Undersealing Gen 2?

[arthurj]

When I imported my car I asked to have it undersealed by the guy doing the IVA, fog and speedo conversion. He didn’t do it, claiming that cars younger than 10 years don’t need it. I wasn’t convinced by this at the time, but I’ve just asked someone else if they would do it and they said that Japan imports are usually in good condition when they get here so they don’t need it.

 

I thought undersealing was a standard practice for imports. Has something changed in the last 10 years that makes it not worth it?

it’s not the condition of the car now I’m worried about, it’s the condition it’ll be in after a few months of living near the coast and a winter’s worth of salty roads.

 

[Rojie]

2 hours ago, arthurj said:

When I imported my car I asked to have it undersealed by the guy doing the IVA, fog and speedo conversion. He didn’t do it, claiming that cars younger than 10 years don’t need it. I wasn’t convinced by this at the time, but I’ve just asked someone else if they would do it and they said that Japan imports are usually in good condition when they get here so they don’t need it.

 

I thought undersealing was a standard practice for imports. Has something changed in the last 10 years that makes it not worth it?

it’s not the condition of the car now I’m worried about, it’s the condition it’ll be in after a few months of living near the coast and a winter’s worth of salty roads.

 

 

I guess the undersealing issue depends on

 

How long you intend to keep the vehicle, and 

Whether you use it during the winter when the roads are salted.

 

What cost peace of mind, although even undersealing doesn't provide any guarantee.

 

I live near the coast and experience very salty raining during the winter south westerlies.

[ThuMentaliss]

 3 spray cans of halfords underseal gel allowed me to do it myself with the help of a jack and two axle stands and yes the sea is 120 yards away from our back garden😁

[Daisuki_JDM]

Nothing has changed, it needs to keep it in good shape. We do it on all ours in either clear or black (customers choice) on all cars. 

 

He is probably referring to the rubbish that comes over that is rusty and 'needs' underseal to hide the rust!

[arthurj]

Thanks all, that’s what I thought. Now I need to find someone in the North East who will do it. Not sure I’m up to doing it myself, that kind of messy job is guaranteed to drive me up the wall.

[drahpla]

If you care about the car it's an absolute essential. Japan does not salt their roads (they use antifreeze spray) and consequently they don't need to underseal their cars.

[arthurj]

From chatting to some other people I’ve found out that Toyota improved their galvanising process sometime before 2010, so it’s not as bad as it was, however they still don’t protect from corrosion in the same way that, say, Volkswagen do.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on Lanoguard? That looks like the level I can handle doing myself, even if I have to do it once or twice a year. I’ve heard everything from “I’m a farmer and it’s the only thing I trust” right down to “snake oil, absolute con”.

[Chris.ac]

Here's a datasheet on the anti-corrosion measures in place on 2008 onwards:

m_bo_0012.pdf

[arthurj]

This is brilliant, thanks Chris.

[arthurj]

So I had a go at applying Lanoguard today. Jacked up the front on to a pair of axle stands - bricks under the wheels as backup - and I just had enough room underneath to slide around on a piece of cardboard.

 

It was easier than I thought. Spent about 45 minutes applying the grease to bolts, weld seams, and especially the box ends, which were starting to corrode but not flaking yet. Then another 30 minutes spraying the underside, and finally another 20 minutes using the long nozzle to get in all the holes.

 

Hopefully this stuff is as good as the hype. The kit I bought was about £90 and I used just over half. You’re supposed to apply it every year or so. Waxoyl works out cheaper if you do it yourself but this wasn’t very messy, and it’s much cheaper than any quotes I had to have undersealing done for me. I do smell like a sheep now though