has anybody checked versa's underbody?

[antebellon]

How soon will parts of underbody become rusty? At least something in my car, which I don't know what it is, looks so.I wonder what happened to yours and how soon it happens. And since I live in places with long time of snow, is it necessary for me to do something to protect it? One of my friends told me it's normal for nissan (his pipe is all rusty and has a hole...).

[fjwagner]

typically the salt that is used on roads that creates the rust over time. I would be extremely extremely surprised if you have a corrosion issue already. I would not expect that for at least 10 years on almost any car. They are pretty well protected these days. We have a 1995 car that spent spent 9 of those years on Baltimore and no sign of rust.

[Vahagn23]

I put on 10k on my V then took it in for a check in Glendale CA. Big Road trip. The whole under body except he mufler and some other small parts is covered with metal, thick too. I didnt see any rust. The wierd thing about the check was that my rear drum breaks had 30% wear on them and my front breaks only 20%, but I never used hand break much.

[bigdog]

both front & rear brakes work together when the pedal is pushed,but from what i think i've read is the back brakes have more bias on them when pushed

[BigMac1520]

Generally it's 70% front 30% rear. It's seem very unusal for rear brakes to wear faster the the front. I've had cars that seem to never wear out rear brakes.

BigMac

[BBISHOPPCM]

I also live in a snowy climate, and have a few suggestions;

Your Nissan is protected by a thin phosphor coating. To prevent rust, you need to protect that coating by any means necessary. I recommend coating any areas of the underbody that have not been coated at the factory (Nissan uses very little undercoating) with 3M rubberized undercoating, available at any auto store or Wal-Mart. The trunk pan has no undercoating, and some areas before the fuel tank don't either. Wear rubber gloves, old clothing, and a painter's mask and goggles; this stuff is messy.

I did exactly this on my Frontier, and four years later, it was 100% rust-free. I compared this to several other Nissan Frontiers and X-Terras of the same year, and they were all rusting (not rotting, just surface rust) So I know this works. But you have to do it before the phosphor coating is damaged; if not, touch up any rust spots with POR-15 before coating.

Also, be sure to wash the car at least once a week, paying specia attention to the wheelwells; don't let sand and salt build up in the quarter panels or the crevices in the wheelwells, or the area behind the rear bumper. These are areas famous for harboring rust.

[xtwoonamatchx]

typically the salt that is used on roads that creates the rust over time. I would be extremely extremely surprised if you have a corrosion issue already. I would not expect that for at least 10 years on almost any car. They are pretty well protected these days. We have a 1995 car that spent spent 9 of those years on Baltimore and no sign of rust.

haha wow... and up here in bmore, they put 3 inches of salt down for an inch of snow!

[Ever Victorious]

both front & rear brakes work together when the pedal is pushed,but from what i think i've read is the back brakes have more bias on them when pushed

Definitely not true on the Versa. Non-ABS Versas tend to fishtail, which happens when there's too little braking to the rear. nissan could stand to balance them a bit better. the ABS Versas fix this.

[bikeman]

.. and up here in bmore, they put 3 inches of salt down for an inch of snow!

Syracuse has been known as the "Salt City" for the last 130 years and, although we don't mine salt any longer, we use it like we still do. I'm going with RustCheck this time around. $120. a year but my experience with Japanese vehicles makes it a good long-term investment.http://www.rustcheck.com/

David

[matttail]

I paid the dealer to do a "professional" spray under body coat, which sounds at lot like the 3m product described above. I made an appointment to drop the car off at the dealer after I had picked it up. I knew something like that had been done to my previous car and for being an 88' it showed the benefits. I also didn't (still don't) have the facilities to do a spray coating my self.

[BBISHOPPCM]

I used my parent's driveway and a hydraulic jack.

[fjwagner]

haha wow... and up here in bmore, they put 3 inches of salt down for an inch of snow!

I think BMW may do a much better job on the undercoating as that 1995 3 series still has great integrity after those 9 years of 3 inches/inch!

