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View Full Version : Rust on driveshaft


Rich Z
12-07-2016, 10:24 PM
I had the Jeep up on the lift the other day, and while it was up there I did an inspection to see how everything was holding up. One thing that was glaringly obvious was that the front driveshaft was getting an unhealthy looking coating of rust on it.

http://www.usajeepin.com/pics/driveshaft_front_01.jpg

Just nothing at all about rust makes it attractive in my eyes.

I had already coated it with a liberal coating of Fluid Film, but to be honest, I really wasn't crazy about that stuff. I felt that I might as well just be coating metal parts with grease or gear oil, and after a while, after picking up dirt and dust from driving, it would just turn out looking like an awful mess underneath the vehicle. Yeah, maybe Fluid Film is just fine for spraying into areas where you can't normally reach to prevent rust, but in my opinion, coating suspension and drivetrain parts that you can get to easy enough to REPAIR rust, just didn't seem to be the best route to take.

So I ordered some glossy black POR (Paint Over Rust) from Summit Racing, and after taking a stainless steel brush to the driveshaft surface areas, then cleaning thoroughly with Simple Green, I put two coats of POR paint on the driveshaft to hopefully seal it off against any rust encroachment.

http://www.usajeepin.com/pics/driveshaft_front_02.jpg

Seems to have put a very nice glossy black finish on the driveshaft, so it turned out well. Hopefully it will hold up over time.

The other driveshafts along the drivetrain also had some slight rust on them, so I may very well be painting them as well. Honestly, since all of the suspension parts are covered with black paint underneath the Jeep, I can't help but wonder why ALL of the ferrous metal parts weren't painted as well. It can't be that big of a deal to have had them painted before putting the drivetrain together during assembly, I would imagine.