I have been delaying on dealing with this issue of rust in my Xterra, so I want to throw this question out here. I've got extensive undercarriage rust on my truck, and I want to know whether I should just swap the frame out, or if it can still be redeemed with a fix for the rusted parts. I have no intention of parting with the car because of it's sentimental value.

Auto tech experts, your view would be highly appreciated. Pictures are here:

I would consider this an interesting project, but first i need to know what approach to take. I'd appreciate your inputs

I'm thinking of doing something like this (Frame swap): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehvUkkyZYCs

Interesting. Is this a 3rd Generation 4runner?

No, its a 1st gen Nissan Xterra

Hope it is not a flood savaged vehicle?

canada car

let me park here and learn


someone with grey hair will come here now and say car should be in limp mode cos of this rust

Lol @diportivo you guessed right. how did you know it was a Canada car?

Gridlock:
Lol @dipo.rtivo you guessed right. how did you know it was a Canada car?

cars from Canada always come with various degrees of rust.... and are some times cheaper than those from the USA....emphasis on the "sometimes"

I use one too.....although its origin isn't Canada

I recommend rust fix

but,my ogas are here to shed more light

kinguwem:
Hope it is not a flood savaged vehicle?

No its not.

diportivo:
canada car

let me park here and learn


someone with grey hair will come here now and say car should be in limp mode cos of this rust

Chei!

Inception:


Chei!

don't blame me bros,

If I want to go with the rust fix, then it's something I can do myself. The only challenge here is, I don't have a means of raising the vehicle high enough to my liking.

Right now i've got (as part of my DIY toolkit at home)

* Handheld Cordless Drill
* Wirebrush drill bit
* Steel wool
* Safety goggles

I'm going to buy:
* Sandpaper 1200 grit
* Corded Drill (don't want to wait in between battery charges)
* Head-mounted Lamp
* Four 2-ton jack stands

I'll update with pics as I progress. However, I'm still awaiting the experts (nurey, gazzuzz, nissparts) comments on the approach to take

Vehicle rust is a chemical reaction and yours has reached a critical stage, you cant fix rust with those equipment you listed, you can only reduce its spread.

Rust is like AIDS, you can cure it by drinking chlorine/bleach but obviously you did kill the human

Best approach to rust is to clean/scrape the rust area, then galvanize the metal utilizing the electrolysis process then coat the finished metal surface with the right rust protection paint.

nurey:
Vehicle rust is a chemical reaction and yours has reached a critical stage, you cant fix rust with those equipment you listed, you can only reduce its spread.

Rust is like AIDS, you can cure it by drinking chlorine/bleach but obviously you did kill the human

Best approach to rust is to clean/scrape the rust area, then galvanize the metal utilizing the electrolysis process then coat the finished metal surface with the right rust protection paint.

Thanks for the input. I actually planned to completely knock of all the parts that are flaking, then wirebrush/sand down the remaining so as to get as close to bare metal as possible. Galvanization may be out of it because of the size of the affected parts (there is no elecrolytic bath that can contain that ladder frame, lol).

About the rust-protection coating, what would you recommend?

Gridlock:

Thanks for the input. I actually planned to completely knock of all the parts that are flaking, then wirebrush/sand down the remaining so as to get as close to bare metal as possible. Galvanization may be out of it because of the size of the affected parts (there is no elecrolytic bath that can contain that ladder frame, lol).

About the rust-protection coating, what would you recommend?

Yours is the first DIY i have seen on this issue in Nigeria though my Dads benz E200 has been cured of rust during its time . The panel beater uses something equivalent to coal tar, blackish in colour and oily so water doesnt stick to it, by my focus and research, it is more like a oily Glossy paint finish.
The oversea based products i could find with good review are POR15 and Oleum Rust reformer

cc Egunmogaji, Sultan, erico2k2

Awesome. I did some digging around and there's a guy who distributes rust-oleum products in Nigeria: http://www.icalphabravo.com/pages/help-and-support/contact-us/contact-us.html

He has RustOleum Rust Reformer, and he can deliver within Lagos. I'm waiting for his response.

Gridlock:
Awesome. I did some digging around and there's a guy who distributes rust-oleum products in Nigeria: http://www.icalphabravo.com/pages/help-and-support/contact-us/contact-us.html

He has RustOleum Rust Reformer, and he can deliver within Lagos. I'm waiting for his response.

Baba you seriously have a lot of work to do, are you going to pieces the suspension and leg parts and scrape them individually? because with what i am seeing here, the work wey dey no be childs play, especially the linkage, lower arm and all those rusted bolts and nuts

If you pull this through baba, you will have my respect for life and nah to come learn work for your side, got me one rusted Peugeot 406 i did like to restore make una start to dey pre-order am ooooo. The last tokunbo 406 in town

It's worth a try. I have no issue with scraping the parts individually myself (I am betting this project will take weeks), but of course i might get the assistance of an expert to dismantle those parts.

nurey:


Yours is the first DIY i have seen on this issue in Nigeria though my Dads benz E200 has been cured of rust during its time . The panel beater uses something equivalent to coal tar, blackish in colour and oily so water doesnt stick to it, by my focus and research, it is more like a oily Glossy paint finish.
The oversea based products i could find with good review are POR15 and Oleum Rust reformer

cc Egunmogaji, Sultan, erico2k2

I will say that going by the pics up there, the parts that are removable should be replaced ie tie rod,if need be use the electrolysis method,Did your car come into the country circa 2013? frm the US?

erico2k2:

I will say that going by the pics up there, the parts that are removable should be replaced ie tie rod,if need be use the electrolysis method,Did your car come into the country circa 2013? frm the US?

cc Gridlock

Gridlock:
It's worth a try. I have no issue with scraping the parts individually myself (I am betting this project will take weeks), but of course i might get the assistance of an expert to dismantle those parts.

You will definitely need heat source.

erico2k2:

I will say that going by the pics up there, the parts that are removable should be replaced ie tie rod,if need be use the electrolysis method,Did your car come into the country circa 2013? frm the US?

No, it came in from Toronto. Early 2014

erico2k2:

You will definitely need heat source.

This is noted. Blowtorch-style or heat gun?

Gridlock:

This is noted. Blowtorch-style or heat gun?

Blowtorch to get those rusted bolts off.You will also need some lub

Gridlock:

No, it came in from Toronto. Early 2014

Ok, your rust looks like them salt water infection.

I've received the RustOleum Rust Reformer (a 5-liter container) and spray cans of RustOleum Epoxy. Scrubbing starts on Saturday morning
If it turns out that the rot is too far gone, I'll have to do a frame swap.

diportivo:
canada car

let me park here and learn


someone with grey hair will come here now and say car should be in limp mode cos of this rust

Actually, he says Limb.

It's Saturday! I'm using the rear door striker plate as my test subject. So I start by prepping the spare wheel tool area. It's full of sand and dirt, so Vacuum cleaner first

After vacuuming. Did I mention that you'll need a portable vacuum cleaner for this? Yeah.
You'll see that suddenly the rust doesn't look so bad. But i'm not done yet.

I need to remove all oil and gunk from this area. I didnt think something this small would warrant using degreaser, so i just used a toothbrush and a bowl of detergent.

After scrubbing with brush: