Rust on new Defender

[chally]

Picked up my new 2013 Defender 110 and have had it for 2 weeks and travelled 2000 kms and love it!
Only gripe I have is when checking the undercarriage I noticed that many of the uncoated metal items have surface rust. Many of the engine components (belt pulleys etc) are covered with surface rust.
I forwarded a couple of photos to the dealer and he responded that was normal for a new Defender.
This is the first brand new vehicle I have ever owned so am I being too pedantic or is this surface rust common with other owners experiences with new Defenders? Should I be concerned about it?

[juddy]

Normal for a Defender, only because its traveled along way to get there, and also may have sat in a storage yard for a while, I would not be ovely concerned about slight surface rust, but for peace of mind, get a letter from your dealer with there words saying it will be fine.

[chook73]

Picked up my new 2013 Defender 110 and have had it for 2 weeks and travelled 2000 kms and love it!
Only gripe I have is when checking the undercarriage I noticed that many of the uncoated metal items have surface rust. Many of the engine components (belt pulleys etc) are covered with surface rust.
I forwarded a couple of photos to the dealer and he responded that was normal for a new Defender.
This is the first brand new vehicle I have ever owned so am I being too pedantic or is this surface rust common with other owners experiences with new Defenders? Should I be concerned about it?

I felt exactly the same as you when I picked it up, four years on and the rust is still there but as Juddy said its no big drama. Just a bit disappointing really but it wont affect it in the long run.

[Babs]

Normal. Same story here when I picked up my, MY12.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[isuzurover]

Isn't the block unpainted on Pumas??? So the whole engine will be covered with surface rust...

Nothing a couple of cans of lanotec can't fix.

[RVR110]

This is the first brand new vehicle I have ever owned so am I being too pedantic or is this surface rust common with other owners experiences with new Defenders? Should I be concerned about it?
Not really - having the vehicle delivered with rust will save you years of waiting :wasntme:

[fonfe]

Had a customer try and demand a new injection pump on a rangie once due to surface rust when I was working for a dealer back in the uk.....didnt get one!
It's pretty normal mate like the others have said, if you wanted to improve the under bonnet look you could always whip the pulleys off and have a local machinist make you one up out of billet on a lathe but that's a whole chunk of change just for it to be shiny.

I just got my classic out of the sea....she's well rusty now! Haha :(

[gcl381]

Well you can tick that box now (pre-installed rust).
Lets see if you're able to tick the 'water on the outside means water on the inside' one as well shortly :)

I must say my 10 yr old subaru had better fit & finish, less rust, dry interior and more leg room....and yet I wouldn't go back.

Gav

[fonfe]

Well you can tick that box now (pre-installed rust).
Lets see if you're able to tick the 'water on the outside means water on the inside' one as well shortly :)

I must say my 10 yr old subaru had better fit & finish, less rust, dry interior and more leg room....and yet I wouldn't go back.

Gav

That's because it wasn't built with cups of tea, under an overcast sky by us wingeing poms :D
We may build it with leaks but the love is definitely there

[BlueWagon]

Not worried about the surface rust under the car, but the first time it rained outside the showroom... rust appeared on the bonnet attachments (see photo).
Must be using water soluble paint or galvanising now on fittings!

You'd think they'd make an effort for highly visible parts like the bonnet. I paid extra for metallic paint but apparently that doesn't cover bolts, screws etc.

Mark

[ericvv]

You can replace all those screws by stainless steel versions. Stig Fasteners and Nakatanenga here in Europe offer specific sets for all versions of Defenders. Quite common to do here in Europe, I also did it on my SVX virtually from new right after I saw the first door hinge screw start to show some brown color.... Now more than 4 years on, no worries about rusty bolts:)

[scarry]

The rust is definitely a disappointment for a new vehicle,the actual paint on the chassis is also very poor as well.

My son eventually got the dealer here to send his to a body shop and they had it sprayed with Tectyl,a valvoline product.We have since had to touch it up with tectyl where it has worn or been scraped off.if you brush it on you can get a thick coating that lasts ages.

And as others have said,replace all the self tapers inside under the mats,and everywhere else with stainless one's.

[Didge]

....

And as others have said,replace all the self tapers inside under the mats,and everywhere else with stainless one's.

