Rust on end of driveshaft after switching to steel wheels for winter tires

I don't have a picture to share yet, but I'm noticing quite a bit of rust on the exposed threads of the front driveshafts, after switching to steel wheels for winter.

With the stock SV wheels, the ends of the driveshafts are covered, so I never found rust before the switch.

Anyone have a solution for that? Some kind of cap perhaps?

I'm guessing the rust is fairly superficial and easily removed with a wire brush, but I'm thinking more longer term.

I can just smear some grease on the threads, but would prefer a cap if that's possible.

They all do that underneath the wheels/caps.

Not worth worrying about, unless you just don't like the way it looks. In that case, I'd wait for spring, clean it off really good, tape off the rest of the wheel and hit it with a can of Rustoleum.

you cannot prevent under the car from getting coatings of dirt and rust... It has NO effect on the car.

White petroleum jelly looks a bit better than grease, and also stops rust from forming.

clean the rust off and grease it. I personally think it would be years and years before it became an issue. Its not cheap metal there

Thanks guys, the rusting is definitely worse with the winters on than with the stock alloy wheels, but I'll just clean up the threads and dab some lithium grease on there when I put on the all-seasons again. Was hoping that someone had come up with a better solution, but the lithium grease should work fine.

alozzy said:

Thanks guys, the rusting is definitely worse with the winters on than with the stock alloy wheels, but I'll just clean up the threads and dab some lithium grease on there when I put on the all-seasons again. Was hoping that someone had come up with a better solution, but the lithium grease should work fine.

Click to expand...

Check the label. Lithium grease may be toxic, and it provides no extra benefit over regular grease or petroleum jelly in that application. You might not want to use it in exposed places like that.

Boeshield T-9. Sprays on wet and dries to a wax-like consistency. So not as unsightly as a gob of grease, and will attract less grime. Plenty of uses so it's good stuff to have on-hand anyway. I find it to be the perfect stuff for garage-door springs, for example.

Sounds good, thanks!