similar thing that is happening in toughened glass when it breaks in houses when no-one is in....
The problem with Waxoyl is that people wait till the item is rusty and spray it on over the rust. This is 100% the worst possible thing you can do. Waxoyl is a great solution on clean paintwork and crevices that aren't rusty yet...but spraying it over rust simply creates a nice skin when moisture can eat away at the metalwork, accelerated by the fact that the Waxoyl slows the drying process.
If you can't remove the rust completely and apply fresh paint, your best bet is to use a decent anti-corrosion formula like ACF-50 that is proven to stop and prevent further rust. It does need applying at least yearly before the winter sets in though.
If you can't remove the rust completely and apply fresh paint, your best bet is to use a decent anti-corrosion formula like ACF-50 that is proven to stop and prevent further rust. It does need applying at least yearly before the winter sets in though.
stevieturbo said:
Dave Brand said:
Most coil spring failures are said to be as the result of corrosion.
Most coil spring failures are from Chinese steel....speed bumps...etc etc.I'd say corrosion would be the least likely reason.
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