How to Fluid Film your truck

[ToxicFire]

Need to do this before winter. Our roads are all salt its horrible.
My neighbors 2016 with 23k miles on it is getting rust but then he dont wash it much.

 

[stenerson]

Thanks for the write up. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of the thicker woolwax I'm going to apply. I also have a gallon of a thinner product for the inner panels. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJJB6P5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Hemi395]

Thanks for the write up. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of the thicker woolwax I'm going to apply. I also have a gallon of a thinner product for the inner panels. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJJB6P5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Let us know how you like the woolwax. I'm curious if it lives up to it's reputation that it stays better than FF.

 

[chrisbh17]

Let us know how you like the woolwax. I'm curious if it lives up to it's reputation that it stays better than FF.

Curious as well, maybe its better than the Corrosion Free I use.

 

[Michigan BIGHORN]

Let's not overlook another reason all vehicles rot out quick without attention and that is thickness of metal. There is a reason that a car from the 40's, 50's, 60's and even some early 70's can sit in a bone yard for 40 years and not be rotted into the ground and that is thick a** steel. Government wasn't all concerned about fuel economy and it certainly wasn't even discussed during the buying process. One thing never heard at a dealership back in the day was a customer asking the salesman "yea it's a nice car but how many mpg's does this 1970 Oldsmobile custom cruiser vista wagon get?" Gas was cheap and Ralph Nader hadn't arrived on the scene yet. Now fast forward to today's market.... mpg's are one of the main selling points, gas costs an arm, leg and your first born child and with all the electronics weighing the vehicles down the weight had to be trimmed somewhere so that means thinner body panels and frames. I'm stating the obvious here but it all comes down to $$. An added bonus to all this government regs and consumer driven markets is the replacement factor.
I will close this with a riddle since now I am just ranting: what does a U.P. Michigan RAM and this post have in common?
Answer: all good things must come to an end.

 

[Hemi395]

Fluid Film is coming out with a black colored product in September. I probably won't coat the undercarriage with something that is black because like @U&A pointed out, it's nice to be able to see the metal through the FF. But I think for things like the suspension control arms, rear axle, and anything you can partially see it would make it look nicer[emoji106]

 

[dexter]

Fluid Film is coming out with a black colored product in September. I probably won't coat the undercarriage with something that is black because like @U&A pointed out, it's nice to be able to see the metal through the FF. But I think for things like the suspension control arms, rear axle, and anything you can partially see it would make it look nicer[emoji106]

You should hit those with flat black Rustolumn. I did that on many areas including the inside of the sheet metal.

 

[chrisbh17]

So I just got the call today that my work from home situation may become permanent.

Since I wont really be driving anywhere, I might consider changing to an every-other-year undercoating schedule.

I have noticed in the past few weeks, though, oil spots showing up on my driveway. Freaked out thinking it was the engine, trans, etc. After putting some clean cardboard under the truck overnight, it turns out its the Corrosion Free "creeping" and running down the wheel well lips and falling onto the ground. Also dripping off the frame rails and crossmembers under the truck.

Never experienced it before, the only thing I can think of is since I dont drive it much anymore, it was dripping in someone else's parking lot (work) before I brought it home.

 

[Hemi395]

So I just got the call today that my work from home situation may become permanent.

Since I wont really be driving anywhere, I might consider changing to an every-other-year undercoating schedule.

I have noticed in the past few weeks, though, oil spots showing up on my driveway. Freaked out thinking it was the engine, trans, etc. After putting some clean cardboard under the truck overnight, it turns out its the Corrosion Free "creeping" and running down the wheel well lips and falling onto the ground. Also dripping off the frame rails and crossmembers under the truck.

Never experienced it before, the only thing I can think of is since I dont drive it much anymore, it was dripping in someone else's parking lot (work) before I brought it home.

That's good news for your truck, less miles and wear/tear[emoji106]

Interesting, how long ago did you apply it? I'm not sure I've heard of any of the oil based undercoatings dripping like that after theyve been applied for a period of time...

 

[chrisbh17]

That's good news for your truck, less miles and wear/tear[emoji106]

Interesting, how long ago did you apply it? I'm not sure I've heard of any of the oil based undercoatings dripping like that after theyve been applied for a period of time...

Last October-ish. And yeah, Ive never noticed it before but Im guessing it really was still happening, just not in my driveway.

The cardboard test revealed drips in areas NOT full of normal fluids (brake, trans, etc). When I looked closer I noticed "oil marks" on the mud flaps, crossmembers, etc. The fact Im not losing oil from the engine (and no visible leaks) makes me think it has to be the undercoating. The marks are also "wide" of the center of the undercarriage, like near the frame/rocker panel/running board area.

 

[PoMansRam]

Let's not overlook another reason all vehicles rot out quick without attention and that is thickness of metal. There is a reason that a car from the 40's, 50's, 60's and even some early 70's can sit in a bone yard for 40 years and not be rotted into the ground and that is thick a** steel.

Totally agree with ya on the sturdiness of the body panels back in those days, but I am also old enough to remember cars from the late 60's through the 70s that would be rotted out beyond being salvageable in sometimes as little as 3yrs of rustbelt life.

