Ok bought a 97 F150 supercab about a month ago. Love the truck, but I noticed something over the weekend that concerns me. I'm seing some blistering at the bottom of the doors on the inside. Just about the point where the outer panel folds over the inner panel. After doing some research it appears this is a chronic problem on these trucks. Is there an inexpensive way to help this without replacing the door shells? It's not visible from the outside, so it really dosen't bother me, but I don't want this to migrate to the outer panel. Also has anyone had this repaired professionaly, and how much did it cost? Are there any other areas on these trucks bad about rusting that I should look out for? I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Brad

 

On my 97 it has been doing the same. My truck was even under coated when it was new. I just keep it real clean under the door lip with chrome cleaner, or anything that will remove the surface rust. But have noticed the 97's get rusty under the third door, so keep a close watch on that door. Mine has 160K on it and still looks almost like new. Even with Mich. salt on it sometimes.

DaleD

 

Don't know if it's a chronic problem, my 96 F150 doesn't have a spec of rust on it. But, you could sand it down and primer it and then repaint the area. That should help to keep it from spreading.

 

Look everyone is gonna have this problem sometime or another...You can go to your local Advance Auto parts store and pick everything that you would need for these problem....

 

Well here is my plan of attack. You can give me your thoughts on my plan. I bought some rust converter, some waterproof glass filler, and some primer and paint. I plan to grind out the rusted areas apply the rust converter to the inside of the door, then fill in the area with the filler, prime and paint. Think that will help at all. My goal here is to just put off replacing the doors as long as I possibly can. This truck looks almost new except for this area. It's as clean as any 2000 or newer i've seen.

Brad

 

Sounds like you're on the right track, have you ever done body work before? Even with the rust converter, if there is rust there will always be rust but it does slow down the process. I'm about to tackle the same on my dad's 3rd door (97) that is doing the same thing. Probably the most important part is making sure that you are absolutely not trapping any moisture in whatsoever.

 

Your plan of attack sounds good. Just make sure you get as much rust as you can out before you apply the rust converter. And, as WesternPa stated, make sure the area is as dry as the Sahara desert, any moisture trapped will produce more rust.

 

Thanks for the tips. I have done a bit of body work in the past. I started on the drivers side door last night. Looks like it's all just surface rust so far. I don't see any holes. I'm using a dremel tool and a small stone to try and get as much out as I can. Any ideas on getting the rust out of the seem itself? It looks like the rust is starting behind the seam and comming upward from there. I also plan to spray the area when I finish with truck bed coating instead of paint. The truck is dark blue, and the area is at the very bottom of the doors so I think it will look pretty good.
I used this stuff on some farm implement about two years ago, and it's the best stuff Iv'e ever seen for painting over a rusted or high wear area.

Thanks Brad

 

There is a rust coating named POR-15 that is very expensive but very good stuff for coating rust. If links are allowed here then it will follow this sentence. http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=1&dept=1

 

There is something called naval jelly, no - not navel , it is acid in a jelly type substance that you smear on the rust with a brush and leave it to do it's job. The acid should etch out the rust from inside any pits or seams. You should be able to buy it at the local auto parts store.