Rust! Is it just me?

[Chris262]

I would try some clay and see if you can get that rust off

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[ShadowsPapa]

The black bolt is stock next to a bolt that came with a EAG cowl light bracket. The stock bolt can only go down so far so it just holds the cowl panel in place, the EAG bolt squeezes the cowl panel to stay in place, I did not want that as I thought it could crack the panel.

That bolt almost looks powder coated........

Anyway, I don't see why a person can't put a sleeve or spacer on another bolt.......
It's basically a shoulder bolt with a captive washer.

And for those wondering what a shoulder bolt is - these are examples ->

 

[Lost1wing]

I would try some clay and see if you can get that rust off

The rust stained the paint/clearcoat a little. At the moment, I will let the dealer see it for themselves. I will put some rubbing compound on it after that.

 

[93civej1]

The black bolt is stock next to a bolt that came with a EAG cowl light bracket. The stock bolt can only go down so far so it just holds the cowl panel in place, the EAG bolt squeezes the cowl panel to stay in place, I did not want that as I thought it could crack the panel.

So dont crank the snot out of it and stop when you start to feel tension?

 

[syreeves]

The black bolt is stock next to a bolt that came with a EAG cowl light bracket. The stock bolt can only go down so far so it just holds the cowl panel in place, the EAG bolt squeezes the cowl panel to stay in place, I did not want that as I thought it could crack the panel.

Ah ok. Had not taken that bolt off yet.

 

[Mac]

So dont crank the snot out of it and stop when you start to feel tension?

The corner panel has plastic tabs that go under the center panels bolt holes, it is not designed to be held together with pressure.

 

[Trickster]

The rust stained the paint/clearcoat a little. At the moment, I will let the dealer see it for themselves. I will put some rubbing compound on it after that.

I wouldn’t do a damn thing. This is the manufacturers problem until off that initial warranty. They can replace the hardware and clean up the rust residue.
While you are waiting, eat all their donuts, drink their coffee and test drive the crap out of a TRX.?

 

[Mac]

My guess is they will somehow make it worse while taking half a day to do it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I wouldn’t do a damn thing. This is the manufacturers problem until off that initial warranty. They can replace the hardware and clean up the rust residue.
While you are waiting, eat all their donuts, drink their coffee and test drive the crap out of a TRX.?

LOL - that's what I do. I enjoy the free coffee and cookies and donuts. They even got a brand new coffee machine makes almost any type you want, and fresh cookies and donuts...........

I'd want to know what their fix would be........ and go from there. I'd want them at least aware. If I got new bolts, great. If they didn't have to send the old ones back, I'd want them and then I'd take them to my shop and refinish them.

 

[Lost1wing]

My guess is they will somehow make it worse while taking half a day to do it.

It is three hours of driving just to take it to the dealer. Not much to choose for a test drive. I will call them and send pictures of the bolts so they can have them on hand. I certainly don't want to make the trip twice. 6 hours of driving for rusted washers would suck. A wasted tank of fuel, a bigger hole in the ozone layer just to start down this rabbit trail.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It is three hours of driving just to take it to the dealer. Not much to choose for a test drive. I will call them and send pictures of the bolts so they can have them on hand. I certainly don't want to make the trip twice. 6 hours of driving for rusted washers would suck. A wasted tank of fuel, a bigger hole in the ozone layer just to start down this rabbit trail.

Your closest Jeep dealer is 3 hours away? That's the closest? Geesh, I have 5 or 6, maybe more, within an hour's driving.
Remember, ANY Jeep dealer can take care of warranty or service work..

 

[dcmdon]

Nope - the bolts would have been plated before Jeep even bought them. The bolts come from outside sources made to Jeep specs.
My bet is it's black zinc plating. They don't install them and then color them, they are black when shipped to Jeep.

If that happened to my own, I'd pull them, clean and prep them and plate them again........

Here are examples of the black zinc plating I do in my shop - for restoration work -

Does the black zinc work like the zinc in regular galvanized screws. As a rust inhibitor??

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Does the black zinc work like the zinc in regular galvanized screws. As a rust inhibitor??

Yes. The zinc is active compared to steel and protects the steel by sacrificing itself. The nice thing about zinc is that even if scratched, it still protects the steel below in most cases.
The black color is due to the passivate used. Because zinc is so active it would otherwise start to oxidize in hours after plating. Immediate rinsing and submersion in a passivate for 30-60 seconds (depending on the type, etc.) it tones the zinc down a bit.
I do clear/blue (like most hardware store bolts) yellow/gold and black zinc.
The zinc plating is the same, it's the passivate that varies and is different colors.

Here are some clear zinc I've done - can be made more "blue" with longer bath times -

Yellow zinc -

Yellow and clear zinc on a wiper motor I'm restoring ->

 

[Lost1wing]

Your closest Jeep dealer is 3 hours away? That's the closest? Geesh, I have 5 or 6, maybe more, within an hour's driving.
Remember, ANY Jeep dealer can take care of warranty or service work..

I do have a Jeep dealer about 40 minutes away, but if you can see the mess they made of an oil change, you would stay away too. Imagine pulling your vehicle into your carport right after an oil change and the next time you pull out you see a small puddle of oil. You look under the car and find the oil drain plug dry, but oil dripping from the front of the engine and hoses. Then you open the hood and find an extra half gallon of oil on the dip stick. You keep looking and find a trail of oil from the front bumper to the filler tube, with puddles of oil on the radiator support, intake manifold, well just everywhere. I suspect the tech pulled the nozzle out but never released the lever. Could have been an equipment malfunction, but you would think a clean up was due. It wasn't the Gladiator thank goodness, but I haven't gone back to that dealer since that incident. Haven't used any dealer for the free oil changes either.

I was watching the tech change the oil on my daughter's 2016 Renegade. I asked about the oil they used because it wasn't turbo rated oil. They told me the free oil change doesn't come with that oil and if I wanted it, I would have to ask for it ahead of time. A few phone calls later, I had another oil change with the correct oil. This is the same dealer where I got the JT from. Not a fan of Dealer techs. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feeling, it's just I haven't had a good experience with one.

 

[jeepin48]

FYI on the rust issues with these JL and JT, The E-coat used on the frame is inadequate and the accelerated testing looks horrible on them according to corrosion engineers...... I already added a coat of Rustolem semi gloss to the fame as an additional barrier.

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