[Slither]

I wouldn't bother doing anything.

In recent years cars have been made of a steel with lower carbon content which makes them less prone to rusting.

I've always seen any after marketing [extended warranties, rustproofing moding etc,] on a car as a complete waste of money.

It could get stolen, wrecked in an accident or you could find yourself in an EV situation and not want it anymore.

[bikeman]

I wouldn't bother doing anything.In recent years cars have been made of a steel with lower carbon content which makes them less prone to rusting.

Steel rusts. If you have some numbers we can play with, please post.

I've always seen any after marketing [extended warranties, rustproofing moding etc,] on a car as a complete waste of money.

I have no idea what extended warranties or "moding" have to do with rust proofing. Rust is a fact of life around here.

It could get stolen, wrecked in an accident or you could find yourself in an EV situation and not want it anymore.

You could drop dead tomorrow but do you live your life based on that?I intend to hold on to my Versa for many years and I act accordingly.

David

[Soravia]

I second 3M (or other brand) Rubberized under coating. Put some sort of Rust-o-Leum or so rust preventive primer on the bare metal after you take out the rust by sanding or wire brush on a hand drill or grinding wheel. Then sand the primer and spray Enamel paint on it for protection. Then spray rubberized undercoat. It smells really foul so do it in open space where people won't complain.

Rubberized undercoat can easily wear of if applied with gasoline, brake cleaner, etc. So check on it at times to make sure your paint is not exposed.

[Bubs daddy]

Fortunately, we never have to worry about that here.

Now the exterior paint, that's a different story...

[BBISHOPPCM]

I know the undercoating works, to a certain extent. The absolute best thing you can do is spray the underside with used motor oil. A family friend did that to his 1982 Toyota pickup once a year and three engines later, that thing is still on the road. Infact, it's the only pre-1990s Toyota still on the road in southern NH, as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, only a couple of shops will still do that for you, unless you have no regard for the environment and do it yourself in your backyard...

[brainguyus]

Avoid parking the car on dirt or gravel as your overnight spot of you can. The moisture coming up out of the ground really accelerates corrosion.

[antebellon]

Thanks for your intelligence and sharing～

[Bubs daddy]

Quote »Steel rusts. If you have some numbers we can play with, please post. [/quote]Galvanized steel is very resistant to rust.

Many cars use galvanized steel in the unit body and exterior body panels.

[bikeman]

Galvanized steel is very resistant to rust.

Galvanized steel rusts. It just takes longer than some other alloys.

David

[Slither]

Bikeman watch H B Halicki's "Gone in 60 Seconds" from scene 18 'let the wrecking begin'

Or try Jacques Tati's "Trafic" scene 13 'pileup' to get an insight into real-World vehicle ownership.

From the pros.

[matttail]

Galvanized steel rusts. It just takes longer than some other alloys.

David

Wasn't that the point of saying "very resistant". Don't be snarky when the person you're quoting said the exact same thing.

[Bubs daddy]

Quote » Galvanized steel rusts.[/quote]Um, OK. That's why I stated: "Galvanized steel is very resistent to rust."

That's also the reason why automakers went to galvanized steel years ago.

Try decaf.

[bikeman]

Um, OK. That's why I stated: "Galvanized steel is very resistent to rust."That's also the reason why automakers went to galvanized steel years ago.Try decaf.

"I wouldn't bother doing anything."This is what I responded to. Since you quoted me, this is also what you're responding to. If you don't mean to respond to this, don't quote me.

David

[bikeman]

Try decaf.

Why?

David

[bikeman]

Bikeman watch H B Halicki's "Gone in 60 Seconds" from scene 18 'let the wrecking begin'Or try Jacques Tati's "Trafic" scene 13 'pileup' to get an insight into real-World vehicle ownership.From the pros.

Post your argument. I don't have these movies. Or are they movies? You didn't say. What is you point?

David

[Bubs daddy]

Bikeman,

You're a wee bit too sensitive.