When i bought my truck i was screwin around under the hood and i see this little box up on the top right of my firewall and i didn't know what it was. well when i had problems with my factory 6 disc in dash i went back to ford to get it fixed and i asked them about this and they told me it was a rust inhibitor. are they actually worth a $hit??? this one on ebay seems kinda cheap, but my salesman whom i know quite well says mine wasnt cheap.





http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAND...spagenameZWDVW

 

I'm not sure, but I know on steel bridges that out Zinc plates underwater and give them a small current so that the replaceable zinc will corrode and not the steel. It may be something similar to that.

 

I can't see it working. But it might. You would think if it did then everyone would have one. PLus these days vehicles are built pretty good and as long as you wash you truck every week or so and wax it atleast 3 times a year you won't have any problems for a long long time.

 

We had a long debate about this on the Bonneville web site and it does not work. Some have speculated that it slows down the rust, but it wont stop it.......

 

Lets see, I washed mine last in August I think. Wax I'd say was back in 2005.

 

ive heard of it, but a different brand...it like sends electrical signals throughout the body of the truck and magically stops/slows rust

 

yeah thats what i was told about stopping/slowing down rust with elec. current and all. who knows?

 

yea, i have it on my truck, came that way when i bought it. nothing else the paint is under warranty for the life of my truck.

 

My 2000 Explorer is Rusting Through! New trucks aren't much better than old ones, they just Cover the metal in plastic so you can't see the rust till its too late.

~HJ

 

There was an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on discovery channel where they were in a storm break(basically an giant steel wall) which is normally under water and they replace these big zinc pads every couple of years. For some reason the zinc corrodes and not the steel.

I read 3% of the worlds economy goes to rust prevention.

 

Boats in salt water use zinc anodes to prevent corrosiion of the drive... The zinc corrodes leaving the drive free from corrosion. Works pretty well but the zincs need to be replaced routinely.

 

According to dictionary.com Inhibit means to:
Chemistry. to decrease the rate of action of or stop (a chemical reaction).


I would say if all it does is slow down the rust process, which is always for the better, then it is doing what it's advertised as, and as a result, WORKS.

On the other hand, if you're worried about rust forming under neath your truck(s), take some time durring the summer and POR15 everything you can under there. Simple, relatively fast to do, maybe not so cheap, but it will last forever granted you don't smashing the under body over rocks on a regular basis. I would think $200 spent on POR15'ing the frame, under body, suspension, and inner body metal would be more than worth it instead of replacing body panels later on down the road at 100 times the cost of a little prevention now.

 

You beat me to it, its good to see that somone else has the sense to do some homework on a subject.
To "INhibit" means to slow down the process.
To 'PROhibit" means to stop it altogther. Since this device is advertised as a rust INhibitor, it will never fully prevent rust. It may slow the oxidation process, but I wouldnt use it as a primary defense against rust.

 

I always try to make a point to research something I'm going to make a point of
, just helps to keep from having debates based on gray areas that aren't explained.

 

You can prevent corrosion electronically. Now as for if these lil magic boxes work I would be pretty doubtful.

 

The boxes work on the principal in the beginning of your statement.

 

It is altogether impossible to stop metal from rusting all we can do is slow it down. My truck came with a set of these electronic rust inhibitors. What they do is send a current through the metal they are attached to which interferes with the corrosion process and slows it down. They only work on the area they are placed, a better idea is to strap on some aluminum or zinc plates to your frame. These will do the corroding because they are more anodic than steel.

 

All boats have these, not just salt water ones. However, I don't think that zinc would work the same way in this situation.

 

the best way to fight rust is to get it undercpated......what i do every fall, they do the complete underbody, hood, doors, quarter panels and stuff for $99, or you could also never drive car in wet weather.

 

Might be a little more expensive upfront than undercoating, but lasts damn near forever. (thats an assumption since no one has seen the end of forever )