[youngthomas]

What do you think about Krown rust proofing and drilling access holes? I looked at my KL and could not find any high point (not drainage holes) on doors and rear hatch. The hood is the exception but the sound proofing panel must be detached.

IMO, drilling holes will break the paint surface and invite rust. Please don't tell me to consult with Krown because they will assure me it is fine, I would like to hear from those who has actual experiences.

This question/discussion based on my own experience with a Mazda MPV, the doors rusted from inside out. Once you spotted it, it was too late and I don't want it to repeat.

Many owners on this forum did not think additional rust proofing is necessary because Jeep has done that from the factory. It makes sense if you trade your car in every 3-5 years and your roads are not salted.

 

[jamie1]

I would post this question in http://www.autos.ca forum. We don't need it out here in Alberta, but I know many members on that forum swear by krown.

 

[davidevo50]

They put some kind of grease on the hole before closing it with a plastic plug to prevent rust catching there... Long term wise I don't know if it's efficient or not. They use a special drill bit also that prevents burs from the drilling...
They did damage my hood gasket with their product though, make sure they protect it with a good spray of sillicone prior to the rustproofing treatment and make sure they don't overspray in that area... They did replace the gasket, but only because my vehicule was less than year old.

Happy new year!

 

[Metalbender]

Rust proofing

Aftermarket undercoat and rustproofing probably voids the perforation warranty, proceed with caution. Check with the dealer, get any "sure it's ok" in writing.

 

[youngthomas]

Thanks to all replies.

I read somewhere else about damaging bushings and gaskets and appreciate that davidevo50 for citing your own experience. I plan to spray bushings and gaskets myself with silicone before doing it.

I also read up on the warranty booklet and if I understand it correctly, Jeep only covers when rust eats through the metal sheet during warranty period. Therefore, the warranty effectively covers nothing.

 

[sanghill]

You don't need rustproofing. Manufacturers do not supply repair parts beyond 10 years of manufacture. When it biodegrades get a new vehicle. If you want it forever hermetically seal it and put it in a museum. Every vehicle I ever owned was Totaled before it rusted out.

 

[TedB]

I've had every new car I've owned in the last 45 years rust proofed, under coated, etc. and have never had a problem with rust. Maybe it is not necessary on the KL, but my '64 International Scout 4x4, which was touted to be built of galvanized steel in many areas, rusted out in 5 years. So, I've had all my new cars rust proofed since then, and have had no problems, ever.
:grin:

 

[TedB]

I should have added that I was living in Connecticut and Maine when I had the Scout, and the roads were well salted. We don't have that problem here in B.C. but, nevertheless, our T'Hawk is undercoated and rust proofed.

 

[youngthomas]

I got my Jeep rustproofed at a Krown location in Mississauga, ON. I now understand why they wanted to drill holes in our cars.

They had one person to drive the car in. Once done, he also washed the car and drove it back out so his clothing would not stain the car.

The second person did the drilling and sprayed into door panels, hoods and hatches.

Then they got the car on a hoist, the 3rd person sprayed the underside and wheel wells.

They applied lithium grease to the drilled holes and plugged them tight and clean. I would overlook if I did not know what to look for.

This process allows them to move the cars along at good rate on busy day. Someone may argue that modern cars may already have access points but they can't not stop and look for those. The process took about 45 minutes.

I did not get a lot of drips because the cold weather froze the oil a little and our Jeeps have plastic cover panels running along the body. Those must have collected a lot of oil drips.

Overall, I feel better seeing how it was done, will see how the Jeep fare in the next 5-10 years.

 

[wpgguy]

You don't need rustproofing. Manufacturers do not supply repair parts beyond 10 years of manufacture. When it biodegrades get a new vehicle. If you want it forever hermetically seal it and put it in a museum. Every vehicle I ever owned was Totaled before it rusted out.

Manufacturer's may not supply parts beyond 10 years, but there are always numerous aftermarket options available.

 

[wpgguy]

Question. I notice that rust proofing consists of filling the voids with a material that is resistant to rust, as well as the undercoating... But what about the metal lips around the doors and the hatch? What about the front lip on the hood? In my experience, the first things to start rusting are the edges of the doors, etc, places where you can't exactly rust proof. Or, do they do something I'm not aware of?

My last vehicle had rust proof foam blown into all the cavities and undercoating applied. While the extra protection did what it was supposed to do, I still had surface rust appearing in the nooks and crannies.

So, is it really worth it?

 

[chartle]

Question. I notice that rust proofing consists of filling the voids with a material that is resistant to rust, as well as the undercoating... But what about the metal lips around the doors and the hatch? What about the front lip on the hood? In my experience, the first things to start rusting are the edges of the doors, etc, places where you can't exactly rust proof. Or, do they do something I'm not aware of?

My last vehicle had rust proof foam blown into all the cavities and undercoating applied. While the extra protection did what it was supposed to do, I still had surface rust appearing in the nooks and crannies.

So, is it really worth it?

The hood is aluminum.

 

[youngthomas]

Question. I notice that rust proofing consists of filling the voids with a material that is resistant to rust, as well as the undercoating... But what about the metal lips around the doors and the hatch? What about the front lip on the hood? In my experience, the first things to start rusting are the edges of the doors, etc, places where you can't exactly rust proof. Or, do they do something I'm not aware of?

My last vehicle had rust proof foam blown into all the cavities and undercoating applied. While the extra protection did what it was supposed to do, I still had surface rust appearing in the nooks and crannies.

So, is it really worth it?

