Rust proofing car.

[Retired]

Hi,

I'm grounded due to heavy rain bucketing down so have a few minutes spare for a change.

Normally we trade our car in for a new car every two or three years but we can't find a suitable replacement for our Skoda Yeti; Skoda stopped production of the Yeti shortly after we bought ours seven years ago in 2016. It's the longest we've ever kept a car and no way do we want to have our lives controlled by a battery so we've decided to hang on to the Yeti as long as possible; we love it.

Given our dire Yorkshire climate I decided to have a go at rustproofing the Yeti doing the job at home. A friend recommended Bilt Hamber products these about the best available so I bought through eBay 5l Bilt Hamber Dynax-S50 and 5L Bilt Hamber Dynax-HU. (Sorry this is wrong it should read Dynax-UB) Put it down to age?

Anti-Corrosion - Bilt Hamber

Rusty suspension components not expected at only 7 years old.

Inner wing liner these do an excellent job of protection no rust found which was good news so a good time to prevent rust forming.

I used a lot of the Bilt UB; note pedal bin liner covering brake disk secured with masking tape.

These areas are very prone to rusting but Skoda did a good job of rustproofing and now more rustproofing added.

What a difference; wire brushes; scrapers and abrasive paper used to remove loose rust; the wire brush was also used running it inside the wheel arch lip followed by soft brush and airline.

The "U clips" were rusty needing replacing so 50 heavy duty were bought cheaply through eBay and were a real pain to fit they being so strong; once fitted they were also dosed with rust proofing.

A number of the original T25 Torx screws were badly rusted so 50 of these same size stainless steel self tappers were bought through eBay but not yet arrived although an easy job to swap out the old screws.

One big problem I came across was finding a suitable bottle to fit the eBay bought spray gun; this thinners bottle was nearest and was forced into the gun but as a precaution both hands were used one on the gun one on the bottle during spraying; no way did I want to have the bottle drop off; it worked fine but the Bilt UB needed warming first; in hot sun it sprayed but yesterday being much cooler I really did suffer; it's recommended to place the container in a bucket of hot water so I placed the bottle in a large bucket and filled with hot water about 3/4 up the bottle and whilst it heated commenced work on the car.

One thing I never expected was the bottle with Bilt UB was lighter than water; what an absolute mess; the bottle not only floated but tipped over spilling contents into the water; I could have cried because this was a huge messy addition I didn't want and took a great deal of cleaning up but I live and learn; I cleaned the bottle off using white spirit and rags then using another clean bucket this time I filled as before but suspended the bottle into the water with string tied around the tap.

I think it's impossible to do a top job of rustproofing at home unless a car hoist is available; I won't work under the Yeti on our sloping driveway so I know I've missed quite a bit but at least I've rust proofed a lot so any future rusting needing to be repaired will be limited and under the wings will definitely not rust. I used a brush to apply rustproofing best I could under the suspension components and around the wing lips I also sprayed these; three dry warm days meant I could treat three wings doing one each day but then came more rain so a day was missed before treating the last wing; the Bilt UB is thicker for under body but the Bilt S50 is thinner and more searching for cavities; this Bilt has a 7 year shelf life if correctly stored so perhaps if the rain ever lets up for a week giving warm days then I can treat the cavities like inside of doors and cills. The Yeti has very neat plastic covers over the cills. The very cheap eBay spray gun has been brilliant pity I couldn't obtain a suitable bottle which I think possibly should have M42 thread; I browsed the web but without success.

Yesterday I treated the last wing; this morning I've done the shopping with rain bucketing down; there's going to be more flooding but better than the horrendous fires raging around the world; I'm not complaining because the gardens look wonderful.

I used two trolley jacks for safety only lifting the car enough to remove the wheels; as usual the main dealer had tightened the wheel screws making them impossible to be removed with the Skoda wheel brace; the screws were replaced using only the wheel brace.

Cleaning the messed up bucket I didn't enjoy; the Bilt had formed a skin on top of the water which was removed with a scraper into the pedal bin; the water tipped out then rags soaked in white spirit removed the remainder it being a lesson well learned and not to be repeated.

The under body has liners too so hopefully will last many years; if only I could get the car into the air I'd have really gone to town rustproofing; prices of EV's are bombing but second hand petrol/diesel are increasing; our Yeti requires new front brake pads and disks next year the pads I expected but new disks at only 32,000 miles and I drive on the gears not the brakes so this is disappointing but even so if the service & brakes amount to £1,000 this is cheap motoring in such a wonderful car. It's looking like a violin practice day today; whoopee.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Lons]

Interesting read Colin, thanks for posting. There are a lot of people bemoaning the demise of the Yeti, she could have found a recent example within her budget, my daughter would swap her Fiesta and one of my mates has just bought a 66 plate and is collecting that from the dealer tomorrow.