Won't stainless accelerate the rust in the mild steel components with which it is in contact?? That's my understanding of the situation.

:)

[BilboBoggles]

Just a note for those with < 6year old defenders... Take a close look at your rear chassis crossmember, the black bit under the back door. Is it looking a little oxidised, if you run your finger on it does it look blacker?

New defenders since about 2001, have had very poor chassis paint that does appear to be UV stable. The paint oxidizes in a matter of weeks, in the Aussie sun. Every defender I have bought (MY03, MY09 and MY13) has had oxidized paint on that rear xmember within 3-4 weeks of parking outside.

If you leave it, then after 4-5 years your paint will be gone and the xmember will rust. I had my first defender (MY03) fixed under warranty at 5 years of age after I realised there was a lot of surface rust. I had my new My13 repainted at 4 weeks of age due to oxidised paint.

Easier to get this fixed sooner than later - you have to shout less when it's still new.

[Loubrey]

Won't stainless accelerate the rust in the mild steel components with which it is in contact?? That's my understanding of the situation.

:)

Didge,

Liberal lashings of "debonding compound" fixes the situation with bi-metallic corrosion. It's basically the lesser of 2 evils situation.

My last 3 Defenders (this Puma included) has had systematic bolt replacements with SS and using copper compound and most recently some rather nasty anti corrosion stuff in a tube (advised here on the forum).

It's scary how much corrosion and rust are already on bolt threads being replaced like the chassis tub at the back, bonnet hinges, safari door hinges etc.

My car is only 3 years old, but it did spend a year up north in Pilbara with a lot of beach and the edge of the tidal mangroves driving, and I'm pretty frenetic in my rust proofing efforts. I'm also in the process of applying Tactyl 506 cavity rust inhibitor to every section of chassis I get to work on.

Cheers,

Lou

[Didge]

Thanks Lou, where can one buy this Tactyl 506?
Is it a liquid, thick oil, gel? ie how viscous is it?
Can it be sprayed?
Will it stop existing rust?

cheers Gerald

[scarry]

Thanks Lou, where can one buy this Tactyl 506?
Is it a liquid, thick oil, gel? ie how viscous is it?
Can it be sprayed?
Will it stop existing rust?

cheers Gerald

Autobarn have it here,you can paint it on,or spray it.Painting is more tedious,but you end up with a nice thick coat on everything including your hands.....:p

It is pretty thick,will need to be thinned if you want to spray it on.It will stop existing rust from growing as it will seal it.I would try to get rid of the existing rust and then paint and coat with tectyl.

Comes in 4l tins or an expensive spray can.

Google will provide more info on it.

[Loubrey]

Thanks Lou, where can one buy this Tactyl 506?
Is it a liquid, thick oil, gel? ie how viscous is it?
Can it be sprayed?
Will it stop existing rust?

cheers Gerald

Hi Didge,

Small typo, its Tectyl 506 with an "e" and its sold by BCF, Autobahn (as per Scarry's post) and Auto one. The 400ml spray can is around $12.00 a pop which is in my mind very expensive, but works very well for localised spots and patches. The coverage is pretty good as well and I'm still on tin one of the 4 I bought.

I've not found a local supplier (WA) that does the 4 liter, but I'll keep looking as I would like to to a UK WAXOIL style full cavity spray on my chassis.

It dries to an amber coloured layer that looks a bit like tree sap/glue and it appears to be doing the job. They do advise that you use a rust converter first to halt the rust before applying the rust inhibitor.

Fish oil does about the same, but I grew up inland and I honestly can't be dealing with the smell...

Cheers,

Lou

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Blackwoods has a 4L and 20L, but I don't remember if you need an ABN to buy from them.

https://www.blackwoods.com.au/search/rust-prevention-valvoline/307821676

[Didge]

Thanks scarry, Loubrey and featherweight,
I'll check out autobarn but won't be buying a spraycan at those prices. The fishoil is supposed to be odourless and only has a light smell for a about a week but it tends to stay tacky and collect dust. A panel beater told me to our used sump oil into the bottom of the doors so it finds its way into every crevice and just let it seep out and that'll stop further rusting in the bottom of doors, etc.
I saw an interesting video on youtube where some USA company is making fibreglass defender doors. They test it with a hammer and it looks pretty damn tough.
Thanks again guys
cheers Gerald