[xterra3100]

Hey all. I just want to know if you guys know of a good rust remover. I just want to wipe down the drive shaft and maybe spray paint it with some Rustoleum paint to protect it down the road. Is this an OK thing to do or will it harm anything down the road. After a recent trip to pismo beach, the underside of my truck is perfectly fine but the drive shaft is orange now. I knew to expect this. I just want to spray up the shafts coming from the TC and the main drive shaft with some protective paint. Is this OK? Anyone else done this?

 

[Muzikman]

Personally, I would just leave it a lone. It's just surface rust.

If you still want to do it, remember, light even coats.

There are a number of rust inhibitors. Rust-Mort, Por15, etc.

 

[xterra3100]

When you say light even coats, would spraying one side of the shaft then rotating the shaft to spray the other side be OK. Pardon my stupidity, but would the paint cause any vibration issues due to too much paint on one side and not enough on the other. How about getting paint on the U joints. I just hate seeing rust even though its only surface rust. Lastly, are these rust inhibitors just a wipe down deal or are they like an aerosol? Thanks Jason, you are very informative by the way.

 

[XVTer]

I'd suggest Por 15. I don't think it comes in aerosol, but I'm not sure. I used it on my 4-wheeler and it turned out great (painted it on). As far as vibration, as long as you try to get even coats, I don't see it being a problem. If you do end up doing this, please post pics and let us know how it goes :thumbup:

 

[krucam]

The Por 15 is a really tough inhibitor/protector, though not cheap!
http://www.por15.com/products.asp?dept=1

 

[Muzikman]

It doesn't take much to throw a drive shaft out of balance. I don't think painting it will cause vibration problems, but I wouldn't load one side of the shaft up with a lot of paint.

Avoid the joints. Tape them off. Since the joints in the X are non-servicaeble. I would clean them real good. It would suck to get saltwater in the caps.

Por-15 is actually a paint that you put right over rust. It can be sprayed with a gun or brushed on. It actually chemically bonds to the rust and becomes incredibly strong. It can then be left as is or painted over.

Rust-Mort is a clear liquid that actually chemically changes rust. It's not really a coating. It can be safely painted over. It's usually brushed on with a swab.

There are a TON of other products out there. These are just two that I have used a lot and would recommend.

 

[xterra3100]

DAMN! $27 bux for a pint! I think im just gonna stick to rustoleum hammered grey paint or a flat colored paint. I used the grey hammered paint (aerosol) on a table vise i picked up at a garage sale and the vise came out really nice. Almost looks new. I even left it out on our balcony and it got rained on. No problems. Ill post some pics as soon as i do this. Im pretty sure paint on the u joints is not going to seize anything or cause problems. With 285 ft lbs of torque running through the drive train, im sure a little paint will not do anything. Someone correct me if im wrong.

 

[Muzikman]

There are rubber seals on the joints. Do yourself a favor and tape them off. Painting them is not going to make it look better as it's probably going to flake back off any way.

Also, spraying rustoleum over the rust is just masking the problem, you are not actually fixing the rust, you are just covering it.

 

[xterra3100]

Cool deal Jason. Ill try to shop around for a good rust inhibitor. I was thinking there was some sort of compound that you could put on a rag and wipe the rust off. Then i was going to paint it up. Are the products you listed available in local hardware places like Home Depot, Lowes, OSH...etc?

 

[k1w1t1m]

I'd just take care of it the old fashioned way....some used engine oil lightly sprayed or wiped around under there.

 

[Muzikman]

You can get Rust-Mort at most good auto part stores. I don't know about hardware stores.

 

[XVTer]

Por 15 is hard to come by. I ordered online.

I got a multi-6-pack and one of the starter systems for around $65 and it was about $10 for shipping. It ain't cheap, but I love the way it works.

 

[bhbeecham]

Why spend $27 on a 20,000+ dollar vehicle. Or a hundred for that matter. go to a dollar store and spend a buck. Save your money for the thousands in upgrades.

 

[xterra3100]

Hey beecham, how are those 285/70's working for you. My bro just got an SE and he is looking to get the same size tire in either the Firestone MT's, Goodyear MTR, or BFG mt's. I think hes leaning towards the Firestones. He is stock height but might get a spacer lift for the front.

 

[Cold Iron]

Another product that I like is zerorust http://www.zerorust.com/ I used it on a wood stove for my tent and it has held up very well under less than idea conditions.

Long time ago I had to shorten the shaft on my LC and spent a lot of time cleaning the weld until it looked perfect to the eye. Bolted it all up and then on the road test above 30mph the vibrations were so bad I had to limp back to the house. Ended up taking the shaft to a shop that could dynamically spin balance it. Ironically the next week I had to do the Engineering witness on the propeller shaft for the guided missile destroyer I was on and it took all day to dynamically balance it. A rotating shaft can get out of balance much easier than it is to get in balance. No matter how big or small it is.

Spent 20 years as a propulsion engineer and have owned 4 wheel drives for more than 30, but I respect Muzikman opinion and consider his first advice, as always, spot on. I’d leave it alone. If you do decide to do something with it I'd use spray and light even coats just like he said.

 

[akjeepin1981]

i wouldn't even paint it i have done this in the past to drivelines and axels and it will look like crap in a few months when the rust comes back through he paint

 

[Muzikman]

Cool deal Jason. Ill try to shop around for a good rust inhibitor. I was thinking there was some sort of compound that you could put on a rag and wipe the rust off. Then i was going to paint it up. Are the products you listed available in local hardware places like Home Depot, Lowes, OSH...etc?

Oh, and after re-reading this post. I think that "compound" you are thinking about is Navel Jelly. It might work, but man it won't be easy.

 

[Muzikman]

i wouldn't even paint it i have done this in the past to drivelines and axels and it will look like crap in a few months when the rust comes back through he paint

That is why I suggest POR15. It really is amazing stuff. The key to it is, not to remove the rust. It actually bonds to the rust.

 

[IZVERG]

Kind of a spin-off on this topic - my mechanic was mentioning to me this morning as he swapped my diff fluids (I'm crippled, remember?!) and said pretty much the whole undercarriage and parts of the frame was looking pretty rusty and I should do something about it relatively soon before it turns into a bigger, more expensive problem. He said look into getting some sort of rust-removing spray, like mentioned above, and then possibly Rhino-Line it all, or something similar. Any insight on this? I don't want to wait until I get back to the East Coast where snow, rain, road salt, and all that crap really turns this into a problem.

 

[Nirvana]

yea, i need to do the same. just after this weekend i have scrapes on the frame and bumper that are starting to rust.