ScottyBoston

Hey Guys.

First, thanks for taking the time to read my post, and (hopefully) offer some words of advice.

I need some decision support for my truck. I’m the proud owner of a 2004 FX4 (5.4L) with 93K miles (her name is redneck). I picked her up about 10 months ago after my buddy wrecked my last 2004 FX4. I absolutely love this truck – the color, the options, everything. That said, I want to keep it, but here is the problem.

She has rust – like a lot. It hasn’t rotted straight through as of yet, and the front isn’t as nearly as bad as the back. But, I’m concerned that this is going to haunt me later on. While I could just “deal with it”, I have some repairs coming up this week and next that will run me close to $2k. So, I’m wondering if I should even proceed with the repairs or change gears and consider selling her (which I really don’t want to do). It’s probably relevant to note that I’ve already sunk about $1,400 replacing the IWE, actuators, and vacuum solenoid. I’ve replaced brake lines, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I’m definitely invested in the vehicle, and want to keep it, if it makes sense for me to do so.

I’ll be uploading some pics tomorrow when I can – but suffice to say, the rust in the undercarriage is pretty extensive. So far, the rockers, and other visible areas are in great shape. At this point, it doesn’t appear that anything has rotted though. Then again, I have a bed liner so it could be masked. I suspect that the previous owner used this truck to take trucks in/out of the water.

So my question is this: what have folks done with extensive rust to try and prolong the life of their trucks? I want to keep this thing for as long as I possibly can (at least 5 years), but I’m worried that I’ll put all this money into it to keep the engine running tip top, only to have a body falling apart 2-3 years from now.

I plan on bringing it to the body shop this week, as any work will need to be done there. Unfortunately, I live in the city and I don’t even have a driveway, let alone a garage. I just want to make sure the body shop doesn’t take me to the cleaners. I don’t need the truck in showroom condition – I just want it to last me!

Any thoughts or suggestions? If I took pics would that help?

Thanks guys!

-Scotty

joe mcmillan

I had a 2000 150 that had been a Michigan truck. Had not been undercoated so the winter salt took its toll. The body rust never came to the surface until about a year ago so the truck continued to look good. The underside was where the big issue was. The frame and everything made of steel was rusting away. As I went under for oil changes some of the rust damage was alarming as the components were rusting away to the point that they would begin to fail or break. Trucks that have been driven in the winter in states that use salt on the roads are going to rust. Frequent cleaning will help slow the rust and extend the life but the rust will continue to eat the metal anyway. If your fenders or rocker panels are rusting through, take a look underneath at frame and other components.
Drive it for now but save the enhancements for the next truck. Buy one without the under rust. I just purchased a later model from a south west state. Looked like new on the underside. I had it sealed and undercoated. It should last longer than the last one. Hated to see the old one go but the newer one is nice and I am getting used to it.

13Harleyfan

If you are happy with the body style maybe you could look at going forward with your mods while you look for a new body in a state where rust isn't an issue. Good luck.

Pity7700

i live in Michigan. i bought my truck 4-5 years ago with only 60k miles on it. it now has 117k miles.

the truck has hardly any visible rust on it. the body looks great, i just repaired my drivers rocker a few months ago myself and i need to do the passenger side soon, its not rusted through but its got some bubbling in the paint and the metal feels soft.

my underbody looks great, i clean my truck very well including the underbody as well as spray it down with undercoating. that is the best thing you can do for your truck man. take some time and clean the underbody up and spray it with some POR-15.

right now im working on starting a project for my truck. the bed support beams are rusted through, that and the rocker are my only two problem areas right now. i bought some 2 1/2" square steel tubing, cut 3 lengths two are 4' one is about 6' long. welded some brackets on all 3 of them and im ready to pull my bed off to rip the old support beams off to replace them with the new ones i made. the steel is 1/8" thick. these beams will be sprayed before they go on the truck AND the ENTIRE underside of the bed will be cleaned and painted with POR-15 to prevent any rusting through. my bed is going to look damn good lol

i will also be cleaning up the top side of the frame while i have the bed off and spraying/rolling some POR-15 on that as well as checking the back of the cab for any rusted areas. i figure this project will take me 1-2 weeks total, the good thing is i will be mounting some temporary trailer tail lights and turn signal lights on the back of the truck so i can still drive it without the bed.

just take some time to take care of the problem at hand man, put off buying any mods or upgrades for the truck. you gotta have a good working/ looking truck before you start spending a ton of money on it and the problem areas always come first, atleast thats how i see it.

ScottyBoston

Thanks for the advice, guys!

I brought it into a body shop that I've worked with before and he said pretty much the same thing. He said that the rust was just something that comes with living in New England (he himself drives an F250). He said that the only thing he can do it clean it up, dry it up, and spray it down with rust inhibitor. He also noted that even with the rust inhibitor it is more than likely going to continue to rust underneath, but it will do so at a much slower rate. Also, the visible components will look a lot nicer - glossy black versus rusty brown.

He said that for $700 his shop will do the undercarriage (from the beginning of the bed, back), drive train, and suspension components. While it's probably something I could do myself, I don't have a driveway or any off-street areas where I can perform the work. So, I'm kinda stuck with paying to have it done.

The good news is that he said that I'm not at risk for things rusting through just yet. My truck had a spray on bed liner put in early on in its life, and the guy says that it helped me a lot in that the rust is primarily moving in one direction.

ScottyBoston

Also - I will be waiting for my next truck to do any major mods. I think i'm going to try and hang on to this one for as long as I can, and wait until the next one to really tinker around! Thanks again for the advice!

ucgolfer

iTrader: (-1)

If you really want to keep it and no body rot look for a totaled 04-08 from a southern state with a straight clean frame. Blast the frame seal it and swap your truck over. Alot of work and it will cost some cash but cheaper than a new truck and you know it will last. There are also a few companies making frames for the F150 after market.

BISCUT

How difficult is it to put the undercoating on yourself? Any specific product better then another? I'm thinking of spraying my 04. Was garaged for 7 years. Now she's out in the cold n snow!

ScottyBoston

You know, I never even thought that this might be an option. That's good to know. It makes me feel a lot better knowing that i don't necessarily have to give up the truck if the frame starts to crap the bed (no pun intended). Thanks!