>> I never got the message about your jag, but I gather you had water in a
>> door. Here in VT there's a country rust preventive measure I recommend,
>> called "oil undercoating." It is simplicity itself; you spray the bottom
>> of the car with used engine oil.
>>
>> Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
>Ray, given your notorious, if somewhat understated sense of humor, I'm a
>little reluctant to fall for this one. However, my car is not. It has
>been apparently following your advice for some time now.
> ;)
And if any of you out there doubt the efficacy of this, let me say that it
appears to work. I was unintentionally involved in a test of this
rustproofing method back when I had a VW Diesel Rabbit. The car's first
engine had a little oil control problem, to the tune of a quart every 75 miles
or so. As far as I could tell, the oil was only coming from a few places,
namely past the rings, past the guides, past the front and rear oil seals, and
past every gasket in the engine. This was the only car I have ever seen where
the clutch both chattered AND slipped. But on to the story. This Rabbit had
led a hard life through twelve Illinois winters by the time I got my hands on
it, and as I looked under it for the first time I was amused to discover that
the rust in the floors, rockers, etc. started precisely where the oil slick
from the engine stopped. If it had leaked much more, the car would not have
had a rust problem, but then it couldn't have made it between interstate exits
without an oil fill-up :)
I have also been told, though I have not tried it myself, that mixing
in vacuum-cleaner dust with the oil makes it a more ideal consistency for
undercoating. YMMV.
Michael, who's suddenly having a painful flashback of what a quart of
used Diesel engine oil looks like when it's spilled on oatmeal-coloured
carpet.
mchaffee@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu
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