Get to that bed rust before it get to you!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 452
Likes: 34
From: Western Mass
Get to that bed rust before it get to you!
Two summers ago I was inspecting my wheel wells of my 05 scab as I live in New England and the rust here is terrible. Seeing the future my truck had from looking at my buddies I noticed one tiny bubble the size of a pin head and small waves in the reflection signaling rust between the two layers. That following winter I pulled the bed off the truck and went after it. This will be a picture heavy thread and I hope it gives everyone some idea how to fix these issues themselves. I am also not responsible for any damage done to your bed.
(*I am sorry the photos are all not in the correct orientation, you should be able to download and rotate them I will when I get a chance. *)
The first thing to do is remove the 6 bed bolts, fuel neck, and light wiring.
2. Get 3 or more friends, and a case of beer (cheap payment) and have them give you a hand pulling the bed off of the truck.
3. Stand the bed on end and power was or wash by hand the whole thing to remove most of the debris.
4. Move into a good working location. Place upside down on bed rails.
5. Begin with an inspection and taping off any sensitive areas.
6. Take an angle grinder with a wire cup and begin knocking loose the rust.
7. Take a drill and begin to drill out the spot welds on each inner wheel well. You will probably only be able to drill out the spot welds closest to the outside of the bed.
8. Next you will have to drill out the inner spot welds, this is more difficult but can be done with a dremel tool and a carbide burr bit.
9. Now that all the spot welds have been drilled out, in-bolt the remaining hardware and remove.
10. There should be nothing holding the inner wheel well in at this point other than the foam that caused most of these issues in the first place. Try to pry the inner around till you feel it come loose then pull out of the bedside. Now you can begin to strip any rust from inside the wheel well.
10. I ground down my whole bed to the best of my abilities then degreased the whole thing with Preps-all and painted everything with POR-15.
11. Once the bed was painted and dry I used silicone and started to place the inner wheel well back in the bed.
12. To fasten the inner wheel well I used vice grips and clamps to hold it in place and used pop rivets on the outer edge and small bolts on the inner so it will be easily removable down the road. I then installed everything back on the bed then the bed back on the truck with new bolts and called it a job well done.
I know I am forgetting to include steps but will be happy to answer any questions anyone has about how I did this. Note, if rust has already penetrated the bed this will probably be too little to late but if you still have a solid bed and look down the side and see small waves in the sheet metal or small bubbles, then odds are this will do the trick for you. I am no professional but I was very pleased with the result of this time consuming project. I also had to fix one small rot spot on one of my cross members.
(*I am sorry the photos are all not in the correct orientation, you should be able to download and rotate them I will when I get a chance. *)
The first thing to do is remove the 6 bed bolts, fuel neck, and light wiring.
2. Get 3 or more friends, and a case of beer (cheap payment) and have them give you a hand pulling the bed off of the truck.
3. Stand the bed on end and power was or wash by hand the whole thing to remove most of the debris.
4. Move into a good working location. Place upside down on bed rails.
5. Begin with an inspection and taping off any sensitive areas.
6. Take an angle grinder with a wire cup and begin knocking loose the rust.
7. Take a drill and begin to drill out the spot welds on each inner wheel well. You will probably only be able to drill out the spot welds closest to the outside of the bed.
8. Next you will have to drill out the inner spot welds, this is more difficult but can be done with a dremel tool and a carbide burr bit.
9. Now that all the spot welds have been drilled out, in-bolt the remaining hardware and remove.
10. There should be nothing holding the inner wheel well in at this point other than the foam that caused most of these issues in the first place. Try to pry the inner around till you feel it come loose then pull out of the bedside. Now you can begin to strip any rust from inside the wheel well.
10. I ground down my whole bed to the best of my abilities then degreased the whole thing with Preps-all and painted everything with POR-15.
11. Once the bed was painted and dry I used silicone and started to place the inner wheel well back in the bed.
12. To fasten the inner wheel well I used vice grips and clamps to hold it in place and used pop rivets on the outer edge and small bolts on the inner so it will be easily removable down the road. I then installed everything back on the bed then the bed back on the truck with new bolts and called it a job well done.
I know I am forgetting to include steps but will be happy to answer any questions anyone has about how I did this. Note, if rust has already penetrated the bed this will probably be too little to late but if you still have a solid bed and look down the side and see small waves in the sheet metal or small bubbles, then odds are this will do the trick for you. I am no professional but I was very pleased with the result of this time consuming project. I also had to fix one small rot spot on one of my cross members.
Last edited by bill2014; Dec 5, 2017 at 11:00 PM.
Community Team
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 8,961
Likes: 7,492
From: Vermont
If you don’t want to have rusty rear fenders, you need to keep the topsides clean.
Look up from under the rear bumper on each side and you’ll see an opening that goes to the top side of the wheel well. That’s where the rust starts. There’s foam up there that makes it even worse.
Spray this area out at least weekly with a high pressure hose if you live in a place where salt is used.
Simply spraying out the wheel wells doesn’t have any affect.
I also spray a ton of Amsol HDMP up there everyfall.
Don’t forget your inner lower front fenders. They fill with leaves and dirt and will rot out.
Inner door and tailgate lips also need to be kept clean and oiled.
Nice work OP!
Look up from under the rear bumper on each side and you’ll see an opening that goes to the top side of the wheel well. That’s where the rust starts. There’s foam up there that makes it even worse.
Spray this area out at least weekly with a high pressure hose if you live in a place where salt is used.
Simply spraying out the wheel wells doesn’t have any affect.
I also spray a ton of Amsol HDMP up there everyfall.
Don’t forget your inner lower front fenders. They fill with leaves and dirt and will rot out.
Inner door and tailgate lips also need to be kept clean and oiled.
Nice work OP!
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 285
Likes: 17
From: KC Metro-Missouri-formerly WI
a lot of work, but glad it turned out well for you. That is why I got my truck Ziebarted when I bought it new. Still going strong after 11 yrs-lived in the Frozen Tundra Land with tons of salt every winter for 9 yrs. 
