Sand blast, and uncercoat. Its just the subframe. If you live where it snows alot, I recommend taking off the entire suspension + subframes and undercoat the entire under carriage. I hate rust. I hate it so much that my car is undercoated and I don't drive it in the rain at all during the winter, but thats a little extreme

 

That would be ideal, but if i owned a Buick or a Ford I would expect to have to do that. Not for a 30k car. I know its a fact of life for winters and salt=rust. And we make fun of Saturn for everything being made of plastic.

 

This is one of the reasons my car will be put away in October, and won't come out again until April/May.

 

Must be nice! Us daily drivers should have our own club...."The Rust Buckets?"

 

On a related topic, weren't the first Evos to come to the States having problems with rust?

I seem to remember reading a couple of years ago that a lot of the '03 Evos were having issues with rust on some of the lower body panels.

 

The heavy metal parts of the subframe and suspension come painted black. This paint is used to make the underside of your new Evo look nice but offers little protection against rust. Rock strikes and just time seem to remove this paint. These parts are also thick enough that they are not going to rust out during the normal life of your car.

The thin metal parts of the body are a different matter. In recent years the rust protection applied to the body of vehicels is much improved. In some cases this protection is so good that rust never occurs during the normal life of the vehicle. However, every vehicle is different. Also the environment in which your automobile lives may differ from the norm.

Anyway, the amount of rust that is allowable on the body is zero. When you encounter rust on the body it needs to be repaired/protected and this needs to be done immediately or the metal is damaged and the repair becomes expensive and the amount of repair required may become extensive.

I drive my car through Nebraska winters and the subframe parts on my car are becoming rusty. However, I see no rust on the body.

 

I love Oregon, no rust Well except for the spots on the body where all the paint is chipping

 

damn im from nyc with the cold winters and i drive an 03 too..i hope mind doesnt turn out like that.

 

So just out of curiocity, are you saying that your "winterized" 03 has no underbody rust at all?

 

If I do get an evo ix. where can I get some more of that under coating to protect the under body and the frame from rusting. I'm talking about that black stuff that comes underneath the car that mitsu puts in. Where can I get that done. sorry but I'm the paranoid type.

 

If you live in the rust belt I'd recommend Consel Clear M3. I need to buy some, I'm down to the dregs of a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff I bought some years back. This is an oil type product you spray on and it will last, depending on how much splash hits a particular spot, from one to many years. Where this stuff is on the metal there will be no rust. I had a rear quarter on a '78 TA fill with water when the drain plugged and the fender, coated with Consel, didn't rust at all.

The down side of this is that it takes some work to put it on, the exhuast and brakes need to be masked off, you need a painter's mask when spraying and there is the mess this stuff makes as it drips off of the car for a few days. Another downer is that the smallest amount available is 5 gallons. However, if you want your car to last forever and you want to drive in the winter, this is the stuff.

 

Any auto parts store sells undercoating spray. It comes in a spray can and it goes on like paint.

 

it's rusting alot around the welds. Some sports on just the plain steel but mostly around the welds....not sure if that matters

 

This is true...this rule applies in the aviation industry. For those that don't deal with harsh winters and salt roads Once in a while a hose down will be ok (I say twice a year is good enough)...For those that have to deal with the salt roads and harsh winters...Keep on top of the game....the metal used to build import cars are the crappy grades of steel...Why do you think american cars last during winters longer than imports...US has the good stuff