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2006 FX4 crew cab. Finally dropped the truck off to eliminate all the rust. Will spend about $2500 in a local shop that fixes all of my other commercial trucks. Both cab corners, don't need to be completely replaced, just remove the bed and grind out and add new metal. Rear wheel arches, remove the plastic cladding and address the rust underneath once and for all. Lower rockers on both sides, not a lot of rust but grind out, epoxy prime and repaint. Rear endgate handle area, just started a small bit, grind out and repaint. Lower front fender rear edges, about an inch or two, same thing. Finally, remove the snow plow mount, sandblast, powdercoat and reinstall. Should be all finished in a week. Any rust really bugs me, I plan to keep this truck in the family for my daughters to use and drive. Mechanically in perfect shape with 330,000 miles on it now. As long as parts are still available, I will never sell this truck.
I have batteled the rust bunnies before. Trust me it’s a losing battle. It will come back again, it’s just a matter of time. Hopefully in your case it will be several years from now.
yep. That rusts from the top side of the wheel well. Only way to keep that at bay is to spray out that area. You can see the opening when looking from under the rear bumper at each side. That area should also be heavily oiled in the winter if salt is used.
The shop gave up trying to get the bed off. It broke 3 of their tools trying to remove the bed bolts. Said there is enough room to work to replace the cab corners. Front wheel arches were fine, no rust. They said rockers were better to just replace than fix. New cab corners look nice, Welding in new metal around rear wheel arches, epoxy primer, then undercoat the back side. I don't expect show truck results, I just want it decent and solid for 5 to 10 more years. This truck does not get the high mileage use it once did, I bought a 2015 for that and it is aluminum so hopefully I won't ever have to do this again. My 2015 already has 105,000 miles on it. i guess I never expected to keep my 2006 this long or it would have been professionally rustproofed from new. Shoulda coulda woulda I guess. Other than a little rust, it is mechanically perfect. After 12 years, i know every single part of this truck and have addressed every weakness it had. A couple more days of metal and prep work and then off to paint. This truck snowplowed 11 Chicago winters, I think it held up better than expected.
I guess the FX4 stickers will be deleted now. i never really cared for them. The shop was going to just blend the panel after painting, but I told them just do the whole sides so it will all be the same. Replacing the rear Ford emblem and removing the rear latch handle to address rust around the edges (slight) so the end gate will be repainted also. I rebuilt the rear end 4 times if that is an indication of how hard this truck was used over the years. Three sets of IWE front ends and 3 sets of front bearing units, about every 100,000 miles, 2nd transmission after losing only reverse while plowing,
but original engine and transfer case but on 2nd transfer case shift motor. Engine mounts made it to 250k and still have original exhaust manifolds and bolts with original exhaust. It took me 10 years to finally figure out the A/C poor performance by replacing the evaporator, closing the gap between the radiator and condensor with a rubber flap, and using a much better after market fan clutch that was way more aggressive than the Ford one. Never broke a spark plug, but have been running Champion 1 piece since 50,000 miles, changing every 50k. I know every inch and system to this truck, I was not ready to let rust take it from me. FYI the Crown Vic police car alternator from 2006 police package made by Mitsubishi putting out 240 amps is plug and play and has never let me down. I tried a couple aftermarket ones, but only the Crown Vic one did not upset the computer controlled regulator. Found that the doors, front fenders, firewall and cab, other than rockers are rust free. Frame is solid, but I did crawl under the truck every year and paint it with Rusoleum satin black every fall before winter, along with the trailer hitch and suspension parts. The engine compartment is like new after twice a year simple green soakings and light power washing, making sure to blow water out of spark plug holes with compressed air before starting or it will eat a coil. The True Blue paint has held up well. I see silver and white trucks that don't seem to age well over time. The painted rear bumper is still original and rust free, the front was rusted from rock chips a few years ago so I bought and painted a new one. I assume chrome would have lasted longer than the painted one. The clear coated wheels have held up, and the headlights never yellowed over time. I did phasers, chains, guides, cam followers, and one cam at 70,000 miles after running 5-20 oil like Ford said. After that i have run nothing but Ford 5-30 synthetic and the engine has run trouble free and silent since. I ordered this truck new. I specified the stainless steel running boards after seeing my Sport Trac ones rust away. They are still like new.
02-28-2018, 11:06 PM
Fixing all the rust.
