Blank rubber grommet

[06YarisRS]

Originally Posted by yaris2011-07

Nice job! I should also do that at some point. When I first bought the car I installed the Canadian Tire CounterAct Electronic Rust Protection System. Not sure if it is doing anything.

So far no rust on the body, but surface rust has started on the underbody.

Did you inspect the lower control arm bolt on your car? I did that recently, and needed to replace both of those bolts. The passenger side bolt came out in one piece, but on the drivers side the head broke off. It wasn't a fun job replacing that bolt.

Thanks! I think the jury is out on how well electronic rust protection works. My former principal, who is a long time shade tree mechanic, swears by them. He gets them installed on all new vehicles. A few years back I convinced him of the merits of using an oil-based rust proofing compound in interior panels, rockers etc, etc and he adopted it as an annual maintenance item. He uses it in conjunction with the electronic module. His cars are all relatively new - none more than 5 - 6 years, so it's hard to tell which if any approaches stopped the rust. There wouldn't likely be any rust anyway as they are so new. I know that you will find a lot of debate regarding these electronic systems. Apparently they work very well on bridges and boats where a complete circuit is present. They theory is sound apparently, just much debate about how well they work in an automotive application.

I have not closely checked the control arm bolts but I did coat them in Rust Check Coat and Protect. Everythng seemed fine but I'll pop a wrench on them and check. Thanks for the heads-up!

[yaris2011-07]

Originally Posted by 06YarisRS

Thanks! I think the jury is out on how well electronic rust protection works. My former principal, who is a long time shade tree mechanic, swears by them. He gets them installed on all new vehicles. A few years back I convinced him of the merits of using an oil-based rust proofing compound in interior panels, rockers etc, etc and he adopted it as an annual maintenance item. He uses it in conjunction with the electronic module. His cars are all relatively new - none more than 5 - 6 years, so it's hard to tell which if any approaches stopped the rust. There wouldn't likely be any rust anyway as they are so new. I know that you will find a lot of debate regarding these electronic systems. Apparently they work very well on bridges and boats where a complete circuit is present. They theory is sound apparently, just much debate about how well they work in an automotive application.

I have not closely checked the control arm bolts but I did coat them in Rust Check Coat and Protect. Everythng seemed fine but I'll pop a wrench on them and check. Thanks for the heads-up!

If you've never removed the control arm bolts before, and if they require alot of torque to remove, I would recommend heating up the bolt head for about 10 minutes with a propane torch before putting alot of torque on those bolts.

I broke a 3/8" ratchet on the driver's side bolt. Then I used a 1/2" ratchet and that broke the bolt head off. I think if I would have torched the bolt head first it may have come off without breaking the bolt head.

Of course heating up bolt head may destroy your rubber bushing...so you need to decide if this approach is best for you.

Once I broke the bolt head off I needed to drop the subframe to get at that bolt. In the process, I ended up destroying the control arm bushing, and ended up replacing the control arm.

I coated the new bolts with lithium grease so I hope they will last another ten years!

Good luck!