LYL 086 again

The long winter is coming to a close, and the end of winter means that it is time to deal with the consequences of all the salt that was spread all over the roads to lower the freezing point of water. Salt and water and bare metal combine to form rust. Rust on cars is bad.


I hadn't been paying attention to the rust until a couple years ago, when the Corolla started to display signs of pitting. Back in Washington, little rocks and stones from the road would occasionally chip the top coat of paint and expose the primer underneath, but it was nothing to worry about because, generally speaking, the primer coat was still thick enough to keep the rust from forming.

But here in Michigan, half of the rocks and stones from the road are salt, or salt-encrusted, and the salt attacks the primer (and the bare metal) and causes the rust to decimate the cars. The Corolla was starting to look like it had a case of the measles! So as the warm weather started to return today, I decided to do something about it.

First I put the car up on the ramp. I don't like crawling under the car even if I'm laying on a sheet of cardboard. I've gotten seriously claustrophobic in my old age. Too many stories about guys who got crushed by their cars when they put them up on blocks or something wobbly to work on them. Not me! I want good solid ramps underneath before I'll crawl underneath to check out the exhaust system.


And it is the exhaust system that takes the worst beating from all the snow. The heat of the exhaust system is bad enough; it totally destroys any finish on the metal, and accelerates the oxidation process. In the case of the Corolla, the pipe just past the muffler had weakened enough that it broke, and the two sections separated by about an inch. Not having access to any real welding equipment, the best that could be done at this point was to drill holes in the sides of the pipe and tie them together with coat hanger wire, then wrap the whole thing with heat-activated fiberglass (this is fiberglass soaked in a heat-activated resin which hardens once the pipe gets hot) and hope it holds long enough to save up some money for an exhaust system replacement.


The trunk has three holes along the bottom where the spare tire is stored, two of which are tiny and one of which is nearly four inches long and an inch wide. I hadn't noticed them til midway through the winter, and by then the rim of the spare tire was sitting in a quarter-inch of standing water, completely rusted. I was puzzling over how to cover over these holes with something that would prevent rainwater from forcing itself up into the trunk compartment. Thought about screwing down some galvinized metal, thought about clamping two sheets of metal on either side of the holes, thought about using spray-foam. Then found some weatherstripping epoxy in the toolbox, so decided to cut some pieces of rubber from some sheets I had, then glue them down directly onto the metal using generous globs of epoxy. Used bags of aborbent kitty litter to hold them down (and soak up any moisture should the seals break), then placed the spare tire on top to keep the pressure on it while it cures.

Finally, I painted all the rusted spots with a special primer that binds to iron oxides and prepares it for real paint; and painted the bare metal spots I'd sanded with rust inhibitor. Next time I get the chance, I'll need to sand and refinish the rest of the rusted areas.


This is the price we pay for living in Michigan.