Rusty front axle on 2025 Silverado 2500 4WD.

[Chuck FB]

1 hour ago, Pryme said:

I like to just park mine out in the grass and run an extension cord out for my compressor. I’ve done it in the garage and it stinks it up for awhile and gets all over the floors. I keep it out in the grass and hopefully the sun for the day to dry up a bit. 
 

I don’t bag the brakes but I’m also careful not to spray them either. I use a aerosol can for hard to reach little spots that I just wanna keep concentrated on a small area.

 

i live in the upper Midwest so we get lots of snow and calcium chloride treatment here. 
 

I also go to the coin op pressure washer and wash my truck down at least once a month and after a big storm clears from the roads we need to. It’s only a few bucks each time. It doesn’t really remove the ff either because I don’t get super close and keep it moving to just get the salt off as much as possible. 

Good to know you've been doing it the most basic way as per parking outside. I had hoped I would have more room to lay under an HD truck but I discovered its a bit of a tight squeeze to my dismay in the transmission area ( impossible with the floor creeper ). I'll see when that time comes, I may lay down some steel plates and jack an end of the truck up to put on stands or drive the truck up onto some boards to gain a little clearance.

 

I figured too that I would make use of a few cans of product, be that fluid film or the competing Blaster surface shield for finishing up missed spots and so forth. Which reminds me, I haven't touched them yet but I wonder if the Chev plastic fender edging is able to be pulled back slightly to get a spray can straw into that area to give it a blast by use of plastic body tools and not cause any damage in the process, it was an idea in my head but no idea if its doable.

 

I should add that we have few paved highways in the area relative to the massive amount of gravel roads so certainly if one does much gravel driving, that causes a lot of road rash under a truck during the summer both dry or muddy roads.

 

Unfortunately I am 50 miles away from the nearest town I go to typically for anything ( I farm ) and a lot of crap type winter road in between here and there that often stays a mess all winter with the lovely substances they spread so any washing I do when in town, its all plastered by the time I get home other than the odd time the roads are clear. Makes it tough to do the right thing for the vehicle with our weather conditions during the winter with often snow packed highways that only melt enough to make it worse, it is what it is as they say !.

[Pryme]

1 hour ago, Chuck FB said:

Good to know you've been doing it the most basic way as per parking outside. I had hoped I would have more room to lay under an HD truck but I discovered its a bit of a tight squeeze to my dismay in the transmission area ( impossible with the floor creeper ). I'll see when that time comes, I may lay down some steel plates and jack an end of the truck up to put on stands or drive the truck up onto some boards to gain a little clearance.

 

I figured too that I would make use of a few cans of product, be that fluid film or the competing Blaster surface shield for finishing up missed spots and so forth. Which reminds me, I haven't touched them yet but I wonder if the Chev plastic fender edging is able to be pulled back slightly to get a spray can straw into that area to give it a blast by use of plastic body tools and not cause any damage in the process, it was an idea in my head but no idea if its doable.

 

I should add that we have few paved highways in the area relative to the massive amount of gravel roads so certainly if one does much gravel driving, that causes a lot of road rash under a truck during the summer both dry or muddy roads.

 

Unfortunately I am 50 miles away from the nearest town I go to typically for anything ( I farm ) and a lot of crap type winter road in between here and there that often stays a mess all winter with the lovely substances they spread so any washing I do when in town, its all plastered by the time I get home other than the odd time the roads are clear. Makes it tough to do the right thing for the vehicle with our weather conditions during the winter with often snow packed highways that only melt enough to make it worse, it is what it is as they say !.

Yeah I don’t use a creeper. No room. 
I have never tried to pry the wheel well trim up. 
 

this late in winter I’d wait til this coming fall after you thoroughly pressure wash the underside and let it fully dry

[64BAwagon]

It took me the better part of 6 hrs and 2 gallons of Fluid film to do my current truck. I spent most of the time shooting the boxed areas of the frame, the braces on the floor pans and the rockers. I also sprayed the frame with no compatibility issue with the OEM coating. I swear by using this type of rust protection. Its not uncommon for a GM truck up her to have a condemnable frame within 12 yrs if its not treated or maintained. 

