The Sea Killed my Landy

smallribber · 22 November 2020, 17:28

Well after about 7 years of reversing my old Landy Disco 2 TD5 down the slipway (only a little in the water but it splashes) at 11.30 on Friday 20th November it failed the MOT on welding need to the Chasis.... Poor old girl had done 184,000 miles and served me very well...... Not being put off by 11am the next day I was the proud owner of another Disco 2.

Now I would like to try and protect this old girl from salt water going up her chuff and rotting the chasis like the old one.....

I know many will say lots of things about different trailers and Roller Bunks and various ways to keep the car out of the water but that dont work for me or the shallow slip I use..

So what stuff might I be able to spray under the car to help this issue.

Here is the new old girl I bought (This one has done 120K miles so a mere spring chicken)

jeffstevens763@g · 22 November 2020, 17:38

Waxoil

Steve509926 · 22 November 2020, 17:55

One of the problems that can arise treating an older vehicle is sealing in existing rust, which will then continue to corrode. Make sure the underneath is as clean and free from rust as possible before any treatment is applied.
I'm with Jeff on this, although Waxoil is an old product, it's still probably the best.

paintman · 22 November 2020, 18:49

The Disco 2 is well known for the rear of the chassis rotting - and that's before you start sticking it in salt water. Couple of firms do aftermarket complete rear sections.
Not fitted one personally but there are a few youtubes on how to replace it without removing the body.

Various potions suggested on various Landy websites, Waxoil, Dinitrol, Bilt Hamber to name a few.
Bilt Hamber UB injected into the chassis gets a few good mentions on Landyzone for example.

Not environmentally friendly but on external underside rusty areas I like a 50/50 mix of new clean engine oil & grease applied with a brush. A tip given by an old MOT tester & on my '86 RRC has stopped rust dead.
On newly welded/angle grinder wire brushed areas I've found black waxoil fine. Not good over rust.

GuyC · 22 November 2020, 19:37

Krown

These people always get a good write up on the Land Cruiser forums.

Allye · 22 November 2020, 19:41

There are much more effective products on the market than wax oil these days, some amazing expoxy 2 part type deals for instance. Did you not look into repairing the old one? The kits are really good and laser cut, usually 3mm, tank is easy to drop too. I’m no Land Rover fan just done a few over the years!

Very much agree with Steve, it’s difficult to do correctly when you need to remove old rust and crud, many people end up sealing the rot in, some good videos on YouTube of mechanics peeling off under seal and rot with it. A friend of mine offers a under seal service where he steam cleans the underside then applies some trade only product which is amazing - not very helpful sorry but the moral is getting it clean. Undercarriage cleaner adapter for your karcher is probably money well spent too as those discos go between tank and chassis where you struggle to get in to clean.

jeffstevens763@g · 22 November 2020, 20:49

You eliminate the corrosion process by keeping oxygen out that's why waxoyl works it also repairs it's self if punctured. The beauty of it is you can spray right down into box sections. Wynn and Coles petrolartum paste is good but harder to apply I heat it up in a chip fryer get a long pile roller soaked with it on a stick or drain rod and rub that up and down. This stuff is used on steel piles in harbours then wrapped with denso tape and a HDPE jacket put round to keep it on and protect it lasts for years.

Poly · 22 November 2020, 20:50

A rope?

I've never needed to immerse my car at any slipway (trailer is bunked with fairly large wheels so is far from ideal for shallow launching).

