I was replacing the stabilizer links (one rusted through at the bottom of the pin that connects to the lower control arm) and I couldn't notice that my control arms are severely rusted. They don't seem to have any structural damage (yet) but the rust and paint are flaking off. I know that I should probably replace them, but would a good wire brushing and good paint (suggestions?) slow down the corrosion process?

I have used the truck on the beach in North Carolina but that has been several years ago. I live in Virginia, so there is some use of salt in the winter. I guess these factors have contributed to the rusting problem.

Is this a normal occurrence for a 1994 T100, 240,000 miles? The only thing that I have learned recently is to spray down any bolt or nut with BP Blaster about an hour before I turn anything. Because of being in a hurry, I now have a nice set of extraction and thread renewal tools.

TIA

I have some surface rust and had paint missing from mine too, but there was no layering of the rust and it did not cover the whole suspension arms. It was mostly on the welds. I bead blasted and painted one side, and used spray on "dupli color rust fix" on the other, as a test to see how well the latter works.

You might want to try "kroil" from kanolabs.com. When I bought mine they had a "sample" deal going on where you can buy a single container of one product and get another item free. The one to get is the tall can of "aero kroil." The PB blaster is still good for washing oily parts but after trying this stuff I will never use the blaster on a fastener again.

I painted my entire frame with rustoleum rust reformer spray paint. It has held up really well for over a year now.

Kroil? Several (many) years ago one of my good friends gave me two quarts of Kroil (in Mason jars no less). He met / befriended one of the inventors who worked for either NASA or Boeing. It would take the rust off of an old battleship. It had a great osmosis capability and would really penetrate. I didn't realize that it was an actual product. Thanks for the heads up.

Most of the flaking is around the weld joints and under the lower control arms. I'll clean them up the best I can and use the "dupli color rust fix" in the rattle cans. I had used it before on some wrought iron outdoor furniture and it has held up very well.

I want to thank everyone with their suggestions. I appreciate it.

I need to get a case of the Kroil, especially with this truck.

Mark

POR-15 is the way to go. Expensive but works. I even painted some on my new exhaust pipe where the hanger is welded on at the back and so far no rust in sight.

A very good effective low tech paint is Rustoleum rusty metal primer. Get it in the brush can (not the spray can, that's a different forumulation). Mix it roughly 50/50 with acetone and brush it on. It soaks in very well this way, and works nearly as well as the much more expensive products. Top coat it if you wish.

The best way to deal with rusted control arms is to torch them off and do a SAS <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />