How to deal with Chassis Rust? And Should i keep my car?

[Geanz Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Geanz]

Hey everyone
I have recently bought myself a bargain priced 2003 GXL prado witch the interior and body work is immaculate
The previous owner seriously had not 1 care given for the car and never really touched it
The engine has 150k on the clock and has not a single spec of rust around it

Unfortunately though i rushed into the decision to buy it without fully inspecting the vehicle and to make things worse im a diesel mechanic by trade so i should of known better

Anyway after inspecting it recently ive realized there is quite a bit of rust around the chassis mainly around the front of the car, Ive figured this shouldn't be much of a big deal but im expecting that i will have to spend hours, grinding removing and painting the chassis to eliminate as much as i can and to prospone the spread.
Heres a few pictures:


and now of the rust...




Ive come here to ask for advice and some questions on what to do with it... I don't want a lemon of a 4x4, and im willing to spend the time and effort to make this girl a beast.
Should i keep it or should i sell it off?
And if i do keep it.. Whats the best advice and maybe a list on how to start with removing the rust and whatnot?
(A link to a website with detailed info might be handy, Im not the best computer guru)
Id like some information on things like - Whats the best Primer/Paint to use? The easiest way to start to tackle it
Do i need any specialty tools to get around spots and whatnot
And last but not least will Electronic rust prevention thing help it and stop the spread?

Any Advice and help is much appreciated
and Thanks in advance
Liam

[Razorback81 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Razorback81]

just keep spraying fisholeen on it
most of it look surface rust
just be wary of bolts that need to be undone (eg wishbone for wheel alignment) i had to cut mine out on the last car and it was cheaper to buy new arms with bolts then assembled with plenty of never seize

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Hard to tell from the pics, but it may just be surface rust. I'd not panic too much.

You need to get under there with a wire brush, scrape off whatever has been sprayed on the chassis, and find out if any rust is actually penetrating the chassis rails.

Then you can treat with various products, a little spray bottle will do it.

[Geanz Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Geanz]

Sorry camera isnt the best haha
but heres a few more pictures




So what do you mean by rust actually penetrating?
If its going through the chassis?
If so Ive poked my finger through the holes (in the chassis) at several different points but cant feel any rust starting/flaking inside

I have noticed a body mount though looks a bit ordinary though that i might need to tackle very quickly

Thanks for the replies

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Looks just like surface rust to me too. You can hit it with rust converter and then a primer or just go for an underbody sealer direct. Wouldn't be too concerned. #1's P-ute is like that and he is doing the rust converter/sealer thing and then will hook up electronic rust protection.

[D4Dforme Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4Dforme]

Lanolin goes alright aswell........I use it on my boat trailers and so far so good.......we used it offshore to stop the cancer spreading with good results.

Dan

[Scruffy Member Find all posts View Profile Close Scruffy]

With exception of the last picture - I have seen new cars delivered from the factory with more rust that that!
The car is 12 years old - you ought to try living in a cold wet climate as i used to (UK) and see what the cars are like then!
Spend a weekend rubbing the rust down and paint it with something like smoothrite (if you can get that here)

[juc33_prado Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close juc33_prado]

yes, get a wire brush and rub the worst affected rails to see that the rust has not eaten too far into the metal. if it is ok, continue to wire brush as much off as possible and then coat with rust converter. do a few times before giving it a final coat of sealer.

SAM

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

The car is 12 years old - you ought to try living in a cold wet climate as i used to (UK) and see what the cars are like then!

Yes, my old man's last 4wd's I don't think made it to 10 years old. They were in places eaten away underneath ...but he never made much effort cleaning that area!! When I looked at 4wd's in Qld, the owners all thought I was mad.. (I am!) ...just really only paid attention to the underneath not the rest of the vehicle like the engine & dashboard...Doh... The last pic is the only concern.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Take it for a drive for say 1000kms on outback roads with plenty of vegetation in the centre of the track, when you get home everything underneath will be nice and shiny clean, paint the shiny bits with a bit of kill rust and the jobs done

Cheers Andrew

[gxl_d4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxl_d4d]

Pressure clean the loose bits off, spray on rust converter and paint it with 2 coats of underbody paint. You may be able to get all of this done by a rust proofing company if you don't want do it yourself. Not sure what they'd charge.

[Geanz Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Geanz]

Thanks everyone for the replies
I will be doing it myself and im going to spend some time doing it as ive lost my license for 6 months
Dont really want to send it in because i know what theyll say. "This is bad, very bad, Its gonna take weeks and thousands of different chemicals to treat that you will have to pay for" :P
It doesn't seem to bad, except for the last picture of course was the most effected area but hasn't eaten all the way through
Who ever had this car before me clearly didn't care for it what so ever haha
but im determined to bring it back to its pride and glory
Just gotta kiss a few weekends goodbye
Will also keep yous updated when i do end up getting around to starting the job if yous would like

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Thanks everyone for the replies
I will be doing it myself and im going to spend some time doing it as ive lost my license for 6 months
Dont really want to send it in because i know what theyll say. "This is bad, very bad, Its gonna take weeks and thousands of different chemicals to treat that you will have to pay for" :P
It doesn't seem to bad, except for the last picture of course was the most effected area but hasn't eaten all the way through
Who ever had this car before me clearly didn't care for it what so ever haha
but im determined to bring it back to its pride and glory
Just gotta kiss a few weekends goodbye
Will also keep yous updated when i do end up getting around to starting the job if yous would like

Don't stress that's nothing.
It would be fine if you did nothing!
If you:
Spray, fish oil, crc, wd40, rp7, lanolin, black touch up, any of those when your under it will help.
I rotate through different cans each time I'm giving it some love. I have a love day a few times a year, where I fix stuff & some clean up & touch ups.
It's really nothing to worry about. So keep it is the answer.

I have seen them with chassis like an old rusted railway track, no in fact more like a shipwreck, not sure who buys those, but I was expecting to see some real rust.