# Drove through a saltwater marsh.....



## Joel

Went down to Portsmouth Island over Memorial Day and drove through a nasty 100yd stretch through the marsh to get to the old village. Got the 4-runner inspected yesterday and they guy promptly asked if I had been "driving through the surf" when he pulled off my wheel. He then proceeds to say how I should flush the brake drums and how when I need new brakes it's going to be real expensive. What are your guys' thoughts? Only has 121,xxx miles and it's my daily driver. Thanks in advance!


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## kraus

Ask him why it will be real expensive and post his answer.


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## DERFM

kraus said:


> Ask him why it will be real expensive and post his answer.


well i can tell ya why mine was 'real expensive'
everything was rusted together ...
took a lot longer replacing everything ...


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## dialout

Treat the buggy like your fishing gear and wash it with fresh water. The salt will just speed up and increase the amount of rust. The sand is a great abrasive obviously, and will chew threw whatever moving parts it gets between.


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## Sandcrab

Just had my drums replaced this year on my 2006 Silverado with 120k miles on it. Serviceman asked if I drive on the beach (AI and DE) as they were so rusted (along with my truck cap piston rods that open it). The surf air will eventually get everything!

Sandcrab


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## hunter1

Now, for the big question. Was it legal to drive trough the salt marsh. Here in Delaware it's a ticket offence. Just want to know. I would wash my truck at a local car wash after leaving the beach, spray the under carrage, and i would still find a little rust. dialout's right wash it.


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## 1BadF350

Pro tip 1: Don't drive through a saltwater marsh in your daily driver.
Pro tip 2: If you feel you must drive through a saltwater marsh in your daily driver, see Pro tip 1.

 Just messin with ya Joel. Thats gotta suck.


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## lil red jeep

Maybe not for everyone, but when I come off the beach and get into my driveway, after I've unloaded all I want out of my Grand Cherokee, I place one or two oscillating sprinklers under my jeep and turn on the hose. Its deep well water, about 135 ft, so it doesn't leave rust stains on my driveway and such, but with two sprinklers clacking away under my jeep of about an hour I figure they will find more salt and sand than I could if I sprayed manually.


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## John Smith_inFL

Joel, I lived in Nicholas County, WV for 3 years and I was so paranoid over the salt on the roads
that I went through the car wash 2 to 3 times a week. Paying particular attention to the under carriage.
This was in my Big Dodge Van and that I have had for 15 years and due to the frequent washing, there is zero rust.
*IMO*, ocean salt damage is far more aggressive than road salt in the Northern States due to the fact that 
BEACH SAND gets into every crack and crevice that it is impossible to wash out. What may be your daily driver now,
will soon be your dedicated Beach Buggy. *Heed the advice of all of the above.*
I have a '96 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 now and when I do go to the beach (in Florida), I stay far from the water and avoid deep sand
as much as possible. I know this sounds like a Sissy Fisherman, but, I want my Jeep to last another 20 years.
TIGHT LINES and HAVE FUN !!!


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## Joel

Thanks guys, I've heard of the sprinkler idea, going to give that a go!!


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## Joel

Have you all heard of (or tried) spraying the undercarriage with off-road diesel or used motor oil? I'm sure it would be a MESS but seems like a good idea if you spent A LOT of time on the beach.


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## John Smith_inFL

DialOut said - - - *"The sand is a great abrasive obviously, and will chew threw whatever moving parts it gets between". *

common sense, when you analyze it, the oil would only provide a magnet that would only attract sand and grit
and hold them in the tiny pockets and seams of the body only to magnify the aggressive deterioration and never let it go.
Leaving the body and under carriage clean would be much easier to at least neutralize the salt or remove it completely.
and the water wash would remove as much sand and grit as possible.

If you look closely at most of the 4x4 fishing wagons of the guys that LIVE in the OBX, or _any_ beach town with open access to
the beaches with trucks for surf fishing, they are ridden with cancerous rust.
once it starts, it is done for. That is why they have a daily driver that stays HOME and a beach buggy that they can sacrifice
to the Beach Gods.
My first experience was when I was stationed in Norfolk, VA with the Navy. Bought a brand new 1977 Chevy K5 Blazer. Put on big sand tires
and headed to the OBX . . . often, every weekend if time permitted. Washed it down, inside and out with water hose every time when I got home.
Even with careful washing, two years later, the lower panels started rusting out all the way around. I drove at the waters edge as well as deep soft sand.
Very expensive lesson learned.

Again, this is strictly my own personal Dos Centavos.


