Re: Salty winters == rust!

[WARATAP@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-03-10 15:05:16 EST, ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com (Fluhr)
writes:

<< 
 How do you people with salty winters keep your cars from rusting out?!?
 
 I went and looked at an '86 4Kcsq during lunch.  It had spent its first
 7 years in NY, and showed it.  There were little rust spots or rust
 stains in lots of nicks and crannies (e.g. door jambs, trunk area, etc.)
 , even though the body looked to be in excellent condition.  Also, much
 of the engine showed signs of rust, especially the fuel system, heater
 hoses, ISV, basically anything that wasn't alloy was corroded.  Yuk...

Is in unreasonable to expect to find a 4Kq with virtually no rust on it?
  >>
In a word, No.  While these cars can get rusty, it really is unlikely IF
they've been taken care of.  Probably the main reason this car was rusty is
because the original owner(s) did not have the car washed frequently enough.
 Anytime you let a car sit with road salt it will inevetably become rusty.
 When I worked at the dealership we had a customer who rarely drove his 4KQ,
and aftyer only 3 years and 17,000 miles the engine compartment looked like
it had been sitting in a salt bath!  While by no means perfect, my '85 4KQ
has virtually no rust (pre-galvanized model), but that wax dipping process
sure helps.  I still have wax coming from the doors when it gets really hot
outside.  On fully galvanized audis 87?+, there is 10 year unlimited mileage
rust protection, provided the area in question has not been repainted, and
believe me, they check with their magnetic paint thickness gauge.  My $.02

-Ingo Rautenberg
90 V8Q 164k+
85 4KQ 130k