[Richard]

Hey all,

I'm stuck in the midwest with my pony as my only means of transportation. I've noticed some lovely rust on my Flowmaster 40 axle-back exhaust. I'm sure there's rust on other spots I just haven't checked yet as well. So my question as a guy who's new to cars is what is the most financially and labor friendly way to rid myself of this rust? Will some CLR do? If not what have you guys used and had good results with?

As a bonus question, how do I go about cleaning and oiling my Steeda aftermarket CAI filter? I'm not very mechanically inclined so any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks guys. And of course to STLWAGON, I'll be timing your response to this message. :bigthumbsup

 

[exospawn]

Can't help you much with the rust question, other than steel wool and some elbow grease on the stainless steel parts.

The filter, you need to get a cleaning and oiling kit. It comes with a cleaner you spray on, let it work for 5-10 minutes, then rinse. Then let the filter air dry for a few hours(this is why many have 2 filters to interchange), once dry you liberally spray the oil on the filter, let it dry a bit and wipe off any excess, then reinstall.

 

[stlwagon]

Flowmasters are prone to rust. Best thing is to do is wirebrush and repaint the affected areas.

 

[burnrubber4.0]

K&N sells a recharging kit for your filter. get it at oreileys or autozone for 20-30$ i think. works great and its easy to do

 

[Richard]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I understand what you mean about flow masters not being the best choice STLWAGON, if they rust this easily every season I better start praying I get stationed somewhere in the south for my Army recruiting duties. :rockwoot:

 

[06hoss]

Be careful on re-oiling your filter...too much oil and it gets on the MAF once you start the engine..can cause problems. Make sure you let it sit around to dry out a little before reinstalling it. How long have you had your filter on there though?...the oiling should last about 50K unless you're in the desert. You have to clean it first before reoiling too. Overcleaning can wear the filter out prematurely...apparently the cleaner is a little harsh on the cotton in the filter. The K&N recharging kit that was mentioned earlier has the cleaner and the oil you need.

On the rust issue, I don't think CLR is going to be strong enough. Knock it off with some elbow grease as other guys have said. When you repaint them, make sure you use high temp paint so it lasts longer...any auto parts store will have it.
If you get rust on the tips, you can just use chrome cleaner to get the rust off and then put regular wax on after that to seal it. I didn't know that flows weren't stainless though. Another reason I'm happy with my MACs...no rust since they're stainless.

 

[WillCarson]

I have been looking at Eastwoods rust converter or something like that to spray on my differential and such. I hate seeing the bare rusty metal under my car. They used to have a product that removed rust and leaved behind like a zinc coating that i think would be good on exhaust but i cant seem to find it

 

[stlwagon]

I have been looking at Eastwoods rust converter or something like that to spray on my differential and such. I hate seeing the bare rusty metal under my car. They used to have a product that removed rust and leaved behind like a zinc coating that i think would be good on exhaust but i cant seem to find it

I wondered how rust converter would work. Should leave a nice black coating.