[AndrewF]

 

6 minutes ago, 64BAwagon said:

It took me the better part of 6 hrs and 2 gallons of Fluid film to do my current truck. I spent most of the time shooting the boxed areas of the frame, the braces on the floor pans and the rockers. I also sprayed the frame with no compatibility issue with the OEM coating. I swear by using this type of rust protection. Its not uncommon for a GM truck up her to have a condemnable frame within 12 yrs if its not treated or maintained. 

 

How is Fluid Film with regards to road dirt sticking to it?  In the past I typically used 30 weight oil and sprayed that to undercoat vehicles, however now that I live on a dirt road the oil causes dirt to stick and build up which I feel holds moisture and does more harm than good.  Not sure if Fluid Film would have the same affect or that "sets" better and dirt won't stick to it as much.

[Pryme]

20 minutes ago, AndrewF said:

 

 

How is Fluid Film with regards to road dirt sticking to it?  In the past I typically used 30 weight oil and sprayed that to undercoat vehicles, however now that I live on a dirt road the oil causes dirt to stick and build up which I feel holds moisture and does more harm than good.  Not sure if Fluid Film would have the same affect or that "sets" better and dirt won't stick to it as much.

It does get a light coating of dust but that’s it. So light you have to touch it to know. Also ff adheres and seeps into the metal so to speak. Moisture doesn’t get through it is what I’ve read. 

[Chuck FB]

1 hour ago, 64BAwagon said:

It took me the better part of 6 hrs and 2 gallons of Fluid film to do my current truck. I spent most of the time shooting the boxed areas of the frame, the braces on the floor pans and the rockers. I also sprayed the frame with no compatibility issue with the OEM coating. I swear by using this type of rust protection. Its not uncommon for a GM truck up her to have a condemnable frame within 12 yrs if its not treated or maintained. 

I do not doubt that at all, the time it would take to cover not only area but the many crevices and sides to all the assembled structure under a vehicle and then snaking a hose inside of the frame/rockers/box rib structure and so on. The amount of product that could get used is far greater than what I feel some realize if done properly. No doubt a good reason why its hard to find anyone around my area that does it as a good job would be so labour intensive hours wise and the amount of product that few would be willing to pay for the service. When I see some youtuber say they sprayed six cans and they think they've really done something and covered everything ... uh no.

 

So have you attempted to get inside of the doors to do the bottoms of them, admittedly I still haven't looked closely enough at the doors to see what if any ways there are to sneak into them without doing more harm than good, I see the speaker at the front of the doors and think that sure wouldn't be a place to be spraying onto the outside of the speakers. Also in my mind I think of the engine hood in trying to get a bit of product along the outer perimeter to where the seams are, I look at some older vehicles and the front of the hood is rusted out for example. Bumpers is another one I've thought of, spraying the back side of them and in theory if it was possible to get product under the bumper pads on the rear bumper. Those types of areas are potential spots where I could see rust forming.

 

What has your experience told you as to what keeps needing a re treatment every year vs some locations that once done that it can stay protected fairly long term, or have you been going over the same vehicle every year in the same big way doing everything each time ?.

 

I believe that the move from a C channel frame to a boxed frame has been very detrimental to the frames ability to last if not protected like you have been doing. C channel frames are thicker and they don't trap everything inside of them and can imagine its nearly impossible to flush out a boxed frame once its packed up with a layer of sand and salt along its bottom interior.

 

One thing that I have discovered as per the dealership level although I am talking the sales side, is that this long time salesman I went through assumed the HD trucks were of course aluminum on the engine hood and doors and had a hard time believing me when I told him that is not the case, an HD truck has a steel hood and doors. What is aluminum is the mult flex tailgate but I believe the regular tailgate on an HD is steel. Why that's important, goes back to rust issues as well as dent repair/body damage repair costs one vs the other. I can see where its easy to assume the HD trucks would be made out of the exact same body materials as the half ton. 

[64BAwagon]

I use a rattle can of FF for the doors with the straw inserted into the weep holes. I use them all and spray both directions to get the lap seam on the bottom of the door full of product. This has worked for me for many years. Before I found FF I used to use bar and chain oil with a pistol type oil can. This worked well for many years. I also used to shoot the pickup wheel arches by removing the tail lights and spraying forward. When I sold my 2005 the guy that bought it said it was the cleanest he had looked at. 

