Snow How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt?

   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #1  

PorkChopsMmm

Gold Member
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
268
Location
Grand Rapids
Tractor
2013 Kubota BX2370
I will be picking up a lightly used BX2370 next week and I am wondering if I should be worried about road salt getting on the tractor or implements. My driveway is ~900 feet long and gravel. I occasionally throw some rock salt down on the driveway and there is whatever falls of the cars from driving on roads. I could also drive onto the road a bit to push snow across the street.

Is this something I should be worried about? How do you all clean up your tractors? I want this tractor to last for 30 years and figure I need to treat it right from the get-go. Thanks!
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #2  
No equipment of mine ever sees salt. I would sooner land on my back, smashing my head in the process on some slippery surface then subject my babies to that evil substance. Not too mention what it does to concrete!

A friend of mine got a used cub cadet CUT and he has had one problem after another all caused by salt! Particularly in the wiring connections. He is tearing his hair out, because he can't figure out, how the salt got into all these places! And he works closely with municipal and snow removel contractors, so he sees a lot of machines and still can't understand it.

I sold my little JD 770 with front mount mower to a neighbour to use at his business. It was in show room condition when it left here, and I was just horrified to see what it looked like just a few short years later, just due to SALT!
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Good to know. Makes me think about putting any on the driveway. That being said -- I can't stop the cars from tracking it in.
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #4  
Salt problems deep inside a piece of equipment can be from being trailered and all the spray it is subjected to. FYI
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #5  
Wax the snot out of it! I use Zip wash 'n' wax.
Another thing you should do is get some dielectric grease and liberally coat all of your electrical connections including the battery terminals.
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #6  
I wax most of my stuff and they look good. But rust never starts in the middle of a body panel. It starts where things meet or a bolted together. That means two hundred places on the tractor you can't really treat! Plus latches, catches, screws, bolts and so forth. Much of the wiring is totally inaccessible and unless you are troubleshooting, you would not even know it's there. Modern tractors with all their wiring, electronics, safety interlocks are a nightmare if salt gets in there! Some of these tractors are impossible to get wiring diagrams for, like my friends Cub Cadet. They have pictures of the harnesses but no schematics that you can logically figure out what's going on when things stop working.
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #7  
My driveway is ~900 feet long and gravel. I occasionally throw some rock salt down on the driveway...

Our grading contractor told us to never put salt on a gravel driveway. He says it keeps the top few inches from freezing while that underneath does, and the driveway turns to mush. He claims he's had to remove the top layers and replace them to address the problem. Anyone ever heard of that issue?

Terry
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #8  
Our grading contractor told us to never put salt on a gravel driveway. He says it keeps the top few inches from freezing while that underneath does, and the driveway turns to mush. He claims he's had to remove the top layers and replace them to address the problem. Anyone ever heard of that issue?

Terry

I pay a company to spray a 400' stretch of gravel road in front of my house twice every summer with calcium chloride. It has a residual affect so that even now, nearing the end of winter, it is easy to see where the 400' long strip is. And this spring when the frost goes out and the roads turn to mush, my 400' stretch of road will be nice and firm.

I think your neighbor may have other issues like maybe drainage.
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks guys, all good to know. My tractor should be shipping from Barlow's in KY next week up here to Michigan. I asked them to wrap the tractor so road salt wouldn't get on it. I will also limit/stop salting my driveway. I figure with my own tractor with a back blade I won't need to.
 
   / How do you all avoid rust forming on your tractors from road salt? #10  
I pay a company to spray a 400' stretch of gravel road in front of my house twice every summer with calcium chloride. It has a residual affect so that even now, nearing the end of winter, it is easy to see where the 400' long strip is. And this spring when the frost goes out and the roads turn to mush, my 400' stretch of road will be nice and firm.

I think your neighbor may have other issues like maybe drainage.[/QUOTE

They use calcium chloride on the highways here in Maine now and it is much worse than salt ever thought of being . It gets into everything , no longer just replacing brake pads now you have to replace the entire system as it rots out everything . Truckers have a hard time keeping electrical items working as it is so much worse than salt . It sure is keeping the repair shops up here busy .
 
 
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