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Rust on tailpipe?

3K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  THESKILZ 
#1 ·
I was under the impression that the factory exhaust on the Tundra was stainless steel? My tailpipe has already started to rust. Is that normal for stainless? Has anyone else noticed this?
 
#2 ·
I jost got my truck 3 days ago so I don't have any rust on mine, but if you take a rag with Autosol on it and buff it up the rust will come off and it will look almost like chrome. I'm going to do mine today if it stops snowing. Get the stuff that comes in the tube like toothpaste. Canadian Tire or Parts Source carries the stuff but if you can't find the tube it also comes in a small white bottle (white liquid). If you've never used it before you'll be glad you found it, it cleans all kinds of metal finishes including chrome.
 
#5 ·
I've polished lots of stainless on my hot rods , so when I got my Tundra , I removed the rear tail pipe section and polished the whole thing to a mirror finish . With a couple of months of winter driving with road salt etc. , I cleaned up the pipe the other day and my polish job has gone for a *&^ ! Looks like rust spots , but is really just bad discoloration . Just poor quality stainless !!
 
#7 ·
Interesting. It appears that not all stainless is the same. I would imagine Toyota is using grade 409 stainless and I found this description:

"Grade 409 resists atmospheric and exhaust gas corrosion. A light surface rust will form in most atmospheres; this rust retards further corrosion but makes the surface undesirable for decorative applications. The corrosion resistance is about the same as that of 3CR12 and the 12% chromium martensitic grades such as 410, and inferior to the 17% chromium grade 430."

Source:
Stainless Steel - Grade 409

So it looks like the rust is normal after all.
 
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