I typically will retouch the exposed areas as needed every year but they don't need much attention.  Once the rockers and inner frame areas are done they are good for at least 4 yrs. A lot depends on your ambition and level of OCD. I have lots of both. 

[Chuck FB]

30 minutes ago, 64BAwagon said:

I use a rattle can of FF for the doors with the straw inserted into the weep holes. I use them all and spray both directions to get the lap seam on the bottom of the door full of product. This has worked for me for many years. Before I found FF I used to use bar and chain oil with a pistol type oil can. This worked well for many years. I also used to shoot the pickup wheel arches by removing the tail lights and spraying forward. When I sold my 2005 the guy that bought it said it was the cleanest he had looked at. 

I typically will retouch the exposed areas as needed every year but they don't need much attention.  Once the rockers and inner frame areas are done they are good for at least 4 yrs. A lot depends on your ambition and level of OCD. I have lots of both. 

I still had not looked at the bottom of the doors yet to see what the weep holes looked like and this may sound odd but I was purposely leaving the vehicle shut for a few days to experiment to see how well the battery voltage stays up when the vehicle is not disturbed, newer vehicles are prone to drawing a battery down even when there is nothing "wrong" with the vehicle. It is truly shocking as to how much the voltage will drop simply by opening the door and closing it again, it gets the vehicle all "excited" as it thinks its going to be started and I would swear the starter must be cranking the engine over to observe how far the battery voltage will drop before it slowly recovers after the truck goes back to sleep.

 

So back to the topic, I am happy to hear that the straw of a FF can will fit into the factory weep holes and that your method was successful in holding back what otherwise would have been issues with the truck you had a long term example of. I had read prior of comments from those that had used FF and complained about the smell if it was used in the doors a and claimed the Blaster product did not smell so I bought some of them as well, unfortunately they don't come with straws, nor do they fit in the spray nozzle so I tried swapping a FF nozzle and the can didn't work worth crap when I tried spraying out of it, so that was a failed experiment. Like Pryme mentioned with this model of truck, to try and spray in through the removable plugs within the box to spray the area on top of the inner fender well, but otherwise I had wondered what I would have to make up to be able to reach forward from the tail light area and how to connect it to the sprayer I had bought assuming it works as I hope it will. Steel brake line was one of the thoughts in my head with a nozzle or something I made up on the tip of it to support its own weight and reach forward enough. I just wish I could find these funky little quick couplers that this undercoat spray gun comes with to make more attachments with longer hoses etc.

 

I used to have more ambition and somewhat OCD like habits but its all fading with age it would seem, however if you get bored you know there is a new Chev truck calling out in Canada that would love to be slathered in FF LOL. 

 

In fact here is the exact unit I bought at Napa in Canada and its not easy to see or give a size perspective of the coupler but the female portion sits separate in the photo as it screws onto the front of the sprayer gun. They are something unique I gather, half the outer body size of a typical 1/4 body M style air coupler and the male ends on the hoses has a ferrule type fitting that clamps down on the nylon type hoses they provide. Of course Napa has zero access to any parts. But anyway maybe posting this link, someone might know where such an odd type fitting is sourced.

 

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/DSSASSE

[64BAwagon]

They wont let me in to Canada 

[superdave160]

I took it into the dealer yesterday and they confirmed that this is "normal."  I don't know why an OEM would put untreated/unpainted steel under a new truck but that is where we are.  There are some good suggestions above and I will decide what to do about it in the near future.

[MORSNO]

21 hours ago, superdave160 said:

I took it into the dealer yesterday and they confirmed that this is "normal."  I don't know why an OEM would put untreated/unpainted steel under a new truck but that is where we are.  There are some good suggestions above and I will decide what to do about it in the near future.

 

Every new GM pickup I've bought since 1988 looked exactly the same when ordered new, surface rust on the front axles. 

[revrnd]

On 3/8/2025 at 3:49 PM, Z45 said:

Pretty normal surface rust, those parts are not painted and mostly likely sit outside at the assembly plant waiting to be used on the line.. That's heavy gauge steel. The body will rust away long before those parts.

Unless things have changed since 2008, all components were unloaded into the plant. Parts were not unloaded to the yard for later use.

 

The automotive world works 'just in time' since the 80s. There is very little 'dwell time' from when parts arrive at the assembly plants to when they are used in the vehicle build.