rust – Page 14 – OKIEROVER.COM

August 2nd, 2004
Rust the bain of all autos
Tomorrow my lovely wife and I will celebrate 15 years married. That is an accomplishment here in the middle lands of America. With a 50% divorce rate it seems to be harder for some than for others. Thank you for staying with me all these years. You are the best accessory a guy could have to make the Rover worth riding in.

Rust. Rust is popping up on the rear door. It seems to stay wet back there. I will probably look at replacing the rubber back there soon and to look at stripping the rust off and ending that problem for the time being. My buddy the Titanium Hitch has used some POR-15. He is in the process of using it on his old Ford pickup’s roof to stop the rust which is all over it. He doesn’t have anything to report yet.

Ozzie at Ozzie’s Offroad has recently used some POR-15 also. He promises some pictures and that always means some writing too. Anyway the rear lid needs some work and I will take the opportunity to fix the lock back there too. I don’t think it works like it’s supposed to. I’ll do a write up on it as I start on it look for it in the Tech Tips section. The rain has stopped for a while so it would be a good time to start on it.

I’m gonna pull up the carpet in the front and try to clean it as I did in the back. This will also give me an opportunity to check out the rust I fear is under my feet as I motor about.

I’m gonna add an avatar for any medical things that happen to me when I work on the truck. Maybe I’ll add pictures of the injuries too! The last one was the wrench slipping out of my hand and hitting me in the nose. Right on the bridge and now I have a lovely popping sound when I fiddle with my nose. On the CV joint repair I described the ginsu bracket and the new scar I got from that. So look for the red cross somewhere on the new articles.

March 20, 2003
Rust and Rovers
Rust. What else can you say? Everyone knows about rust and Rovers. When we lived on Guam there was this stuff they called “creeping crud”. It was basically rust on your car. A small rust spot would start and it would creep up your car. Rust was due to the salt air and all the tropical conditions that foster rust.

But today I wonder about rust. Why so much of it on Rovers? What make them so special? I have owned many cars not one of them had any rust. Not one of them has had the exhaust rust out.

My last vehicle was a 1993 Ford Ranger pickup truck. I drove it 189,000 miles in 7 years. Not one bit of rust. Exhaust was pristine. But in the 10 years my Rover has been in existance it has developed several rust issues. They are too numerous to mention but every time I climb under it I see more rust.

Well this week while crossing a busy intersection in town in five o’clock traffic my silencer falls
off my truck. My carpool buddy said, “Did that just fall off your truck?” I replied I don’t think so
as it was only 2 years ago that I had replaced it and there is no way it could have rusted out by now. I was wrong, it was mine. And trashed it was, by the time I got back to pick it up.

I reported a month ago that the exhaust would need to be replaced. I thought I would be able to
replace it at my leisure. I guess I was wrong again.

With the need to replace it looming I have several questions that I will have to research or ask
the good people of several Rover Message Boards for explanations.

What is the silencer for?

Do I need a silencer?

Do I replace my exhaust with stainless steel?

What is the best value for my money?

What are fair prices for the components of the exhaust?

The obvious, “Hey he’s in a Land Rover, he must be rich.” look on mechanics and others faces is
almost a bad cliche in Oklahoma. I can’t tell you the number of times I walked out of a shop or store when I was about to be fleeced. So I hope to have my homework done first and not be taken advantage of when getting my exhaust replaced.

Category: rust

August 2nd, 2004 (Post #49)

March 20th, 2003 (Post #25)