General: corrosion caused by under-use

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Sun 27 Feb 2005 08:12
General: corrosion caused by under-use - Roger Jones
Another technical insight into what happens when cars are under-used, this one being from

www.mb-w126-club.de/

"Cars that have been stored for a long time or that have driven many short stretches are prone of having defective or leaking exhaust systems or flanges. This is caused by the residue of sulphur, one of the ingredients of fuel. In every engine and exhaust system that is left to cool down, condensation will form. This condensation disappears when the engine is in use again. If the engine does not get hot enough to remove the condensation, the sulphur residue will chemically react with the condensation water to form an acid. This acid will corrode the exhaust system."
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 20:18
General: corrosion caused by under-use - Aprilia
Oh yes, this is a very well-known one.

Donkey's year ago when exhaust systems were a lot less durable than nowadays my grandfather used to drill a very small hole at the lowest point in each silencer box on his customers' cars - this allowed the corrosive liquid to drain out. You can plug it with a self-tapper come MoT time.
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 22:14
General: corrosion caused by under-use - joe mack
You could also lag your exhaust to keep it hot. Try a google for exhaust lagging. Seems to be just glass fibre insulation or fabric.
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Mon 28 Feb 2005 08:32
General: corrosion caused by under-use - madf
Does not really apply in my experience to diesels : much less likely to get exhaust corrosion...SWMBO's Peugeot 106 1.4 diesel has original backbox: average mileage<4k per year...

madf


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Mon 28 Feb 2005 08:48
General: corrosion caused by under-use - Cliff Pope
Brake disks, drums, calipers, brake pistons, clutch,fuel systems, also can corrode if the car stands too long.
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