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Underseal

Karl

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The Elgrand was made for Japanese roads only. Due to their climate, they don't need to salt the roads and therefore they don't need to worry about underseal.

In the UK, however, this is NOT the case. Salt will eat away at the chassis and destroy your pride and joy from the inside out.

When you get a fresh import, buy from a dealer or buy privately... you MUST ensure the underseal has been done.

If buying privately, I would get it re-done no matter what the seller says, as it's sold as seen. But if you buy from a garage you will be protected by some sort of trading standards.

Underseal is basically a product that is applied to the underside of the vehicle that prevents the metal from rusting when it comes into contact with the salt and moisture on our roads. It is VITAL for a long and problem free life for you Elgrand.

There are many options available, starting at around £80 for an "in & out" service. Personally, I wouldn't touch these with a barge pole.

The best options seem to be around the £400 mark. This includes dropping your vehicle off with a garage for 3-4 days. One the first day, they thoroughly steam clean the underside of your vehicle. Second day they apply the first layer of the treatment and leave it to set over night. Day 3 they apply another coat and leave to set overnight. Then you collect on Day 4.

Also, please note that underseal is only temporary. It is not a lifelong product (unless you pay extra for a product that has a life long guarantee!). The quick £80 jobs should probably be done twice a year, at the very least, once a year.

The more expensive jobs should be topped up every 4-5 years. Speak to the professional who does your treatment for their advice as these time scales will vary depending on the product you are using.

I know a few people who are JDM car freaks who pay the £400 for a proper treatment, then £80 for an in and out treatment, and then go back and get the proper treatment re-done every other year. One thing for sure is that they will crash their cars before they rust!
 
Karl
when you see an Elgrand advertised at a garage, it usually states WAXOILED.
Which category would you think this comes under, the £80 or £400 .
Is it worth getting it done anyway even though waxoiled is stated.
Do you have a list of recommended undersealers.
thanks
 
mine was treated by the dealer before sale , at Stourport on seven , its an almost clear cover I think will need replacing every year ,
 
Karl
when you see an Elgrand advertised at a garage, it usually states WAXOILED.
Which category would you think this comes under, the £80 or £400 .
Is it worth getting it done anyway even though waxoiled is stated.
Do you have a list of recommended undersealers.
thanks

You need to speak to the actual garage and ask them what products they used. WAXOIL is a brand and they have a number of different products that range from a £20 DIY project, to an £80 in and out job to a £400 4 day job. Just because they have said that it's been undersealed does not mean it's been done properly. Ask them to show you what products they've used, how they were applied and the method.

If you are dubious and you can afford to get it done regardless of what the seller says has been done, then for piece of mind, get it done. It's certainly not going to do any harm!

As for recommended undersealers... there will be literally thousands of them across the country, so it's just going to be a case of doing research and speaking to the garages. You'll know the genuine people from the con men from the way they talk and how they explain the process. Of course there is always an element of risk buying from anyone, but the more research you do, the safer you should be.
 
The other thing to consider is whether as part of the underseal work they will provide some cavity wax injection. This is where they get the stuff (waxyoil, dinitrol, etc) inside the box sections and sills of the vehicle and prevents them rotting from the inside out.
This is what really makes a car last :cool:
 
You can do it yourself admittedly it gets a bit mucky but you know you got in all the corners Waxoyl has a rust inhibitor in it I did my lodge chassis with it and that is up in Scotland subject the the climate and sea air it needs doing again now after 5 years (this summers job)
 
Hi, Just bought my E51. Have been quoted £480 for a 6 hour treatment. Clean, dry and Waxoil. Sounds a bit like a very expensive in and out to me. I live in South London. Happy to leave the car for four days with someone who is going to do the job properly, but no idea where to go. Any suggestions?
 
Not sure where to recommend for that region, you could always go to the Dinitrol website and look for approved applicators close to you.

I wouldn't really trust a full underseal job that was completed in 6 hours...

There needs to be time for strip, clean and dry before application.

I paid £600 for a 4 day Dinitrol underseal but that's in the north east where prices are more sensible :D
 
mine was treated by the dealer before sale , at Stourport on seven , its an almost clear cover I think will need replacing every year ,
Mine was from the same dealer and after having a look under her the other day while her Zorst was being done I could see it had been done very well indeed which I was happy with for now.
 
Karl
when you see an Elgrand advertised at a garage, it usually states WAXOILED.
Which category would you think this comes under, the £80 or £400 .
Is it worth getting it done anyway even though waxoiled is stated.
Do you have a list of recommended undersealers.
thanks
Depends who you buy from John to determine if its actually been done or not.
 
Originally came from the same place as yours Brendan
Hopefully it should be ok then
It should be matey as mine is lovely and waxed underside. Its about time we met up I think seeing as we are on each others doorstep
 
Dunno what the last owner used on mine but it was like tarmac on the underneath. Looked like he slapped it on with a mop..
It took 2 days worth of steaming to clean it off.. I used the Halfords Hammerite Waxoyl and Sprayed it on, Cost around £25 for 5ltrs I used about 7ltrs.

She failed her last MOT in (Nov) on 2 spots of weld on the sills less than 30cms ( Under the drivers side step) and the passenger side about 6 inches from the rear arch. The rest of her was solid and its been been on for 2 years..

So i may look into a better undersealer..
 
it is not always about underseal, if the insides are not treated, they can rust from the inside out.
This is why you should always clean thoroughly (steam cleaning is best), let it dry, wire brush and see to any existing corrosion before undersealing. If you don't remove all the rust, it'll just come back and underseal will simply be a mask. I tried as best as I could to wire brush and sand off all the shit that was under my truck, no doubt I'll be going back over it with a vengeance come the end of next summer to try get it as perfect as possible. The engine and chassis will be all that's left of my van, the driveline will have long fallen off! :p
 
Has anyone taken their door cards off and treated inside there, I had to have the passenger one off the other day and all looks nice and shiny but was thinking of giving all of them a coat as the door cards seem to come off easy enough
 
Interior door cards shouldn't be subject to moisture and rust. It's really only the exterior parts and underneath that need treating as they are the areas that get the most abuse from salted roads.
 
Lol. Must be me, all my landrovers rotted out and T4's door bottoms wern't much better. with the bottom gone at least the water run out quicker
 
I've no experience with cars ever rusting like that, but if you have and you feel it would better protect your investment then I'd say go for it.

But other than the chassis and underneath of the Elgrand, I don't think there are any other common rusting points. On the E50 the tailgate rusts around the chrome boot trim, but not seen or heard of anything like that on the E51's.
 
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