Living near the sea....rusty disk problem

[dozypillock]

Simple problem, that never had before. I live less than 200 yards from the breaking waves, on the seafront.
My disks will rust almost overnight, depending on weather, wind direction etc. Never had this problem before, as never been this close. I now lay awake at night, hearing the waves, and worrying.
I have been here for over 2 years, and replacing disks and pads on the other cars every time an MOT comes up seems to become the norm, but the Merc is going to be a lot dearer.
I work 1.3 miles away so using it for work is not going to be good either?
I have looked into perhaps driving it 10 miles, in a loop, to get just round the corner, but the traffic is so bad, I risk being late, and everybody knows I am within walking/cycling distance.
Suggestions please as to whether, if I leave it parked in the week, and cycle etc, is there something I can spray the disks with to stop the rust building up so quick?
Would a cover work?
I have a crappy old car I could get back on road, for those rainy days, so could still get to work dry.
I would happily drive the CLK every weekend as I love it, and look for excuses to use it, but feel the work journey will not be good for it.....

Suggestions (preferably from somebody with similar issues welcomed) but any others/experiences will be open, however bizarre.


Neil

 

[Giantvanman]

You definitely cannot spray anything on the disc as an inhibitor. The rust you are seeing on the disc is only surface rust and will disappear with the first couple of brake applications. If you are concerned about the disc carrier etc becoming corroded prematurely, I would say that rinsing thoroughly and often with cold water to wash the salt off would be enough BUT make sure the discs are cool before applying cold water!

My experience of this comes from running a motorbike year round for years and keeping the salt damage at bay.

 

[martyz]

living in such close proximity to the sea,with your car out doors,I would seriously
consider having the underside waxoiled for protection.I can't help with salt water attacking
the bare metal on your discs though.

 

[BTB 500]

Surface rust on disks is pretty normal. We live nowhere near the sea and both the Vito and the C Class get a thin coating of rust on the disks if not driven for more than a few days in damp weather. As GVM said it disappears as soon as you touch the brakes.

I suspect it happens with all cars ... it's just more obvious on some than others, depending on the style of wheels fitted.

 

[markjay]

I noticed that on rainy days, some the cars parked in my street get rusty discs OVERNIGHT.

As long as you drive the car from time to time and don't let the rust settle and cause pitting, you'll be fine.

 

[boxbrownie]

Ceramic..........pricey but will not rust, obviously

 

[MancMike]

I'd be more worried about the bodywork and paint than the brakes. I know you're replacing the brakes often, but short of putting bin liners over the wheels every night, that's a bit unavoidable.

A bit extreme, but is a car gazebo type thing not possible on your driveway?

 

[Reggie-rock]

I have heard of owners fitting bin liners over the wheels to prevent the rust forming which is an effective way to reduce this problem.

 

[Howard]

Mb discs are cheap now

Just did my clk430 , 334mm discs , £54 each.

 

[w124nut]

I got shot of a car some years ago when a garage owner who was servicing my "new to me" vehicle asked if I used to live by the sea. I thought that it was a strange question but said no as it was the truth. I was then invited to look underneath the car that was on a lifting post and saw that the tin worm had struck everywhere.

At home I looked through the service booklet and saw that previous owners had lived in Eastbourne. I deduce that by living near to the sea, cars are more likely to rust due to salt in the air than cars further inland.

Lessons learnt: Check the underside of a car before purchase. Check the service booklet for owners living near to any marine environment.

 

[Reggie-rock]

If it's a Toyota pick up make sure it has not been in the sea if owned by BBC Top Gear.