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Should "Beaters" Be Taken Off the Road? - READ ONLY

218 messages,  Last post on Nov 03, 2010 at 12:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Safety

Messages Page 21 of 22

#199 of 218 Rust? by anythngbutgm

Oct 28, 2010 (1:01 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Oct 27, 2010 2:28 pm)
My buddy came across this a week or so ago when we were discussing his old lemon Sierras.
 
Like a Rust
 
Yup, same thing was already happening on the bumpers of his 04 and 06 Sierras that he had before he got his Tundra. Harsh New Enlgand winters...

#200 of 218 Re: Rust? [anythngbutgm] by hpmctorque

Oct 28, 2010 (1:31 pm)

Replying to: anythngbutgm (Oct 28, 2010 1:01 pm)
Sorry, but your handle suggests that you're hardly an unbiased source of information. Do you have any impartial comparisons on rusting for GM and Toyota trucks to support your inference that GMs rust more than Toyotas?

#201 of 218 Re: Rust? [anythngbutgm] by andre1969

Oct 28, 2010 (2:20 pm)

Replying to: anythngbutgm (Oct 28, 2010 1:01 pm)
Well, here's a happy GM truck story. I let a buddy borrow my '85 Silverado, and today he said it was shifting funny. I drove it, and sure enough, it was holding the gears too long. It wouldn't shift into 2nd until around 35-40, and wouldn't go into 3rd until around 55.
 
My first thought was crap, another unexpected expense I don't need. But then I remembered my '67 Catalina did the same thing, just with a harsher lurch, and 3rd not engaging until almost 70. That just turned out to be a vacuum leak. So, I was hoping it would be the same thing with my truck. However, I couldn't find the problem on the Catalina, and had needed to pay the mechanic to do it, and I was worried the same thing would happen with the truck. But I decided to take a chance and look under it, and see if I saw anything. And sure enough, there was this long black hose dangling down, almost as if to taunt me. I saw a metal tube that looked like where it would fit, shoved it in place, test drove it, and voila!
 
So, the old rustbucket has had a stay of execution. Although honestly, even if it needed a transmission rebuild, I'd probably do it. The local shop said with a transmission that simple, they could do it for around $650.
 
Oh, on the subject of rusty GM trucks, I have to say my uncle's '97 Silverado ain't holding up so hot. Now, my '85 looks worse, because the rust is visible on the body parts. But last fall, he got his truck stuck in my back field when he drove back there to dump some leftover deer parts (don't ask, long story. ), and I had to pull him out with my '85. I remember when I hooked the chain underneath his truck, being shocked at how rusty it was. Everything seemed covered in scale, and it seemed to be getting pretty thick, to the point I could foresee bolts being hard to get out, welds that probably weren't long for this worlds, etc.
 
In contrast, my '85 still looks pretty good underneath. And the odd thing is, my '85 has spent a lot of time parked on the grass and such, which can't be good for them. His '97 has spent most of its life on asphalt, or gravel at least.
 
This is in Maryland though, where our winters aren't all that brutal (although '09-10 wasn't exactly a picnic). I'm sure in New England, both the '85 and '97 would be ancient history.

#202 of 218 Re: Update [lemko] by greg128

Oct 28, 2010 (2:58 pm)

Replying to: lemko (Oct 27, 2010 10:33 am)
Rust isn't this issue it once was
 
tell that to the thousands of Toyota Tundra and Tacoma owners whose
frames are rusting away to the point of being unsafe to drive

#203 of 218 Re: Rust? [hpmctorque] by oldfarmer50

Oct 28, 2010 (3:05 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Oct 28, 2010 1:31 pm)
"...inference that GMs rust more than Toyotas?..."
 
The worst rust bucket I ever owned was my 1986 Toyota PU. Rotted out in 3-4 years. At 12 years old you could put your foot through the bed by stepping on it.
 
Speaking of GM, I just bought a 93 Caddy Deville with almost NO rust. To go almost 18 years in upstate NY where they pave the streets with salt in winter the car must have sat in the garage a lot.
 
In my experience cars of the 60s and 70s rusted out after 7-8 years. Cars of the 90s lasted 12-15. Brand new cars might go 15+
 
So much depends on where in the country they are driven. Down south I see 30-40 year old cars that look showroom new. I guess in the south you replace the paint and in the north you replace the sheet metal.

#204 of 218 Re: Rust? [andre1969] by oldfarmer50

Oct 28, 2010 (3:13 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Oct 28, 2010 2:20 pm)
"...in New England, both the '85 and '97 would be ancient history..."
 
My '85 Ford F-150 went to the graveyard last year because it was so rusty that the weight of more than one passenger would cause the cab to flex and the doors wouldn't close. At that point I was only driving it 5 miles a week to the farmer's market but it seemed to be a good time to bury it.

#205 of 218 Re: Rust? [anythngbutgm] by greg128

Oct 28, 2010 (3:15 pm)

Replying to: anythngbutgm (Oct 28, 2010 1:01 pm)
Those pictures are awful.
 
 I just took a look on cars.com for used Chevy pick-ups and I didn't see one
with a rust spot. These included some for around $2000-$3000 with high miles
and 10 or more years old. I never see any old trucks around here (NY) with
that much rust.
 
I have a 2006 Silverado with not even a hint of rust, including the frame.
 
I suspect those trucks are used often at boat ramps where they submerge
the rear end in salt water.

#206 of 218 farmers neck of the woods by stickguy

Oct 28, 2010 (5:49 pm)

I have family in the region of NY, so am there a lot. If you ever need a couple thousand totally rotted out 80s-90s vintage GMs and japanese models, head up there.
 
all the salt, lots of people parking outside (and probably too poor or cheap to wash them!) = rust.
 
and it is shocking to see how severe, as in missing outer panels, some of these cars are. Hard to believe some of them are safe, since that is just the parts you can see. 1 big bump and easy to imagine rotted out suspensions mounting points just collapsing.

#208 of 218 Re: farmers neck of the woods [stickguy] by oldfarmer50

Oct 29, 2010 (10:07 am)

Replying to: stickguy (Oct 28, 2010 5:49 pm)
"...Hard to believe some of them are safe..."
 
In the north, rust is the biggest killer of cars. All the cars I have sent to the junk yard died from rust rather than mechanical failure (except for the ones my kids drove off cliffs or ran with out any oil). People in NY expect to be able to do 70 in a snowstorm so the state uses WAY too much salt.

Messages Page 21 of 22

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