Rusty shocks: should I care?

[MattJ]

Thanks - I power wash after every off-road trek. Got tired of driving to the coin-op wash place every twice a month, so I bought a power washer and make the kids do it in the driveway now

I had been spraying plenty of fluid film on many places (hi-lift jack, windsheild light bar, suspension system, etc) a few times a year. But I agree with you - it traps a lot of grime and salt. I even parked my Jeep for most of the winter to keep the salt away. I'm thinking the real damage happened when I drove on the beaches last summer. Seems like even the air near the ocean is corrosive. The entire Jeep gets covered in a fine spray of salt and sand particles.

It will be interesting to see how the Sharkhide holds up. I'll post some pics of the ingredients, instructions and warning labels when it arrives.

[Kurt]

Be careful not to spray the power washer into any of the holes in the frame.
Doing so dampens any dirt and sand already trapped in your frame and will accelerate it rusting from the inside out.

[MattJ]

I drilled an extra drain hole at the lowest point in the frame on both sides. Then I blasted two separate layers of Eastwood internal frame coat through the entire frame from three different points with a 30-inch wand. Hopefully that helps. I was careful to cover the exhaust system and brake pads for obvious reasons.

I'm hoping to get 15 good years of hard wheeling, winter camping and beach treks from this Jeep. After that, I figure the rust and breakage will eventually catch up with me . . .

[MattJ]

The Sharkhide arrived (along with the diapers that are labeled for car washing). Interesting stuff. We'll see how it works!

[MattJ]

Look what I found on the AEV website:

[MattJ]

The original installer recommended that I just buy a new set of Bilstein shocks from him so I could take my time applying the Sharkhide, one shock at a time over a week or two. So I did. This way I can swap all four shocks at once instead of removing them, removing all the rust, polishing, reapplying stickers and then coating with Sharkhide.

But I think I need to wait for drier and cooler weather before attempting this project. Certainly can't do this project indoors and the Sharkhide instructions indicate that a cold, dry environment is best for getting a crystal clear finish with the product.

The installer also recommended that I cut away and discard the rubber shock arm covers since they trap dirt and moisture. Is that good advice?

[Lisah311]

Pardon the noob question, but should it bug me that my shocks look like crap? I spray them with Fluid Film, which clearly doesn't help much due to the constant weather and road wear. I've seen nice, shiny shocks on other BSJ rigs. What's the secret? Should I care?

Do you notice a difference in ride with some rust on your shocks or is this al because it bugs you?

My billsteins are slightly rusty (they’ve taken a beating from 3 NE winters obviously) but haven’t felt the need to replace them. They seem to be fine on and off road.

[MattJ]

Alright, for the first weekend in more than a month I wasn't driving my Jeep on trails or sleeping in it, so I finally had time to tackle this project. When applied, the Sharkhide is difficult to see since it is clear and thin, so I put it on thick and wiped off the excess. I'll let them dry for a day before swapping them onto my Jeep and pulling the corroded ones off. Then I will find out this winter if Sharkhide really works! I was also thinking I could sand, Scotchbrite and clean my skid plates, and then apply some Sharkhide to them too. Obviously Sharkhide isn't made to withstand rock impacts, but it would be interesting to see if it slows the corrosion on the skid plates.

[JeepAddict]

Self etching primer and bedliner.....

[MattJ]

Alright, I carefully checked the BSJ bylaws and there are NO rules against polishing skid plates. At least not yet. The fall meeting is coming up, so that might change soon . . .

I decided to polish one side and coat it with Sharkhide, and leave the other one "as is" for comparison next spring. It's my experiment to see just how well the Sharkhide holds up to a New England winter. Maybe next summer I'll put bedliner on the other side? The fun never ends!

You can see the wet-shine effect of the Sharkhide in the last two photos below:

[MattJ]

I finally got the new, Sharkhide-coated shocks installed. They look a lot better than the uncoated shocks - which are just one year old! We'll see how well the Sharkhide coating works.

One question: I noticed that the shop replaced the rubber sleeves and zipties on the new shocks. I had cut them off, since I heard that they just trap water, dirt and grit. Should I cut them off again or just leave them?

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

If the boots remain intact, leave them on. Once they get ripped, then stuff gets in and doesn’t come out.

[MattJ]

For Fathers Day I put another coat of Sharkhide on the AEV shocks. I gave up on the skid plates. Lost cause.

[MattJ]

The Sharkhide is still holding up! Ready for another winter . . .