I'm in a similar situation to you, have always changed my car at maximum 3 years before the first MOT but have held on to my MB GLC firstly due to scarce supply and because I don't want to pay nearly £70k for a hybrid with less equipment or even more for an EV I don't want so my car will be 6 years old at the end of next month but with 28k on the clock it has many years left in it.

We bought a new motorhome in 2018 though which I've been meaning to underseal and not yet got around to. I have spraygun, compressor etc. and intended to use Waxoil so your recommendation of Bilt Hamber is something I'll definitely look into. There's more room to get under a big motorhome but at over 4 tonnes I won't be jacking it up and removing the wheels, at least no more than one at a time.

EDIT
Have been on the website but can't find Dynax-HU. There's -UB and -UC

 

[Retired]

Hi,

You're welcome Lons.

I think the most likely thing to kill Yeti's off will be their electronics; it's got ridiculous the amount of electronics there are on modern cars and each passing year brings more; Our Yeti has lots of electronic gizmos that are never or seldom used; it's the 2.0L diesel SE L; Infotainment can be lived without; I want to concentrate on driving not playing around with such things; Bluetooth sounds like a tooth disease to me; I'm a 75 year old dinosaur without mobile phone welded to my ear.

I wish a less complicated version of the Yeti was available one without all the stuff I never use or even want then we'd trade in immediately but it must have petrol or diesel engine.

I'm sure your mate will be delighted if he gets a well cared for Yeti; they are a pleasure to own and drive. If Skoda still made Yeti's we'd be on our third by now.

Sorry; I made a mistake yes it's UB I must have suffered a senior moment so I've amended; thanks for pointing it out; HU is post code for Huddersfield.

You live further north than us and your weather will be even worse so the sooner you can treat your vehicles against rust the better especially if you live near the sea. Play safe and if under the motor-home make absolutely sure it's safe; it's surprising the amount of force which can be used to remove rust using a scraper.

I used a large lined old curtain to protect the driveway; this Bilt does drip and it sure clings; old clothes; hat; and assorted gloves are needed; I wear glasses and am very careful not to spray towards me. Safety first. Work from furthest place towards you to save getting covered in Bilt.

It's finally stopped raining; all I need now is a full week to let the car fully dry out then I can do the injecting; no doubt overnight dew will now kick in keeping the car wet. I emailed the eBay Bilt supplier asking if I needed another product to apply first inside the doors before rustproofing but no just let the car dry first and all should be fine. Spraying over water will accelerate rotting. Good luck Lons.

I'm a member of the Skoda forum.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[eribaMotters]

I'm an ex diesel Yeti owner and liked the car a lot for the 5 years we owned it. In 2019 I could not find a direct replacement, the Karoq was to expensive and in short supply so went a different direction. I bought a new high spec Audi A3 petrol for £3K less than the Karoq. I have to admit the Audi is a giant leap forward and the petrol more economical than the diesel it replaces, despite having 40bhp more.
Back to your discs. When asbestos was removed from the pads, now some many years ago, this had an adverse effect on disc wear. It is very common to have to replace pads and discs. the fortunate thing is the comparative cost of discs has dropped drastically.

Colin

 

[Jameshow]

Thanks for the write funnily enough I had a conversation with my garage that I would do my transit (notorious for rusting) in September.

I'll probably do the wheel arches myself but the inside I can use thier lift.

What rust converter did you use if any?

I've got some hammeright waxoyl spray which should tight corners and possibly bitumen paint for the larger areas? Or I could use bilt or whatever they have in the shelf

 

[Sachakins]

Think it's less likely to be rust, rather just bad surface oxidation.

Even treated, a good chassis wash after winter to remove road salt is a must.

Good prevention, negates expensive repairs.....

 

[Retired]

Hi,

I don't think there is a direct replacement for the Yeti Colin at least like you I've not found one; most modern cars have little street presence looking like clones of each other Skoda now are the same at least the Yeti not only stands out in a crowd it turns into a very useful decent sized van making it versatile. I don't fancy a Karoq but admit I've not looked at Audi; I do browse the web but after 15 minutes I become bored and my eyes glaze over. I think the pads & disks are around £330 main dealer fitted so as you rightly say the prices have come down but I expected a lot more mileage out of them; not needing replacing until the service next year I didn't ask if the price was for the full set or just one axle but I think it will be one axle only; I can dream on. Thanks for the Audi details I'll have a nosy.

