Hello,

What is the best way to prevent rust from getting worse on the underbody? Is there any shops that will coat the underbody - especially around the steering gearbox? Is there any DIY advice anyone could give?

Thanks!

 

when I picked up my used 2001 in 2011, I found huge rust holes in the floor next to the rear wheel wells. The area was covered with carpet and that went unnoticed by me when I purchased the van. I repaired the rust holes then used a rubberized underbody coating I purchased at the local auto store. A large can was not that expensive. After wire brushing the surface rust on the underbody, I sprayed the coating onto the the body to give some protection to the areas that were rust prone. About 18 months later and the undercoating is still in good shape.

 

Treating rust is PITA.

YOu can't stop it, only slow it down.

Use a rust converter that turns the surface into iron phosphate. this then accepts a paint nicely and is probably the best way to slow it down.

I like Ospho as it is very thin and reaklly gets into the rust's nooks and crannies.

Make sure to keep it dry for 24 hours, brush off any powder, then paint.

 

My van's underbody is in bad shape. It suffers from the road salt from the Buffalo, NY region. One way to slow it down is to move south. Living here in Nashville has saved the underbody for more years than preventive measures.

Also, look up at the roof rail line. If you van color is a dark blue, green, red, etc, you can get away with the lightly wire wheel, mask off about two inches going up the roof and two inches below the rail, primer it and then put on the Rustolem Truck Bed Liner stuff. It will take two applications to do the job well. Also, at the rear of the van, remove the brake light assembly and coat the inside and outside. I have pixs on the forums here about do this work.

As for the underbody and the steering box, some people have cut and welded in replacement beams to support it. There are comments and postings about that too.

Sad to say, but the van's frame gets really bad rust over time. When that goes, it's unsafe to drive.

 

Eastwood makes Internal Frame Coating that works really well