Are all salt exposed machines doomed to rust?

In that picture, I see rust on the frame. Look at the frame on your tractor and see how well it was painted at the factory. You might want to touch up the paint if it looks thin or even oil spray it.

That said, your tractor isn't going to see the salt/brine like your vehicles do on the New York roads.

I noticed while shopping that all of the local machines that had been used for snow removal had it to some extent even at the JD dealers. You find the same thing when you open the hood of any local dealers used car lots. All of my cars and the 595 came from the south.

I'm curious of the groups thinking though on if washing every week or two in the winter is enough or if I should do something like the oil spray suggested above or some paint solution. I live on a pretty good hill that gets copious amounts of salt and solution applied to it.

Dang, that is some serious rust on that X738. One can only imagine what the various fasteners and components underneath look like.

Most rust corrosion can be eliminated simply by rinsing the equipment off after being exposed to salt and by touching up all the places where bare metal is showing. Granted, rinsing things off in the dead of winter can be a problem.

I only do fast/easy methods, for rust prevention.Exterior and fender wells get a thin linseed oil wipe down ,with a rag.Under tractor and deck, I use W-D spray bottle filled with new motor oil/diesel mix.No salt on my property,so don't need to hose down stuff

I brush on used motor oil on the underside of my mower deck once cleaned at seasons end, I also do it mid season.

Think about a car that leaks oil, engine is a liability but the frame is in great shape.

Spray WD40 on it or diluted used motor oil in a spray bottle.

CCMoe

CCMoe said:

I brush on used motor oil on the underside of my mower deck once cleaned at seasons end, I also do it mid season.

Think about a car that leaks oil, engine is a liability but the frame is in great shape.

Spray WD40 on it or diluted used motor oil in a spray bottle.

CCMoe

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All my mower decks undersides get scraped and sprayed with oil end of every season.
Our car and truck get sprayed too.

DKvince said:

All my mower decks undersides get scraped and sprayed with oil end of every season.
Our car and truck get sprayed too.

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I was watching one of those fix up your truck shows on Saturday morning and they was demonstrating a spray on oil coating for the underside of your truck. It only makes sense.

CCMoe

CCMoe said:

I brush on used motor oil on the underside of my mower deck once cleaned at seasons end, I also do it mid season.

Think about a car that leaks oil, engine is a liability but the frame is in great shape.

Spray WD40 on it or diluted used motor oil in a spray bottle.

CCMoe

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The machine in the OP's post has been "ridden hard and put away wet". It also appears the machine has been left outside for most of it's life based on the rust around the seat bolts and anything else water could get to. I live outside of Boston and had a GT18 for over 30 years that didn't have that much rust on it. So in the end it will depend on how much care you give your machine, not how much salt the city uses.

Used motor oil in a spray bottle or WD-40 works good. or you could do what many of us in VN did to our weapons to prevent rust. Use some automatic transmission fluid. ATF seems to cling to everything and always leaves a thin layer on whatever surface you put it on.

I use a lawn sprinkler under all my cars , trucks and tractor equipment. Just a cheap oscillating thing with fresh water from my well.....no rust. Three times a year, use for my mower decks too. Easy.

Arml46$ said:

I use a lawn sprinkler under all my cars , trucks and tractor equipment. Just a cheap oscillating thing with fresh water from my well.....no rust. Three times a year, use for my mower decks too. Easy.

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Neat trick.

oldgibsonguy said:

The machine in the OP's post has been "ridden hard and put away wet". It also appears the machine has been left outside for most of it's life based on the rust around the seat bolts and anything else water could get to. I live outside of Boston and had a GT18 for over 30 years that didn't have that much rust on it. So in the end it will depend on how much care you give your machine, not how much salt the city uses.

Used motor oil in a spray bottle or WD-40 works good. or you could do what many of us in VN did to our weapons to prevent rust. Use some automatic transmission fluid. ATF seems to cling to everything and always leaves a thin layer on whatever surface you put it on.

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ATF, I like that idea also.

CCMoe

Arml46$ said:

I use a lawn sprinkler under all my cars , trucks and tractor equipment. Just a cheap oscillating thing with fresh water from my well.....no rust. Three times a year, use for my mower decks too. Easy.

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I put my sprinkler on a stick. Works well for underbelly wash several times throughout salt season... Hard to tell in this picture, but I think there's about 7' of schedule 40 pipe in my setup.

In the summer I use a hose and spray nozzle, take my lab and go crazy. She'll do anything to get into water and snow. She also has to have her own little pool, so every year we go out and buy a new one for her. She seems to think she can dig out the water to get to the bottom. Funny as **** to watch her.

Sevenhills1952 said:

Man!
I want to see you on the TV show "Shark Tank".

Sent from my Bell Rotary

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Thanks, but please don't give me too much credit. It's a highly unoriginal idea. They're available from several retailers and manufacturers, but I decided to make my own in this fashion. The stick is on a quick disconnect and uses the sprayer nozzle for a valve, so I can easily pop it off and use the sprayer to rinse down the rest of the car. I also wanted the fan spray because it doesn't just go straight up, like some versions I've seen. I wanted to be have better odds to splash some water on the sides of the frame and all other places any salt might get to. It definitely isn't perfect. It isn't as high powered as a commercial car wash, and I'm sure it doesn't near deliver the volume of water. Nor will it get the top of the frame with any predictability. Better than nothing though.

Love the underbody sprayers. I use an electric pressure washer and one of those expanding hoses so it is easy to get the water out of it and not an extra motor to maintain. While I get the sentiments around not being how much salt it is exposed to but the amount of care it gets, there is no doubt in my mind that exposure makes a difference. On my road, the salt/solution that comes off the wings of the plow truck easily hits 20' up my driveway. Without that, my washing frequency would arguably be excessive.

I guess what I'm getting at is the 595 is a long term investment for me and I'm not opposed to painting the underside to protect it if that is what it is going to take. I'd rather not have to do a restoration some day for something I could have gotten in front of.