Bluedan

I’m thinking of doing a thorough undercarriage cleaning with a degreaser but don’t want to remove any existing protection against rust (particularly since I live in an area with lots of salt applied to the roads in the winter). Do these cars have a layer of cosmoline from the factory or any other protection that would be removed with a degreaser?

John D II

My RS does not, everything underneath is very, very clean and shiny. The underside of the motor and suspension components look to be new, untreated metal.

ldamelio

I doubt they would. Cosmoline is intended as an anti-rust component for shipping and maintaining items before sale. In actual use in automotive applications, it would just attract grit and contribute to wear and dirt. In the cycling world, cosmoline is removed with a solvent before using a chain and applying a proper lubricant. Otherwise, black, grimy and crunchy very quickly.

dbv1

They were spraying Cosmoline as late as the 997, certainly on all the older ones. Very distinct smell when you bring aircooled or 996/997 up to temperature due to that Cosmoline, kind of missing it. My 991 doesn't have it.