Wheel arches are easy enough to rustproof Jameshow it just takes a lot of time to do a decent job; I wonder just what kind of job is done by professional rustproofers? Doing the work yourself you can take as long as needed; pressure washing would be good but then the water will take ages to dry out in the seams and corners that are out of sight so I didn't pressure wash at all although here in Yorkshire given our rainfall the underside of the car gets a lot of washing like it did this morning whilst shopping; I went round removing dirt and rust also I used a cloth to wipe the panels removing dust together with airline to clear out corners.

I didn't use any rust converter at all I was just glad to get a window in which to apply the rustproofing but even this was split into three wings over three days then yet more rain meaning a day wasted; we live on a very exposed valley side with prevailing breeze so anything dries pretty quickly. I'm going to buy a mirror with handle for checking areas I can't directly see like under suspension components; I can use wire brushes etc but I want to see what I'm doing in order to ensure everything receives a good coating.

I would avoid anything bitumen; it appears good but I wouldn't trust it because if it gets stone chipped then water can get under the coating unlike this Bilt which is waxy. I'm using Bilt S50 for the cavities this designed for the purpose but if you like Waxoyl it should be fine after all Waxoyl has been around forever but is Waxoyl a yearly application? Bilt is cheaper for a 5L container than 3 x spray cans but with the 5L a spray gun is needed; a brush can be used but spraying is the way to go.

Here's my cheap but excellent eBay spray gun; I removed the metal tube and ran a 1/4" BSP tap down the thread to accept the connector; I was hoping to simply drill a hole in the 5L container cap to accept a long plastic tube which I did but although it worked in the workshop outside in cooler air it wouldn't spray so I cut the tube short and used the bottle instead but I'll try again when I start using the thinner S50 for the cavities and I'll warm the S50 first without repeating the mess I made previously; I've got good workshop facilities.

I've been trying to find a longer "lance" allowing the inside bottom of doors to be treated through just one hole; I've bought 50 x 10mm plastic plugs to seal any hole I need to drill; the pipe supplied is only 24" long but I've just bought 4m of 7mm plastic tubing to experiment with this will go through a 10mm hole.

Here's the small compressor I use having had it for years; it's very noisy but does a good job. I sold my bigger Hydrovane compressor a few years ago so this does everything I need to do now taking up little space; I wait a short while to let it build pressure during spraying which isn't much of a problem.

A good chassis wash is excellent after winter Sachakins but needs doing well to be effective; it's the small cavities and corners that are the real problem hence the need to get under the vehicle which I can't do but for me the car gets lots of washes with rainfall water; our council use very little salt these days; it's much cheaper for them to let insurance companies pay out. I couldn't agree more and prevention is what this is all about.

It must be 50 years ago I bought a split screen VW camper from a local farm and before driving it away the camper was driven onto supports allowing full access where it was sprayed with diesel & oil; I'm considering having a run up to the farm to see if supports are still there and if so offer to pay for their use; there was a ramp then two heavy wooden beams if my memory is still working; I could spend a day or even two dropping the chassis liners then rustproofing?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Lons]

Hi Colin
The Yeti my mate is buying is to replace his small van as he's now semi retired and the Yeti is a bit like a Tardis, he's getting the 2l diesel and having a bar fitted as he often tows a trailer.
You're only a year in front of me so a modern 55 year old and far from a dinosaur. I quite like technology with the exception of tablets, I much prefer my laptop but do have a recent iphone and a smart watch. My Merc is heavily loaded with tech but I only use half of it, I bought it as a 6 week old demo with a huge discount (those were they days), but it took me several months to trust the intelligent headlight system and in the nearly 6 years I've owned the car I still haven't plucked up courage to let it park itself.

I've been busy under the motorhome during the last couple of weeks as I'm doing some mods and there's no evidence of rust or corrosion anywhere as far as I can see, it's only covered 6000 miles. We live inland and on the east side which is relatively dry. I need to get it done though and as we have a gravel drive I'm using scrap hardboard to lie on and had planned to just cover that with a sheet of DPM to catch the drips.

 

[RogerS]

Good post, Colin, thanks. Curious though...what's wrong with a secondhand one? Autotrader list 448 available at the moment.

 

[Fergie 307]

You can buy cartridges to screw into the gun, just buy one of something like waxoyl, use it up, then refill with your chosen product. They are quite flimsy but I have been using the same one for a few years now. They used to do proper refillable ones, which were quite a price. I did have one but unfortunately managed to run over it! Couldn't seem to find a replacement so have been reusing a "disposable" one ever since.

