Front suspension rust. You gotta read this!

[beazleybub]

I'm in the middle of a complete tear down and rebuild of my 97 RWD Astro's front suspension and was dismayed about how much everything was rusted. Every major part of the front suspension was covered in some form of rust. The upper and lower control arms, upper control arm shaft and steering knuckles ranged from "mild rust" to "oh my god, I'd better replace that knuckle before it breaks". (The driver side knuckle is rusted so badly it is flaking off layers)

I had contemplated sand blasting the control arms but feared the blasting might warp the metal or bore out the bushing holes. Not to mention it can get expensive to have four control arms and two steering knuckles done.

During my search for rust removal methods on-line I discovered most of the methods used to remove rust required the use of some very nasty chemicals and always produced toxic waste. I also found electrolytic rust removal techniques using a car battery charger but thought this might be risky without actual electrolytic equipment.

Most rust removal methods have some things in common. You have to deal with toxic chemicals to strip away the rust and or sand/scrub/blast away the rust while also removing "good metal" in the process.

Well let me testify to you all! I have found the safest cleanest easiest way to rid your parts of rust!

You won't handle toxic chemicals... You won't produce toxic chemicals... You won't strip away "good metal" and you won't hurt anything else in the process PERIOD.

The only thing that will be destroyed is the rust! You won't hurt paint, rubber or even your skin! Hell, your dog can drink the stuff and be ok with it!

I went down to my local "Tractor Supply" store yesterday before work and bought two gallons of this rust remover. I placed my control arm shafts into it and went to work. A little over eight hours later I came home and found this...

Evapo-Rust Rust remover.

All of the rust is gone!!! (The black stuff is original factory paint. Remember it won't harm anything but rust.)
I wish you could have seen the Orange rust before I used the product.

I was skeptical at first but after seeing the results I'm a believer.

I am no way affiliated with the product and simply just wanted to share my find. I hope this helps you all as much as it did me.

[tedanderson]

Ok.. I'm sold! I gotta go to the tractor supply and get a bottle of this stuff too!

[paintdrying]

I missed the part where the dog drinks it.

[ccookie66]

Hmmm...I wounder if you could spray the under belly of your van to get rid of the rust?

[Wagon Master]

Also available at Harbor Freight.

[beazleybub]

Hmmm...I wounder if you could spray the under belly of your van to get rid of the rust?

Not quite. With this stuff you are supposed to keep the item you are removing the rust from submerged.
This stuff is water based so it evaporates and because of that if you wrere to spray it on it would not be as effective.
However, some guy devised a way to do it with a method he came up with.
You can see what he did here.

I only bought two gallons myself and that won't fully submerge my control arms. I came up with my own solution by purchasing a small aquarium water pump and some hose. I'm placing my control arms in one of those rubber-maid tubs with a lid and devising a sprinkler system that will continually spray the fluid on the entire arm.

[tedanderson]

With this stuff you are supposed to keep the item you are removing the rust from submerged.

Well I am going to get about 1000 gallons of this stuff, dig a shallow pond, and then drive my van into it so that the bottom of my van can soak.

[Corsemoto]

C'mon Ted you're not thinking it all the way through, you'll be able to rent it out as an "Auto Spa". I thought of "Coat n Gloat" first but too many other connotations.

[Shad0wXCalibur]

Sweet.... I bet this stuff would be awesome for car restorations.

[paintdrying]

I have been using this as a tooth whitener for about a week now. i wish I had taken before photos. As it seems to work pretty well. I am wondering if anyone has used it as an eye wash, I sure get a lot of rust in my eyes after working on the astro...

[astro1957]

Heck,I suppose it works good for an eye wash after laying flat on your back and looking up!All those tiny rust particles that make you blink the next day.Danggit,I did'nt wear goggles.
I'll buy new parts or sand blast and weld.Theres no such thing as a NEW rust remover.Its all been tried before.The best is caustic and the least is labor intensive.

[paintdrying]

Actually there is some rust stabilizer that works. I saw a gallon of it ten years ago. It was 1000 dollars a gallon. But this guy was paying someone, I think every month to turn all his tires a quarter inch. Needless to say this guy was dealing with some high dollar cars. A 1000 dollars for some rust stabilizer was nothing.

[redfury]

feed grade mollases and water, 100 parts water to 1 part mollases. Does the same thing.

[redfury]

Oh, I discovered that online AFTER I spent hours scrubbing and sanding my rims with muriatic acid...the mollases would have worked 10x better.

[paintdrying]

You can caught more rust with molasses than muratic

[RECox286]

Being as old and rusty as I am, do youse guys think I may still have a chance...?

Uncle Bob

[paintdrying]

As I get older I realize there is no substitute for experience. You are doing fine Bob. I will know you are losing it when your grammar or spelling starts to lapse. Of course we have computers that can check that...

All hail the mighty computer....

[tedanderson]

So what is the difference between "feed grade" molasses and the bottle of stuff that I buy in the baking aisle of my favorite supermarket?

[Jasen]

Had to read up on the molasses. Food grade is more refined, or boiled down 3-4 times and has very low sugar content but is very high in nutrition and is added to feed stock.

Molasses mixed with water 1:10 ratio (by volume).
Rust in molasses/water reacts to form phosphoric acid (a common ingredient in off-the-shelf rust converters) right where it is needed.
Eco friendly and gentle, use on garden when done.
Use cheap stock feed molasses.
Pressure washers can make the cleaning faster.
Takes time - up to a week in my experience for heavy rust (sub tropical zone).