Rust

[Kilometers2]

My new to me 2017 Sahara bought last month with 480 miles on it shows signs of what I take to be road use on salty roads. It was sold originally by Ural of NE and the original owner put only 277 miles on it before a friend of mine in Huntsville Alabama bought. I know for a fact it was indoors the past 3 years. Some of the bolts however are very slightly corroded and the front axle has rust around it as shown below. Is there anyway to clean this up without removing the wheel? It won't be difficult to take off and I am guessing I need to replace the bearings....

[windmill]

I've had good luck swabbing on Ospho with a Q-tip. It eliminates light rust and provides short term protection. Once cured overnight one can go over it with touch up paint or some sort of corrosion protectant like Fluid Film.

[treebone]

You are catching it early, no problem.
Other places to check are the sheet metal seams in your sidecar, especially the floor under the mats.

I treat them with a spray corrosion inhibitor, let it sit for a bit, then wipe excess with a coarse cloth.
There are several types available (amazon is a source) but this is what I use.

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This stuff smells EXACTLY like ALOX cast bullet lubricant.
Alox, if memory serves, was originally used as a corrosion inhibitor in gear oils. It was found to be a good cast bullet lube when mixed with beeswax in the late 60's.

[Ransom]

I've had good luck swabbing on Ospho with a Q-tip. It eliminates light rust and provides short term protection. Once cured overnight one can go over it with touch up paint or some sort of corrosion protectant like Fluid Film.

Agree. Depending on the location you might want to use a rust converter and primer product. Lots of them on Amazon.

[Kilometers2]

Thanks for the advice and recommendations. I was fortunate that Ural of NE applied undercoating to the entire sidecar tub. It is the gray wrap around at the base of the tub. A quick look makes me think they did the inside of each fender too.

[aduthie]

The undercoatings are applied at the factory as an option, for $600 MSRP.

[chaos2]

Probably a good idea to pull the front axle and give it a good coat of anti-sieze. Mine and other's have rusted in place and would have been impossible to remove if I had a flat on the road. I was in the comfort of my garage and it was still a heckofa challenge even with a full array of breaker bars, various nut loosener concoctions and BF hammers. (and yes, I knew the thread was backwards)

[treebone]

The undercoat is a good idea, check under the rubber mats anyway. It is a good place for moisture
to collect and not dry out. If you see rust anywhere, it is time to have a good look around to catch it early.
I had my 21 Ct undercoated and the interior of the tub coated for good measure.

[Mr Wazzock]

Plus, do check the outer seals in the hubs. Any sign of wear, a gap is formed letting water and dirt get in, then the bearings are at risk. Guess how I know! Your's shouldn't at 488 miles, but it is something to bear in mind for later – mine failed at around 12,000 miles.

Forv rust proofing, also spray ACF50 or whichever you prefer into the seam joints of the fenders – where the curved part is welded to the flat side parts (only 1 side part on sidecar) – hope that makes sense.

I put a generous amount of ACF50 on the tub and trunk floors before putting the mats back in. Seems to have worked so far.

HTH

[VWK75S]

2017s don't have dust covers?
John

[Tomcatfixer]

2017s don't have dust covers?
John

No. The switch to sealed bearings eliminated the need for bearing tensioners and dust covers.

[windmill]

2017s don't have dust covers?
John

No. The switch to sealed bearings eliminated the need for bearing tensioners and dust covers.

The dust covers came back in 2020.

[Tomcatfixer]

The dust covers came back in 2020.

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