 

[Fergie 307]

That light surface corrosion is quite normal. I use both acf50 and waxoyl. For a really good going over i place trays under the drain points in door bottoms etc and just spray waxoyl in and let the excess drain out. Helps if you leave the tin in the sun or a bucket of hot water so it is good and runny. Waxoyl also contains rust neutraliser so will stop anything that is already there. Just done some work on the Jeep that was first treated some 12 years ago, still looking good. Another trick is where you have dxposed threads treat them with waxoyl or similar, then shrink wrap them. Bit of a faff, but well worth it when you need to undo them years later.

 

[Bromley]

Excellent thread. I sympathise entirely with the sentiments expressed - I have a 2009 Fiat Doblo diesel, which I've owned for six years, and can find nothing to replace it. Berlingos and their clones are much larger and wider (as are the later model Doblo). I find it hard to imagine how anyone manages without a van-based car in the family - I'm forever taking Dobloads to the tip, and the dog loves his Doglo!

As I have no wish to change from a manual gearchange and diesel motor, and am fortunate to be far away from any ULEZ, I think I shall keep Dobbie until it fails (it's now on 107K miles), or I do (I'm 71). There is no sign of rot on either of us, but I am considering treating the underside - and was wondering about Lanoguard, which is heavily promoted at present. Made from sheepy ingredients, I believe, so would presumably need annual treatment.

Anyone any experience of this stuff?

 

[OldGreyDog]

Well done, you made a good job of that. I’ve used that same Dynax stuff on the inside of three steel bicycle frames and some outdoor tools - its really good gear. Not woodwork related I know, and using this might seem ott on a bike frame, but one of them was a full custom build for me back in my racing days in 1980 and with a couple of repaints and internal preventative treatments over the years it has zero corrosion and could have been made this morning - its also the nicest riding/handling and the most comfortable bike i’ve ever ridden.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Lons yes a Yeti is rather like a tardis considering how much it can hold. Only a year in front of you at 55 I'm 75 going on 76 in a few days; youngsters regard 40 as old age so I must rate as a fossil. I don't think I'd be happy either letting our car park itself; modern technology de-skilling car driving to the point of encouraging not checking tyre pressures; I check ours on a regular basis as I do the tyres. I believe hand brake levers too are being phased out replaced by a button; spare wheels too are increasingly rare although I'd never own a car without a spare. I was brought up on hard work so I think I can still apply the handbrake by lever.

It's a good time to rustproof your motor-home before mileage and age takes over; if only I'd thought about it I'd have had our Yeti fully rustproofed from new but only expected to keep it for a maximum three years.

Thanks RogerS; I think I've lost the plot a bit please put it down to age; secondhand?

Good suggestion Fergie 307; I'd thought about buying a full cartridge but am unsure as to thread size to fit my spray gun which I think could be M42? I'd thought about turning an adapter from wood then I could simply use cheap garden spray bottles. I'm new to this rustproofing but learning as I go. I've not heard of using shrink wrap/cling film over exposed threads but I am wire brushing where I can then coating with the Bilt. Like other brands of rustproofing it needs to be applied warm in order to efficiently spray it; just don't do as I did and have an open bottle of rustproof tip over in a bucket of hot water it brings tears to eyes with the clean up.

I'm struggling to concentrate due to 408 Hybrid advert tormenting me; I understand the need for adverts but it's annoying; if it remained still it would be fine. Just found this; the ad has now gone,

I fully agree Bromley; you love your Doblo the way we love our Yeti; even now having plenty of funds to trade in not a single new car is tempting us to let the Yeti go you'll feel the same about your Doblo; it's incredibly useful as you state having a car that doubles up into a decent sized van but many times I think it comes down to wanting to show off having more money than sense. A former very good neighbour a few years ago finally achieved his dream of owning a Porsche Boxster; his choice his money and good luck to him but his golf bag and golf clubs wouldn't fit in; it sat mostly on his driveway unused for a year whilst he "borrowed" his wife's old Audi. A good way to save the planet is not to buy as we've been doing a brand new car every two or three years; YouTube videos are now showing owners hanging on to their current car much longer; our Yeti apart from services and needed spares costs very little to run whilst affording us a great deal of pleasure; I still love driving it and my wife too doesn't want to see it go; it's now losing very little indeed if any due to depreciation; drive away in a brand new EV and trade it in in a couple of years?

I'm unable to comment regarding either Waxoyl or Lanoguard but think any applied rustproofing is a good plan.

