Under seal for the motor.......

Stormchild · 15 September 2006, 17:24

I use my vauxhall frontera sport as my tractor for launching my pride & joy. Its a decent little 4x4 and in good nick - on an X plate its the 2.2 16v petrol I picked it up in May this year with only 25'000 on the clock for a very reasonable price.

Because its gets its feet wet - Submerged up to the sills, twice everytime I launch & recover the boat. (Sometimes this is 2 - 3 times a week.) I want to do something to limit the damage that can be caused by salt water corrosion.
So far the effects of salt water corrosion are very minimal and thats exactly how I want it to stay - is there an anti foul type product / under seal that can be painted / sprayed onto the under side of the car to limit / prevent damage ?

One suggestion is mixing heating oil with red oxide paint and spraying this on liberally after using a pressure washer each time it comes out. Another suggestion was a heating oil / diesel mix......

I'm sure there will be environmental issues to using these kind of chemicals - and I dont want to create my own oil slick, every time the bottom of the motor gets wet.

Any suggestions anyone ?

jwalker · 15 September 2006, 17:34

Anything you do that works and isn't a constant hassle is not likely to be green. Some folk put on old sump oil with an underseal gun, it lasts about a year but I couldn't possibly recommend it.

codprawn · 15 September 2006, 17:37

The best AND easiest stuff I have ever come across is Acrypol - it is a roof sealant that sticks like the proverbial to a blanket - it is just slapped on with a big old brush.Make sure you wire brush any loose stuff off first.When it is all finished spray black waxoyl underbody seal over it and fill all the cavities with normal waxoyl. You can just use the waxoyl - make sure you use the underbody seal - NOT Shultz but Waxoyl Shultz - there is a big difference.

If you want to go the whole hog sandbalst the chassis back to bare metal and use Epoxy paint but that is a hell of a lot of work.

What ever you use make sure you wash the vehicle thouroughly underneath afterwards - you do NOT want high pressure - just loads of water - the laziest and most effective way is to use a garden sprinkler - just leave it under the vehicle for an hour when having a cup of tea!!! Pressure washers can wash off your underbody seal - wash grease out of the bearings and still not clear it all off!!!

EDDO · 15 September 2006, 17:59

http://www.before-n-after.co.uk/

rbw156 · 15 September 2006, 19:17

I coated the underside of my 23 year Landy with Waxoyl and oil. My advice would be:

Just use Waxoyl as trying to work on a vehicle with oil is very messy
Better still use a rope to launch and recover! This is my current method and works well. You can buy some very strong rope as offcuts. My current bit of rope has a breaking strain of 6,500 Kgs.

BogMonster · 15 September 2006, 21:39

Waxoyl every time. If I was in the UK I'd have both my vehicles done at Before N After, you get what you pay for I think and a proper inside and out job on the chassis is worth its weight in gold.

I don't put mine in the water as the slipway I use is steep enough to float the boat off with the back wheels of the 90 just at the waters edge, but even so it gets washed down afterwards, every time.

codprawn · 15 September 2006, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Waxoyl every time. If I was in the UK I'd have both my vehicles done at Before N After, you get what you pay for I think and a proper inside and out job on the chassis is worth its weight in gold.

I don't put mine in the water as the slipway I use is steep enough to float the boat off with the back wheels of the 90 just at the waters edge, but even so it gets washed down afterwards, every time.

I know you are into LRs big time - try Acrypol - it IS amazing stuff - can even be put onto a wet roof!!! Mates Rangie still looks like it's non stick underneath after 5 years.

Before and after may be good but at over£1k - gulp!!!

Stormchild · 17 September 2006, 07:53

Whatever i do is going to have to be a DIY job and I cant take the car anywhere because its in daily use and I cant be without it. Thanks for the advice, i'll give it a go.

jwalker · 21 September 2006, 22:23

Just tagging a bit on the end of the thread.

Be aware that the rear brake pads will stiffen up in the calipers due to rust if the rear of the car gets wet. This is prompted because my own tow car is due for it's MOT so today the brakes got a look see. The rear ones were all but seized and clearly the pads had not been returning because of stiffnes caused by corrosion. This has resulted in overheating and the friction material, although still thick, was pretty well baked and broke away easily using my thumb.

Stormchild · 24 September 2006, 21:08

I'm using a mix of old engine oil and heating oil and spraying a good coat over the entire under side, in the chassis and getting as much coverage as I can.

Because of the nature of the beaches and launching spots aroung here, you've either got to pay £12 everytime for tractor assisted (+ another £9 for the council for the privalidge of launching anyways) or get your motor wet. This also means you can only go out and play when they're available. I opt for the latter, but will be taking much more care of the underside of the motor by oiling up before every launch and a good wash down after every recovery, then oiling up again. Its a hassle but I'm sure it'll pay in the end.

Ezgoing · 24 September 2006, 21:46

Why not use a towbar extension???

Stormchild · 27 September 2006, 18:04

because the launch point is a long shallow beach and it would need to be at least about 30 feet long at some states of the tide. there are some occasions when i'm able to launch here without getting the motor wet, if the tides quite high, because the slip is steep at the top, but once its at the bottom, the gradient on the beach is very slight and i have to go in atleast 10 metres to give me enough water to give me the 12 - 18 inches of depth I need to push the boat into. Its safe enough because of the rock underneath, so the motor dont sink, but getting it wet is inevitable.