Krown uses thin oil that creeps into nooks and crannies that we don't see or reach, nothing else. They drilled access points where needed to insert a wand to inject the misty oil into the closed spaces. On each door, they drilled one high access point by the door handle and a lower one, you would see the oil seeps out the drainage holes and therefore it must get into the metal lip/edge around the doors. Included in the price was a spray can of their oil, I applied on the outside of the edges with a rag for extra protection.

The hood already has plenty of openings so they spayed liberally into those. You would see excess oil dripping onto your bumper from the front lip. The downside to this is it will take more effort to keep the engine bay clean.

I had a bad experience with my Mazda MPV, rustproofed from dealer. Rust started from inside door panels and destroyed the lower metal lips and ate through my wheel wells. They used a wax substance to seal the edges on doors and rear hatch but no protection from the inside. While the doors were bad, the hatch and sliding doors have no rust. I believe rain water penetrated into front door panels from the window seals and got into the rolled edges. IMO, Krown protection makes better sense in this regard.

They also sprayed upward when the car is on hoist, the oil should creep into gaps between body panels, front/rear bumpbers and into shock towers.

I think our Jeeps worth the protection but don't know how effective it is until years from now.

 

[UN4GTBL]

The hood is aluminum.

Correct.

However, aluminum can still corrode.

 

[wpgguy]

Krown uses thin oil that creeps into nooks and crannies that we don't see or reach, nothing else. They drilled access points where needed to insert a wand to inject the misty oil into the closed spaces. On each door, they drilled one high access point by the door handle and a lower one, you would see the oil seeps out the drainage holes and therefore it must get into the metal lip/edge around the doors. Included in the price was a spray can of their oil, I applied on the outside of the edges with a rag for extra protection.

The hood already has plenty of openings so they spayed liberally into those. You would see excess oil dripping onto your bumper from the front lip. The downside to this is it will take more effort to keep the engine bay clean.

I had a bad experience with my Mazda MPV, rustproofed from dealer. Rust started from inside door panels and destroyed the lower metal lips and ate through my wheel wells. They used a wax substance to seal the edges on doors and rear hatch but no protection from the inside. While the doors were bad, the hatch and sliding doors have no rust. I believe rain water penetrated into front door panels from the window seals and got into the rolled edges. IMO, Krown protection makes better sense in this regard.

They also sprayed upward when the car is on hoist, the oil should creep into gaps between body panels, front/rear bumpbers and into shock towers.

I think our Jeeps worth the protection but don't know how effective it is until years from now.

Thanks for the write-up! Sounds like they do quite a bit of work to get all the areas protected. But what about surface rust? On my previous vehicles, surface rust was always the first to occur, and I don't think there is any product out there that can stop this. A combination of rain, carwashes, waxing/polishing, sure would strip off any protective rust coating that may have been applied to the exterior.

The drippings you mention in the engine bay, I definitely wouldn't want to go through this, for any amount of protection. I have too much OCD over the cleanliness of my car lol.

Also, what about the crimped edges of metal around the doors, etc, and all the seams? Being crimped, the oil they insert will not be able to flow through these areas. Again, these areas are usually the first to show signs of rust. You mention they gave you a spray can to continuously apply it around the edges, but that seems like a lot of added maintenance...

I'm not all too convinced its worth it.

 

[youngthomas]

@wpgguy

I believe Krown has a different application for surface rust based on their price list but I would not bother. This may give Jeep Chrysler the excuse to wash their hands off any surface paint issue during warranty period.

Excluding issues due to external source such as stone chip, surface rusts indicated a manufacturing problem in treating the sheet metal and no rust protection will help us.

I don't want to sound like I am promoting for Krown but I have read countless pages of Krown-related postings online and there were people who had the same preference of cleanliness in the engine bay, they ended up asking the Krown guys not
to spray the hood ( then the Krown guys forgot the request).

The crimped edges on our Jeeps are very interesting, have you looked at them closely? My Mazda experience made me do this.

The horizontal edges at the bottom looked like they were double rolled then folded; the paint finish made it look like no seam at all, I was impressed. So I think we need to apply a paint protection that will shed moisture away at the same time.

The vertical edges were folded so technically moisture can still penetrate from both in and out direction so it needs a protection that seals. A protective barrier from both inside and out should work the best.

The inside of the edges can only be accessed from inside the door panel and again, we depend on the manufacturing process. If any gap there, only an oil film can form a protective barrier against moisture.

In summary, protection by oil film sounds good in theory but we will have to put up with drippings and annual application.

 

[GCWIMMER]

Glad I live in high altitude arid desert.

 

[youngthomas]

Glad I live in high altitude arid desert.

The scrunity over small details sounds trivial but it also shows Jeep has done so many right things for our KLs. I was impressed to find a nice ATF cooler in my North/Lat model; I had to go after-market on my other vehicles with routing rubber hoses, screwed clamps and non-standard mounting brackets . The specs also listed an engine oil cooler which I intend to search for when doing my own 1st oil change.

The Cherooke could have gained better market share if they got us the right transmission from the start.

 

[chartle]

The Cherooke could have gained better market share if they got us the right transmission from the start.

Pretty sure it out sold its expectations.

 

[Haroldtut]

My local autobody man showed me several parts (door panels, fenders) from fairly new vehicles that were rustproofed at the factory. Bottom line - no rustproofing material evident. I have had three new vehicles Krowned with no problems and, of course, they provide a warranty if you have a new vehicle done. I had one leased vehicle that was not Krowned and it started to rust through at age 4. I am now waiting for my new Cherokee and it will be taken by the dealer to Krown.