Steve509926 · 22 November 2020, 21:34

When I treated the chassis of my old Navara (after checking it to make sure it wasnt one of the cracked ones! ) I asked a couple of local transport companies if they would pressure steam the chassis for me. At £40 it was worth every penny. Cleaned all the mud and crap off the chassis and did the engine bay - and my driveway stayed clean! Applied Waxoil inside and out, can be a messy job, so drove the truck over a taupaulin to do it.
Admittedly I never dunked the truck in seawater, but it was as good the day I sold it as the day I did it.

spartacus · 22 November 2020, 22:57

Just used a product called Lanoguard. Jet-wash the underside and under the wheel arches a few days before you treat it so all loose dirt is removed. The fact it's a no-mess product gets a big thumbs up from me.

smallribber · 23 November 2020, 07:19

Many thanks for all the replies with possible solutions.... Good to see how most people answered the question asked rather than those that decided to advise that not to get the car near the sea in the first place is the solution even though that was covered in the original post

smallribber · 23 November 2020, 07:23

Yes I looked into getting it fixed but she is 'old' in many other areas and even at £45/hour (which was a very good rate from my local garage) It would have been an open ended cheque depending on what was found and after all she had done 184,000 miles. I also have a Disco 3 but I dont let that get near the water at the moment.

The old one also has many parts on which may well come in useful as times go by.

I like the idea of oil and grease mixed as a DIY solution

Poly · 23 November 2020, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallribber

Many thanks for all the replies with possible solutions.... Good to see how most people answered the question asked rather than those that decided to advise that not to get the car near the sea in the first place is the solution even though that was covered in the original post

Option A - solve the problem for £10, little effort and a proven solution that works.
Option B - delay the problem, for moderate cost, with some sort of track record - but designed to be used before the rust starts (you are not really expecting a 100k mile Landy to be rust free are you?)
Option C - rebuild the whole backend at huge cost so the clock is reset on rust, but not prevented from happening again
Option D - a bodged DIY solution that may help - but will most likely leave some hidden parts unprotected, still cost more than option A and will result in oil polluting the sea every time it touches the car.

Still the money in the bank is not giving you any smiles so crack on.

spartacus · 23 November 2020, 09:58

This is an interesting video. It's not just the replacement part of the chassis, the strap on the fuel tank and probably the suspension bolts and tow-bar will all be seized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ5wBDkuIdE

Steve509926 · 23 November 2020, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallribber

I like the idea of oil and grease mixed as a DIY solution

Whilst an oil and grease mix will undoubtedly provide some level of protection externally, unless you can find a way of applying it inside the box sections, I think you will be wasting your time.

smallribber · 23 November 2020, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

This is an interesting video. It's not just the replacement part of the chassis, the strap on the fuel tank and probably the suspension bolts and tow-bar will all be seized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ5wBDkuIdE

That is an interesting video... Looks like the parts are about £700 and Labour say 10 hours so a £1200 - £1500 + VAT job.... Not actually to bad....

My disco was getting very rough in other areas to I still think and hope getting the new to me one was the better option.....

I have a welder and can weld but I think that job would be beyond my welding skills

jeffstevens763@g · 23 November 2020, 10:24

this is what i use for application

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/rust-treatments/1857122/

smallribber · 23 November 2020, 10:27

It always makes me smile when somepeople cant seem to answer the question asked. particularly when they know nowt about the circumstances. When I was at school if you did not answer the question you got nil points.

Rather like going to the doctors with a Broken leg and asking him what can be done
and his answer being Don't break it in the first place.

Once again thanks for the useful and helpful answers particularly the video above

Steve509926 · 23 November 2020, 10:59

It's good to see that the art of tact and diplomacy is alive and well

Fenlander · 23 November 2020, 11:22

We've owned over 80 cars and I've worked on/advised on hundreds more. We had a Disco as well as five "real" Land Rovers and I looked after several more. My pragmatic solutions...

Check chassis and make any repairs needed. Replace whole sections rather than faffing with patchwork everywhere. Prime/paint repaired/replaced sections.

During hot summer weather pressure wash... commercial/farm washer best. Drive about for a week in sunny weather to dry well. Treat whole underside with a generous coating of black Waxoyl or similar and spray inside box sections where possible (particularly in area of welded repairs).

Then drive it and don't worry until about at the three year point when a quick "top up" spray over any weathered away areas should suffice.

I still do this with our cars. The actually underbodies hardly need it these days often outliving the car's life but suspension and other steel components are rarely well treated and I hate to see these bits red-rust on an otherwise smart car.