As thin and flimsy as today's vehicles are, they hold up longer, even left in factory form living in the rust belt than way back then.

OTOH, I love using Fluid Film and Woolwax. I have used both on my 2017 Ram 1500 and other vehicles. I still don't see much evidence of it on areas that get road blasted, but it does hang in the nooks and crannies.

 

[Joe Pitz]

Great write up and great pics. I just watched a video done by Project Farm, he tests various automotive projects and compares the results.
In this video he compares various underbody coatings, does some pretty tough exposure tests. Fluid Film came out pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyWHF4NoNVk

Cheers
Joe

 

[Hemi395]

Video speaks for itself[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[John Sabatula]

I just sprayed my 2018 ram 2500, the underneath was pristine and I want to keep it that way. Took about 2 gallons crew cab long bed to do everything. I did notice that one side on the bed when I removed the wheel well liner that there was foam coming out the bedside holes. I took wire and ran into the foam to get a heavy dose of fluid film in. The other bed side was easy peasy.

Where do you get them plugs that go into the bottom of the rocker panels at?

I also painted the exhaust with high temp black and the driveshaft with enamel.

Now i got to put on my duraflap mudflaps whenever ups decides to bring. On weather delay now for some reason.

 

[roadrnnr]

Where is the best place to drill door and rocker holes? Anybody know?
What size and where and what to use for plugs?

 

[Hemi395]

I just sprayed my 2018 ram 2500, the underneath was pristine and I want to keep it that way. Took about 2 gallons crew cab long bed to do everything. I did notice that one side on the bed when I removed the wheel well liner that there was foam coming out the bedside holes. I took wire and ran into the foam to get a heavy dose of fluid film in. The other bed side was easy peasy.

Where do you get them plugs that go into the bottom of the rocker panels at?

I also painted the exhaust with high temp black and the driveshaft with enamel.

Now i got to put on my duraflap mudflaps whenever ups decides to bring. On weather delay now for some reason.

Sound like you got a good first coat, it always takes more than reapplications will. I bet you will only use about a gallon next year.

You can get those rocker plugs here:

https://parts.allmoparparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-underside-panel-plug-sold-individually-68043989aa

 

[Hemi395]

Where is the best place to drill door and rocker holes? Anybody know?
What size and where and what to use for plugs?

The bottom of the doors should have a rubber seal that you can take off which and the holes for that gives you decent access to the door bottoms. If you want to get it sprayed up higher than that, you probably can drill a hole about halfway up the side of the door by the latch. I would pull the interior panel off first to make sure you aren't going to hit anything on the other side tho....

 

[chrisbh17]

Where is the best place to drill door and rocker holes? Anybody know?
What size and where and what to use for plugs?

FWIW I never drilled holes anywhere.

For the rockers, there are 2 "ways in" from the bottom: 1 set is the holes with tape over them, where the running boards would mount. And the other set are tucked under the bottom of the rockers with (many) small rubber plugs. I pull out every other or every third plug, insert the sprayer hose, pull the trigger and "spin" the hose to get both sides of the hole I opened. The taped holes I pull back the tape and do the same thing, but in every hole since there arent many.

Doors - AFAIK the only real issue in the doors is at the bottom where the skin comes together with the frame. Easiest way to get that is to take off the lower "skirt" weatherstrip, then shoot undercoating through each of the drain holes....it will warm up and "creep" down into the crevice that usually rusts.

There are also plugs about halfway up the A and B pillar (from the factory)...I pull those plugs and spray while spinning the nozzle.

 

[Hemi395]

FWIW I never drilled holes anywhere.

For the rockers, there are 2 "ways in" from the bottom: 1 set is the holes with tape over them, where the running boards would mount. And the other set are tucked under the bottom of the rockers with (many) small rubber plugs. I pull out every other or every third plug, insert the sprayer hose, pull the trigger and "spin" the hose to get both sides of the hole I opened. The taped holes I pull back the tape and do the same thing, but in every hole since there arent many.

Doors - AFAIK the only real issue in the doors is at the bottom where the skin comes together with the frame. Easiest way to get that is to take off the lower "skirt" weatherstrip, then shoot undercoating through each of the drain holes....it will warm up and "creep" down into the crevice that usually rusts.

There are also plugs about halfway up the A and B pillar (from the factory)...I pull those plugs and spray while spinning the nozzle.

I agree, FCA put more than enough access holes in the body of these trucks to spray into[emoji106]

 

[PoMansRam]

Where is the best place to drill door and rocker holes? Anybody know?
What size and where and what to use for plugs?

Yep, as the fellas said above, there is zero need to drill holes anywhere on our Rams to apply rust proofing. All the access holes you need are there from the factory. I'm glad I skimmed through this thread again. I didn't realize the rocker panels were two separate cavities. I've only applied fluid film and woolwax through the taped over and open holes. Imma have to pull some of the bottom plugs and get some in there.

As mentioned, I prefer to apply FF or WW on hot days, preferably when it's dry and not going to rain for awhile. This gives the product ample opportunity to flow where it's going to have max benefit.

Dry dusty conditions give FF on flat exposed surfaces a chance for something to hold on to. Dust/dirt mixed with the FF/WW is a good thing for those surfaces IMO.