I've been thinking about this rust problem with early X's. There is a product called counter act. It is a electronic device that applies a slight electric charge to the body of the car and is guaranteed to prevent rust. I had one on the 79 Mercedes Benz SLC I once owned. It was rust free when I got it and when I sold it 3 years later, it was rust free. I had the counteract on it for two and half years and the car was outdoors all the time I had it. Two years is really not a great measure of time, especially for a Benz as their cars get plenty of rust protection during the build process. But if you go to counter act's website, www.counteract.com, I think, there are a lot of testimonials how great the product is. It is a bit pricey and a bit of a chore to install as you have to mount the electrics near the battery then attach two stick on pads from the electrics, one to the front of the car and one in the rear, usually inside the trunk. It does draw a current 24/7 so if your battery is not tip top there could be a problem. I thought I'd pass this on to you all as information.

 

I have them on my vehicles. Does it work? You can't tell for sure, but my 03 X Type had only a little surface rust on the sills. I bought the car used and installed the system about 4 years ago so I'm not sure whether the rust was already there. Canadian Tire (Canada's PEP Boys) gives a 5 year rust warranty when they install it. How it's supposed to work does make sense (I'm an engineer). It's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than replacing the sills.

There is no problem with the battery because it shuts off at around 12 volts. If you don't drive your car often it won't give you protection unless you trickle charge the battery.

 

There was a company thast used to sell a "rust evader" 20 years ago. I believe they are out of business. I have seen these things around for years, and they seem to come and go. I wouldn't put any great faith in them. I believe it is a bit like taking vitamins for curing cancer. It probably won't hurt you any, but you better get the chemo....

 

Chopper presents a commonly held view. Here are some others with experience with the Counteract (Product Review tab).

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

 

I received a email from couteract yesterday. Out of the blue. They are offering one for 1/2 on a special promotion, I am going to pass as I had quite a time getting the one on the benz working. Had something to do with the battery, don't remember exactly what, but the customer service people at the time told me they had this problem before with Benz batteries.

 

Are you sure it's only surface rust and not coming from the inside out? I hope you are right that it is only on the surface, but I've seen several including my own that had a bubble on the surface that you could easily push a screwdriver through the whole way.

Might just be the tip of the iceberg. I hope not!!

 

You conveniently forgot the next sentence of my post. And what are you saying...these cars rust in a structural area so just do nothing about it and let them rust. I'd rather try to protect my car than buy a bigger screwdriver.

 

What the h*ll are you talking about?

I said nothing of the sort, I was just pointing out, in an effort to be helpful based on my experience and that of some others, that there can be rust under the surface of the paint.

I parsed your post only get to the point I was discussing. I made no comment on the effectiveness of the system you are using to fight the rust. I hope it works great for you.

What's up with the attitude man? I was trying to be helpful and you go on the defensive about a comment I didn't even make, or imply for that matter.

 

There is nothing wrong with screwdriver but it can scratch your paint if you use it recklessly ,I see Tony is trying to help him out
So, group hug guys

 

It is very rare for late models cars to rust unless they have had years or salt exposure or there was a body repair that violated the factory corrosion inhibitor.

If there are areas of concern I recommend using this product to either protect or stop any further rust.
http://www.fluid-film.com
You can buy a 16 oz. spray can for around $10

If you drive in an area known for rusting cars then Bi-annual rust maintenance should be performed anyway. This includes looking for rust and buildup of dirt everywhere under the car, fender wells (yes remove them to check behind them). When found it should be cleaned and if needed apply some if this material.

As far as something working like mentioned in the original post, I would assume if it worked at all it would be installed in new cars by the manufacturer.

 

Chris X

To be clear, what I object to is misquoting me to take the thread off-topic and your personal attacks in your second post. This thread was about the Counteract system and I was briefly summarizing my experience with that system. Diverting the thread to the theory of finding rust is not the issue here and I won't help you do it. In a way it’s like your camouflaged use of h*ll, you can say you didn’t say it but we all know what you meant.

 

Tony you are completely off base about what I was trying to say. Maybe I didn't write a very clear post, meant nothing malicious in any way. Just trying to give a heads up that sometimes rust on the surface is actually deeper than that. Nothing more.

I edited my original post to quote your entire post, since parsing it seemed to be the source of your irritation.

I don't know how we got to this point, apparently we have divergent personalities and I'll leave it at that.

Good luck with your X.

 

Listen folks I didn't want to start any bad feelings. I was just trying to get input on the counteract. Lets not get into peeing match over who wrote what to who and who answered what to who.

All you need is love, all you need love, love is all you need.

 

Thanks for all of the input, I am about to install the 'counteract' device on my 87 xj6, my main concern was how it will effect the electrics of the car, I have done some research and learned that the new Volvos' do have the device installed from the factory. I will continue with old world approach as well...messy oil spray etc. better safe than sorry. The car lives in Toronto Canada where salted roads are a winter standard. I will try to keep everyone posted on the effectiveness of the counteract device and again, please !, if anyone suspects or knows of any problems occuring to the existing electrics of the car, let me know.

 

I've had a Counteract on my 03 X Type for 5 years and my 10 Volvo C30 for 1.5 years. I had one on a 96 XJ6 I sold to a friend. All cars work fine with no problems noted. I do notice that the brake discs on my X Type stay bright and shiny instead of surface rusting very quickly. No problems at all so far (except for the critics).

 

I've had my counteract installed for over 6 months and have had no issues with the cars electrics. The counteract installs to the battery, both positive and negative leads, so there is no splicing into the cars electrics. The only wire I had to add was a splice for the rear pad which is mounted in the trunk and the other pad under the hood (bonnet). The pad under the hood I put some silicone around the edges so it wouldn't work loose, as you know they are stick on and under the hood there is moisture heat etc with I was concerned would damage the glue on the pad. Also, if the battery drops below 12.5 V the counteract will shut itself off until the battery is up to charge again.