Thanks for your kind words OldGreyDog; I've only just used Bilt but it was highly recommended as it is on YouTube so you've greater knowledge of it but I've not seen anything negative about Bilt products.

It's just 60 years since I cycled; I used to cycle four miles each way at 5am to get to the pit for 6 o'clock start; I disliked it with a passion especially when it was sleeting or snowing; on my 16th birthday I had a 250cc BSA and boy what a difference; I spent about ten years on big motorcycles finishing off in 1973 trading my BMW R75/5 in against an MGB Roadster. During my cycling days though I owned a Claude Butler racing bike and the bike used for the pit was a Triumph Palm Beach.

Just one of the motorcycles I rode this not mine but fun to ride; it's a Brough Superior SS80; not many will have ridden a Brough; the same day I rode a number of such machines one even with a VW 1,200cc engine installed; in 1976 I left all my biking days behind and got married which is the best thing I've ever done. I had chance of a Brough Superior SS100 50 years ago costing £34 but decided not to buy.

Do you still own the racing bike OldGreyDog?

This morning I found a very decent site have lots of useful kit; I bought a few items such as a 600 bucket of these;

I'll never use all these but then if I ever want one I've already got it; I'm planning to replace lots of the fasteners on our Yeti.

Enough for now I need to get off my backside.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Spectric]

but we can't find a suitable replacement for our Skoda Yeti; Skoda stopped production of the Yeti shortly after we bought ours seven years ago in 2016

Had one for a short while but after a lot of problems the garage took it back. Had issues with rear calipers sticking which were replaced inc disc & pads, then starter motor packed in followed by the ignition switch which were again all changed under the warranty. Next the management failure light comes on and it loses all power which the garage diagnosed as EGR valve failure and on the 4x4 it is a real pita to replace but they did it and it failed to fix the issue, then told you need to fit the genuine OEM part as the patent parts are not working since the VW emisions fix and as it is a right pain to change it is worth fitting all the EGR pipes and new gaskets etc at the same time which cost the garage a fortune, but after all that it still had issues. Garage now uses another make of diagnostic tool that shows the MAF readings are not within range but although the MAF is ok they changed it along with the DPF pressure sensor all to no avail. Got another garage to run diagnostics who specialise in VW which the Skoda is under the skin and from there experience they said send the ECU off for a full check as component failure has been known to damage the ECU, that comes back as some intermittent issue with a non related system so the garage gets a another ECU which proves the other ECU was ok as we still had the same fault and error codes. At this point the garage had had this car for longer than we had had it on the road so we got a refund. Latest news is that they have been told that the engine looms can be trouble and another garage had had similar issues with a Yeti after having the so called VW fix which results in replacing EGR valves and you can end up with a problematic loom. Another customer of the garage with a VW who also had EGR issues solved his issues by getting the EGR mapped out in the ECU and boring a hole through the DPF to ensure no excessive backpressure which is no longer required without EGR. So for me I don't touch anything VW anymore as they are no longer what they once were and look for Japanese vehicles instead.

 

[HOJ]

@Spectric we ought to rename you lucky...

We have a 2013 2.0 TDI 4x4 Yeti, never missed a beat, grey paint, smoked windows, grey alloys, LPT's, looks the part, (I don't) took all the seats out and decked it through so either the dogs or tools can go in.

Had a 51 plate Honda CRV for years before Yeti, paid £1100 for it, that was a good vehicle, but rot got in behind the plastic cills, MOT fail but still sold it for £250.

 

[Lons]

Hi,
Only a year in front of you at 55 I'm 75 going on 76 in a few days; youngsters regard 40 as old age so I must rate as a fossil.

You misunderstood me I'm 74, what I meant is that 75 is the new 55. In my case if I ignore the aches and pains I still feel about 30 some days but then on others it's more like 90.

 

[Spectric]

Had a 51 plate Honda CRV for years

Amazing, I now have a 2006 plate CRV MK2 and it is great, plenty of get up and go without all the heated seats, parking sensors and gizmos's of that Yeti.

 

[Spectric]

this not mine but fun to ride; it's a Brough Superior SS80;

I bet you wish it was and you still had it as it would buy a fully kitted out workshop today.

I'm 75 going on 76 in a few days; youngsters regard 40 as old age so I must rate as a fossil.

"You" as you do not age at all because it is only the body that ages and is why people can have a sharp mind and a really shiete body .

 

[Fergie 307]

If you have the standard underseal gun, often called a schutz gun, then the cartridges have a standard thread, so any should fit it. I think they now sell reusable ones on Amazon etc.