I am a new owner of a 1995 F150. The previous owner told me not to use the rear gas tank, due to leakage. I just filled the front tank, and guess what...leakage.
My mechanic told me: "The engines are proven engines, but these Fords are rust buckets...." He has not seen my truck (Tuesday), but I'm seriously bummed. Can anyone give me the skinny on this? What types of rust problems would I be looking at? are there alternatives?
I'm no mechanic, just a driver, so.....just asking for some advice from those of you who have experience with this stuff (older trucks)
Thanks

 

the tank rusting on this vintage of trucks is VERY common. my 95 has the same problem. just the other day my friends were messing with all my buttons and switches ( i have 3 horns so they like the buttons and switches lol) hopped in afterwards, wouldnt turn over. turns out they switched to the rear tank, which is apperarently completely empty.
anyways, back to rust. body wise cab corners. door jamb corners, above rear wheels, and behind the front wheels. mine has all of the above, with the exception of rear wheel wells (fiberglass bed)

welcome to the forum btw

 

Any problems with brake lines rusting? My mechanic friend mentioned that, sounds dangerous...

 

Happens on all cars in the rust belt. Some quicker than others. I have replaced gas tanks on some of my older Fords but havent done a brake line on them.

 

On a 15 year old truck anything can rust thru. Really that applies to any vehicle 15 years old.

Gas tanks are very common. I dont know of very many older F150's that didnt have atleast one gas tank replaced due to leakage. Actually even my brother's '01 F150 had to get a new tank last year because it leaked.

About 10 years ago I borrowed my cousin's '90 F150. When it rained water came in thru the roof near the windshield and drained out thru the floor. The gas tank leaked pretty bad, to the point that a guy I worked with said he was going to put a bucket under it and put the gas in his car. I could smell gas from up the street.

The truck had 150k and very little maintenance but ran great. The 300ci I6 is an awesome motor.

My uncle had a '93 F150 that he bought new and drove for 242k and it was still running great but everything around the motor was falling apart and/or rusting out.


Oil pan leaks are very common on these trucks too.

 

Thanks for the replies. Okay, now the question is--how much to have this job done by a mechanic?

 

Figure a few hours of labor and check Advance Auto's website for a rough estimate on a price for the tank. Youll most likely need new straps to hold the tank in place and possibly a new fuel pump/sending unit because the old one might be badly rusted and break when pulling it out.

 

get a anti corrosion fluid film and undercoat the truck every 3 months to keep it looking great!!

 

Thanks, I will give it a try.

 

Got the news from the mechanic today: need new front gas tank. He quoted me $157 for the 19 gal tank, about $150 for labor. That's around $300. If it needs a new sending unit, it would run about a total of $400. Yikes.

More money than expected, but need a good gas tank. And since only paid $900 for truck, still ahead of the game.