I've only had my FT Ultimate suspension on my '08 for about 6 weeks and the chrome heim joints are rusting pretty bad since my house is on the beach. I sprayed them with WD40 but wondered if there is something better to protect them. I'm shocked as the chrome on the front passenger lower control arm joint is pretty much gone and I'm wondering how this will effect performance in the near future. I do drive on the sand from time to time but I've never gone anywhere near the wet sand let alone salt water and I try to hose down the under carriage fairly often. The arms themselves are holding up pretty good with virtually no rust although I can't say the same about the stock Jeep components. I guess it's just comes with having the ocean in your backyard. As soon as my broken wrist heals I'm going to work on painting some protective coating on the axles and frame.

Thanks!

 

I think that is one of the prices you pay for living on the beach. Even though you may not be driving in wet sand, the beach elements are still there! The beach is hard on everything!

BTW I've also got a bad wrist/hand, I had surgery 7 weeks ago and have a second one scheduled for this Wed. I can't wait to get my life back to normal, being broken sucks.

 

The salty damp air is enough to rust anything. Your best bet is to do as much maintenance as possible, especially after driving on the sand. Hose down your undercarriage, keep all the joints greased, etc. That salt water is brutal. I used to hose down and WD 40 my whole engine on my Jetski and that suff would still get to stainless parts, powder coated parts etc. I am sure you have more rust than just your heim joints!

Good Luck!

 

I live in the rust belt, I had my lift on for the full winter and barely have anything on the joints, even at that, it has nothing to do with the function of the joint,

the rest of the JK under carriage isnt so lucky.

 

So the rust shouldn't effect the performance of the joint over time? If not that's good news as I could care less how it looks I just don't want it scraping or creaking more than it already does.

So do you guys think WD40 is sufficient or is their something better? What about chain lube for my motocross bikes? Also, there are some garages here that offer a undercarriage treatment that is supposed to protect it from the salt in the air. It's some sort of oil (a friend said it's like transmission fluid or something similar but I haven't confirmed yet what it is) that is supposed to cover all things metal so that the salt doesn't eat it as fast and is supposed to last 3-6 months between treatments. It's cheap but I'm just curious if you guys see anything potentially harmful about it. Evidently they spray it so good that you have to park the vehicle in the street for a few hours until all of the excess drips off.