Engine Bay Undercarriage Cover Screws

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Ronzuki
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A friendly reminder, at least to the rust belt folks, to get under there, pull them off and smear a little anti-seize on them. These are the 10mm jobs that hold the plastic covers on under the engine and trans. I went to remove the drivers side cover (first time in 3 years) to check t-case oil condition last night, and several of them nearest the wheel were just about seized up w/ rust. On the passenger side cover I can break them free and spin out with my fingers since this is the access for the engine oil drain and they've been out numerous times.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
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SamirD
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Good advice! Especially for those of us with salted roads. I need to get a can of pb blaster and just spray down any metal that's tarnishing.
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Speed_Racer
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A product my parents swear by is "Fluid Film", a lanolin-based lubricant used by a lot of farmers to keep their machinery rust-free. Doesn't evaporate, and forms a solid barrier against salt, good on nuts and bolts. This is their second winter using it (NH = tons of salt!) and they seem very pleased with the protection.

I got a couple of cans myself and I'll be spraying down my frame and misc parts as soon as the weather warms up enough to wash off the salt w/o the water freezing. I'll let you all know how it looks after a winter.
'12 Kizashi,'03 SV650,'04 DL1000
SamirD
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I was actually going to search for a product like that! Thank you for the heads-up. I'm going to look into it as well. I'd like to PB Blaster some of the starting to rust bits so they go back to metal before putting on any type of protectant that's going to seal everything in.
SamirD
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So I saw the underside of the car for the first time since we bought it late last year, and there's a lot more rust than there was before, especially on the part of the exhaust where it Y's to the two mufflers. :(

How's the Fluid Film/anti-sieze holding up? I'm definitely going to have to coat the underside of the car.
bootymac
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SamirD wrote:How's the Fluid Film/anti-sieze holding up? I'm definitely going to have to coat the underside of the car.
Liquid Wrench works just as well as Fluid Film but at a fraction of the cost. Neither will work on an exhaust though. You'll probably have to look into high temperature paint for that application

Here's a test comparing various rust inhibitors: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil- ... rison.html

Summary: LW lasted just as long as FF at preventing rust on bare metal that was exposed to the elements over 3.5 weeks
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~tc~
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bootymac wrote:Here's a test comparing various rust inhibitors: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil- ... rison.html
Very interesting! Amazing in the second test that Liquid Wrench did better than even some dedicated rust-preventatives!
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Ronzuki
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Many in the off-road crowd spray their undercarriage w/ wd40 as a release agent to prevent the PA mud from sticking to everything and making it much easier to wash off. Some folks who've had their rigs for many many years also claim that, as an unexpected benefit, the process that they've performed a few times a year during their wheeling seasons has fended off rust over the years on the drivetrain parts that inherently corrode (knuckles, tubes, shafts, diff housings).
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
SamirD
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bootymac wrote:
SamirD wrote:How's the Fluid Film/anti-sieze holding up? I'm definitely going to have to coat the underside of the car.
Liquid Wrench works just as well as Fluid Film but at a fraction of the cost. Neither will work on an exhaust though. You'll probably have to look into high temperature paint for that application
I initially was thinking of spraying on some PB Blaster as I've seen it actually turn a rusted header back into iron. Since it's a catalyst, not just an oil, I can see this happening.

(It was on my old header off one of my 95 Altimas which was replace with a tri-y design. I had to spray the bolts that held it on to help loosen them. The area on the header where the PB dripped turned into an iron color about a week later. When I touched it, it was smooth again like new iron. Very cool.)
bootymac
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SamirD wrote:
bootymac wrote:
SamirD wrote:How's the Fluid Film/anti-sieze holding up? I'm definitely going to have to coat the underside of the car.
Liquid Wrench works just as well as Fluid Film but at a fraction of the cost. Neither will work on an exhaust though. You'll probably have to look into high temperature paint for that application
I initially was thinking of spraying on some PB Blaster as I've seen it actually turn a rusted header back into iron. Since it's a catalyst, not just an oil, I can see this happening.

(It was on my old header off one of my 95 Altimas which was replace with a tri-y design. I had to spray the bolts that held it on to help loosen them. The area on the header where the PB dripped turned into an iron color about a week later. When I touched it, it was smooth again like new iron. Very cool.)
PB Blaster is a penetrating fluid so I don't think it will work well as a rust preventative. You need something that will coat the surfaces and protect it from the elements.

While we're talking about penetrating fluid, here's another test I found comparing PB, LW and WD40 among other fluids:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/data/ ... l_Test.jpg
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