Subzero02

Im struggleing with a rust issue on my 2002 F150. I have read alot about various "treatments" for rust. It seems that there really is no treatment that will actually stop existing rust after it has happened but only ways to slow the spread or prevent it. My truck was exposed to salt water from being on the beach and the previous owner lived there (OBX) so im not sure it could all be tracked down very easily ans I might have even more problems down the road from it. Ive taken it to a few places and they all said that something should be done now to stop the spread but they all declined on actually doing the job for lack of equipment or just amount of work it would take to do it right. POR15 and Eastwood rust products both seem to work but ive read many stories of there flaws so Im not sure which way to go on self applied products for rust. Some places apparently will sandblast your frame or other parts to remove rust. I can always sell the truck but I want to make a well thought out decision as it means alot to me as it has everything I wanted for a DD ( leather, 4WD, spray in liner, V8, flowmasters and intake). The body on the truck is in great rust free shape supriseingly. For the most part its just the areas around the engine and a few in the rear that are worse off especially the radiator and trans cooler support. That support may also hold the front clip together and has a flexable flap that connects to it with plastic push pins. If you have the FX4 this is right above the skid plate.The frame aint too bad it looks like to me but it should be fixed as if I do keep the truck Im going to keep it for a long time. I was able to pull some "rust chips" from off the top of that radiator support that were around 1' by 1'. When I had inspected the truck before buying it a skid plate covered most of the worse parts and it wasnt till later after I removed it i noticed the extent of it. The rear shocks are badly pitted too and should be replaced in my oprinion. My buget for repairs is about 1,000 max then it would probably be easier to find another vehical. The truck is not garaged and is only parked on the street. I dont have an enclosed area suitable for a mager rebuild myself or much tools so Im really leaning towards getting a shop to do ths. My main goal is to find out that if I did try my best at repairing this would it just resurface again, possibly elsewhere too? Could I just replace that support with one from a junk yard and deal with the frame myself? It looks to be well in there so it might be difficult to get to trying to clean it up inside the truck with removeing it for a complete job. What do y'all think of this rust and what some of my options are now that I have pictures up?
Thanks
-Subzero02


The first picture is taken of the front area right under the radiator which shows the worst rust.
The second is taken through a slot in the bumper llooking in at the trans cooler support that is rusted very badly.
The third is of the frame under the engine next to the front passenger wheel.
The forth is of the support that shows a rusted edge.
The last picture shows the shocks that have pitted and the decals are falling off because of this.

omnus

I swear by POR15. It's expensive and VERY messy(almost like working with water) so If you plan on doing this from your back, I'd highly suggest laying down some plastic drop clothes, and even pick up a pair of the painters coveralls from Lowe's for like $10. You'll definitely needs gloves.

For the area's you can reach easily, wire-brush and sandpaper down as much as possible. For the other area's, wire-brush as much of the scale off as you can get to. Harbor Freight sells a wide variety of brushes. I picked up a set of their pipe brushes, I think it has roughly 8ish brushes of different diameters. Clip off the end and you can tighten it down into your drill and work that way. If you can pop a screwdriver through the metal part, you need to cut/weld in some new metal, otherwise you can POR15 over it. It's actually designed to coat right over rust.

I've used an enamel rust encapsulator from rattle can, but have only had it on about a month, so can't really use that for a good reference. I'll see if I can get some pictures up if you want to see.

v/r
Bryan B.

Snaggletooth

Sounds like conquest, about like water, have to brush it on. Goes on blue/green and dries black, never had anything else stop rust so well.

Ray21

Conquest sounds Ospho... which works very very well for stopping the spread of rust.

http://www.ospho.com

Snaggletooth

Yeah looks like it

Subzero02

Thanks so much for your help. So you think my truck is worth saving? If so I think that the POR15 might be the way to go then coat the frame and other painted parts with chassis black. That support that is rusted is like swiss cheese in some parts so I personally dont think its worth saving. I also don't have a welder and equipment or know how to pretty much rebuild %30 of the support. How does POR15 work to stop rust? Those shocks have got to go too. Are the stock Ranchos still available?
When sanding down the frame I've heard sand as little as possible to make sure the metal stays thicker and stronger is this true?
I don't really want to do the repair in the street and I need the trucks down time to be limited so I'm not forced to drive my F100 in bad conditions. Because of that im still going to try and find a place that will do the repair quicker than I could do with limited space and time for work. I still need to consider my budget and see if I can fix the truck or just get something else that might be cheaper in the long run.

Stroked93

You could just use krown, fluid film, or something like it, won't turn black but will stop the rusting.