Why is all the aftermarket stuff on my car rusting?



The screws and bolts in the steeroids u-joint also look like this.

I don't care about what it looks like, but I don't like the idea of bolts that my life depends on looking this bad after only a couple of years. Is this something I shouldn't worry about? Should I get new bolts?

 

2 coats of por-15-then apply metal mask to 2nd coat of por-15 while ''tacky''-after those 3 coats dry----coat of ''glisten p c '' ,,,looks like bare metal(bare shiney metal!!)---then its'' wash and go to the show''-------

 

I don't know but it looks like your sway bar is loose? Mine the two rubber washers are snug aganst top and bottom. Maybe mine is wrong?

 

If the bar links are tight, you're suspension is preloaded. Not necessarily wrong, but not how it left the factory. If you preload the bar, it can inhibit the free, independent movement of the suspension in normal driving. Imagine one tire going over a bump and having that energy going through the bar and into the opposite side control arm. By preloading your bar(s) you are taking away a bit of the independence. Now, on a race track, this is certainly desireable but they tune for this in the rest of the suspension. Preloading the bar makes it react faster but, again, you may not always want that. Try putting some slack in the links to see if it improves the street ride and handling a bit. It also makes a difference in whether you use poly bar bushings, factory-type rubber, or very nasty, rotted and worn original rubber.

As to the question of why the stuff is rusting...most parts you buy are coated to prevent shelf rusting. Unless the coating is a feature of the product (powder, urethane or whatever) it's best to paint it yourself since what they put on it is not intended to stand up to street use.

 

Will that prevent the bolts from rusting in the future? What about the threads (I'm not sure if enough moisture even gets in there for this to matter)? I'm more concerned about the things breaking than how they look. In my opinion, it seems ridiculous that a bolt-on suspension kit isn't already weatherproofed. Are there other parts of these things that aren't designed properly?

I have no idea if my sway bars are normal. I've never touched them. The two bushings are tapered, so I don't think it's a matter of tightness (unless you really overdid it with very stiff bushings). They'd always be like that when the bar is at that angle. Also, the car is jacked up on the camera's side.

 

I noticed you're in PA.... I am from Syracuse NY... and lived in Binghamton NY just across the border from PA. Did a lot of driving through Scranton PA as well and along 81/380/80.

They use ENORMOUS amounts of salt up there... even in the Spring, when the snow has cleared, the white powder remains on the road for another month before it all gets washed down the storm drains. That stuff is what rusts the cars from the inside out... let alone surface rust. Even when dry, it blows up and gets inside and all over everything when you drive through it. If a company manufactures a part in the "non-salt" State's they won't always be tuned-in to this phenomena. Just a thought.

I don't know how much of this "powder" or actual driving in the snow your Vette see's. but the only thing that fights the damage is powder coating.

A friend of mine owned a powder coating plant in Paterson NJ. He was kept busy just powder coating those vertical blinders they put on top of the concrete highway dividers.... due to salt.

Powder coating has to be done "by the book" or it will also be ineffective. I got a tour of the plant and saw the entire process in action.

Also... If you're considering POR 15, I called the guys at POR 15 about this and you have to follow their instructions to the letter. POR 15 needs different prep steps depending on if you are applying over rust or bare metal. Read the can and the literature. The stuff is designed to react with rust chemically... no rust... no reaction. They have special procedures for bare metal. At least last time I checked.

 

This is actually the vette's first winter outside of california, and I've had it in a shed the whole time (that pic was taken several months ago before it started snowing). So salt isn't doing it. Anyway, the bolts everywhere else on the car seem to be doing much better, and have been on there a lot longer.

I'll look into POR-15, though. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Non of those bolts are plates. They are just steel bolts. I don't you have anything to worry about as far as them breaking. You can remove the bolts, clean them up on a wire wheel and prime them so they won't rust.

 

Most spray can primers are porous.... not waterproof.... maybe Rustoleum "damp proof red" or the equivalent. FYI

 

Is there a floor in your 'shed'.. Could be moisture from the ground AKA 'Lot Rot"

 

In my experience most aftermarket parts are lightly painted, not even primered. It's a cost issue. If everything was powder coated it would cost a lot. Most buyers aren't going to buy the more expensive part when the only difference is a corrosion resistant primer and weather resistant coating like POR. I tend to prime and re-paint the parts that have the thin unprimed black paint on them, and I live in Arizona. OK I'm just ****.

 

where in CA...was it by the coast with salt air?