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## Dan Voss

The last time I did rear brakes on my XJ I had to use a 16 ton hydraulic puller to get the drum off. I was seriously concerned that I was going to shatter the drum. I was down from top to bottom after every trip out and keep up on all the lube points but the salt and sand still gets into everything. Just life on the beach.


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## 1BadF350

Joel said:


> Have you all heard of (or tried) spraying the undercarriage with off-road diesel or used motor oil? I'm sure it would be a MESS but seems like a good idea if you spent A LOT of time on the beach.


That doesn't sound like a good idea at all.


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## dialout

Yea oil is a bad idea, look at a bike chain that uses oil or grease instead of a dry lube. ...like a bunch of guys say it's inevitable your going to have problems with your beach buggy. I've had the steel wheels so rusted( gaulded I think is the term for 2 differt metals ?) onto the hubs of my truck I actually put 2x4's down loosened the lugs and ran over the boards...it took 2 days of soaking with penatrating oil to just get the wheels off....my jeep , which is on the beach the most, is currently sitting in my driveway with the rear quarters and dog legs rusted out, and needing brake and exhaust work all due to rust. ......as the now popular tattoo says "salt life"


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## kraus

I bought my CJ new off the lot in '74. I had it undercoated. It has been driven and towed to the obx and senc so many times I couldn't begin to count them. The tub has rusted through in numerous places (floor panels gone) but I've never had trouble replacing the brakes, bearings, races, or taking out the rotors to have turned. And it has gone through salt water a time or two. But like mentioned above, avoid if possible. Helped a friend this spring with a f250 replace 4 rotors and brakes all round for under $300. The shop wanted $1100. Guessing labor is why "it will be real expensive" but I don't how it is justified. I have problems tearing reels down for maintenance but drum or disc brakes are just about a two beer job. Bet you can find a youtube video that will walk you through it.
The CJ5 is still purring. Good compression on all eight cyl. and never been overhauled. It's hard on water pumps though.


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## dialout

That's a beast...the old 70's undercoating and rustproofing was good stuff.


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## John Smith_inFL

awesome Jeep !!
my first trip to the OBX was in '74 in and old beat up f150 that had the outside locking warren hubs that you had to use Vice Grips on.
that is when I saw the old "Beach Buggies" that were dedicated fishing machines and the daily drivers stayed in the garage.

so, the general consensus on the oil coating is . . . . noooooooooooooooooooooo DON'T DO IT


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## IPNURWATER

Used to do a lot of mudding in my days and lots of work on inboard outboard boat motors , I used to clear coat everything with rustoluem paint. ... Helps keep rust off better then grease or oil and is cheap and easy to use .. Helps with keeping salt off the actually Parts. There's also 656 or 565 can't remember but its a oil base environmental friendly spray that helps keep salt and rust build up away made for boats engines..


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## HStew

what little red jeep said ,and what you do that for anyway. go to ockracoke and take the shuttle to portsmouth village.


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## cthulhu

Salt can really mess your vehicle up. I grew up in So Cal, minutes from a beach, back in the days that you could actually take your truck out to the beach in some places to unload firewood, or whatever else. (I don't even think you can have a campfire on the beaches there anymore). We also spent a lot of time out on Rosarito and Ensanada beaches south of the border. It does not take a lot of seawater trips to really do a number on your vehicle. If you can split costs and maintenance of a beach buggy with some buddies, it will be a better plan. We ended up using an old Baja bug most of the time, and that sucker got nasty. It was just really easy to work on.


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## ez2cdave

Joel said:


> Thanks guys, I've heard of the sprinkler idea, going to give that a go!!


I use this style of sprinkler . . . Works great !


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## GaryM

BarefootJohnny said:


> awesome Jeep !!
> my first trip to the OBX was in '74 in and old beat up f150 that had the outside locking warren hubs that you had to use Vice Grips on.
> that is when I saw the old "Beach Buggies" that were dedicated fishing machines and the daily drivers stayed in the garage.
> 
> so, the general consensus on the oil coating is . . . . noooooooooooooooooooooo DON'T DO IT


I just have to chime in on this thread. Take it from someone who deals with harsh, salty roads for 4-5 months a year, a Vermont Yankee, oil undercoating is the way to go. In fact, the service is offered and performed at garages all over Northern New England. The vehicles are put up on a lift and the entire undercarriage is sprayed. In the rockers, in the wheel wells, every nook and cranny, all moving parts. You get extra points if you have a dusty dirt road to drive on after the oil is applied, which around here is just about everywhere. But don't use motor oil. USE BAR AND CHAIN OIL! If I was in your guys location running the beaches, oil undercoating is the first thing I would do.


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