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This is when I took the tire off the front passenger side (none of the other ones are rusty like this)
http://i.magaimg.net/img/3f4x.jpg
I just noticed that the wheel "center cap" is missing. Does anyone know the size of these in millimeters? So i can order a replacement. Do you think that is where the rust came from? Because there is no center cap? Because all the other 3 wheels do have a center cap. Is there something I can do to correct the rust? Is this something I need to worry about?
I have rust inside the engine also:
http://i.magaimg.net/img/3f4z.jpg
So weird, We dont hardly get any rain around here. Anyone else have rust inside the engine like this?
Your thread title had me expecting actual body rust or something!
Brake rotors are made of cast iron, and they get hot enough that it's very difficult to keep paint on them. (and on an economy car like this, they're not going to spend a lot of money trying to coat or paint them to protect them) In short, they rust. Even the surface of your brake rotors will visibly rust within HOURS after a rain if the conditions are just right. If you drive the car regularly, you keep the important friction surfaces clean and it's not a problem. What you have on your brake rotors is totally normal.
Under the hood, you have a cheap, probably VERY lightly zinc plated hose clamp that's rusting. Also not uncommon.
Living in Miami, have you by chance driven or parked near the beach? Close enough to catch some salt spray? That would do it. It doesn't take much. And if you don't rinse it off, it takes its toll. If you go anywhere near the beach, or otherwise drive through salt or salt water, it's a good idea to THOROUGHLY rinse the underside of the car ASAP.
I wouldn't worry about the brake rotors. That clamp you could take off, clean the rust off of the hose, and either clean/paint or replace the clamp. It will be a long time before even that clamp poses any kind of problem, though.
Someone else can probably post a photo, but to give you a frame of reference. If you lived up North where they salt the roads in the winter, after a couple years, EVERY piece of unpainted metal that you see in your photo would be rusted. The strut bolts, the brake hose brackets, all of the hose clamps under the hood, every exposed steel screw or bolt. Everything would be rusted.
What you have there is a typical VERY clean and rust-free Florida car.
That actually looks really clean! Like Loren said, it's just surface rust on a cast iron rotor. Come up to NY to see what real rust looks like!
If I remember correctly, the front hubs do not have any caps...Quote:
Originally Posted by fc321
Attachment 11877
You don't need to worry about it, but you can correct it. Pull your rotors off and drop them in a pan of Evapo-Rust overnight. Then hit them with some quality caliper paint. I did my rotors/calipers when my car was new and they still look great after 2 northern winters. But Loren is absolutely correct...rust on these parts is common and doesn't hurt anything. It's purely cosmetic.Quote:
Is there something I can do to correct the rust? Is this something I need to worry about?
Attachment 11878
As for everything else, you can consider a rustproofing-type oil spray like Krown. My car has been treated with Krown and I don't have rust on anything. Well...my exhaust is starting to show minor surface rust...but the metal in the exhaust is so cheap that's unavoidable.
No caps on the front? Oh. I was travelling and got a flat tire and went to a place to get it plugged. And I was thinking that this guy was the one who failed to put the front cap back on. I managed to generate emotions of anger for quite some time over this. But if there was never supposed to be a front cap at all well... I guess I was mad about nothing.
THank you for this information.
As far as the rusty rotors I will probably just leave it alone. I still have all stock set-up so with the hubcaps in place you cannot even see the rotors or calipers from the outside. I was going to rub a lemon on it the way I take rust away from my barbells. Heh-Heh, thats the only cure I know for rust. Lemon Juice
That is all quite normal. It actually looks really good IMO haha.
Well...if you ever do have something and you want to strip the rust off of it easily, I can't say enough about Evapo-Rust. That stuff works great and all you have to do is soak the part. It's completely non-toxic and it doesn't damage paint, either.
I just found pics of my hubs when my car was new. Note that the front hub in the photo has a hub ring on it for my aftermarket wheels.
Attachment 11880