My 1995 F150 was so bad that I had to replace these leaf spring mounts that were about to let go. Only one side of the mounting bracket remained and was close to letting go completely.
How rusty is your car/truck?
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Not that bad, thank god. Wife's car is starting to show the fact she's been through 9 MI winters, no matter how much I wash it.
Underbody is still in good shape (I wash it like crazy), but I've replaced parts of the exhaust due to rust, and the under side of her doors are rusting....
TP, how long do you think the F150 has left due to the rust?
Underbody is still in good shape (I wash it like crazy), but I've replaced parts of the exhaust due to rust, and the under side of her doors are rusting....
TP, how long do you think the F150 has left due to the rust?
none at all. I live in the desert
fords rusting their is common.
None at all thankfully. My truck has been in NC for 10 years and only ventured to Northern states in the summer. It has seen about 9 winters with salt though. The roads didn't get salted here this past winter.
I have had a rusty vehicle before and it sucks. Working on a rust free vehicle is so much easier than a rusty one, and rust free vehicles have far fewer problems.
I have had a rusty vehicle before and it sucks. Working on a rust free vehicle is so much easier than a rusty one, and rust free vehicles have far fewer problems.
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
TP, how long do you think the F150 has left due to the rust?
I sold it last December. Seemed pretty solid for all the rust. Has two new fuel tanks about 5 years ago thanks to rust. But my 2001 Ranger is pretty rusty, so we'll have to see what happens with it. The wheels have their share of rust.
TP, how long do you think the F150 has left due to the rust?
I sold it last December. Seemed pretty solid for all the rust. Has two new fuel tanks about 5 years ago thanks to rust. But my 2001 Ranger is pretty rusty, so we'll have to see what happens with it. The wheels have their share of rust.
I just recently cleaned and painted the frame from the rear torque boxes all the way back. It was getting some surface rust especially on the frame under the trunk. I need to pull the battery and do frame and the battery spot itself.
There isn't a spec on any of our families cars. However, I still fluid film them.
see there if you would have taken that truck to he drags they would have put you in a higher class from all the weight loss.
Not major ones so far. I do see some rust where the welds are so I grind them smooth and reapply undercoating. This is on a 01 Toyota Tundra, where the frames are supposed to rust into the ground/brake in half/whatever GM fanbois might have at it.
I see a lot of rust around the 3rd brake light on some Chevy pickups though. I might pull apart mines and check for rust propagation.
I see a lot of rust around the 3rd brake light on some Chevy pickups though. I might pull apart mines and check for rust propagation.
Camry: none. At least there better be none.
VW: it's getting there, mostly just sheetmetal, although the struts are getting very crusty. 8 years of NH winters. I need to get the front fenders replaced (under a recall), but also need a door (I think it was badly painted from the factory), the rear hatch (pinch weld, somewhat common), and then could stand to have the leading edges on the hood and just above the windshield, due to rock chips. The worst that worries me is the rust just starting to show up on a rocker panel; I'm worried about what lurks behind the fender...
I don't know what the dealer will do for me (12 year rust-through warrenty) -- probably not much -- so I'm hoping I can find a decent paint shop that will fix the rust to my liking (not sure I want to tackle or not). You know, fix the patches "good enough" to look ok from 10 feet. Color blending would be nice, but is it worth it on an 8 year old car that is just going to be driven through a number more winters? I just want to keep the rust under control, and preferably have everything worn out at the same time.
VW: it's getting there, mostly just sheetmetal, although the struts are getting very crusty. 8 years of NH winters. I need to get the front fenders replaced (under a recall), but also need a door (I think it was badly painted from the factory), the rear hatch (pinch weld, somewhat common), and then could stand to have the leading edges on the hood and just above the windshield, due to rock chips. The worst that worries me is the rust just starting to show up on a rocker panel; I'm worried about what lurks behind the fender...
I don't know what the dealer will do for me (12 year rust-through warrenty) -- probably not much -- so I'm hoping I can find a decent paint shop that will fix the rust to my liking (not sure I want to tackle or not). You know, fix the patches "good enough" to look ok from 10 feet. Color blending would be nice, but is it worth it on an 8 year old car that is just going to be driven through a number more winters? I just want to keep the rust under control, and preferably have everything worn out at the same time.
My Ranger has a little surface rust on the frame. It can easily be touched up and is not a big deal. My Accord actually has no rust whatsoever, except a little spot on the rear quarter panel (these cars are notorious for rusting in this spot) but I'm having it fixed within the next few months. The Explorer has significant rot on the rocker panels, but it's not visible because of the plastic body moldings. Both leaf spring shackles were once replaced and one spring hanger was repaired due to rot. There is some surface rust on the front bumper and undercarriage.
on the neon few spots(surface) on the hood/fenders from stone chips,etc.
on my previous vehicle, (2k sonata) the summer before i sold it( summer '09), i had it @ the dealer to do some last minute warranty work before my 10yr/100k mi expiration, they told me they had found another issue, and there was a recall coming down to cover it, but the parts wouldn't be available for a few days.
turns out the hyundai engineers hadn't taken the US rust belt prodigious use of salt into account when they made the subframe for this car... one side of mine was pretty much rusted clear through... the redesigned ones had more drainage holes, and better rust proofing inside the cavities...
on the plus side, that was pretty much the only rust on the vehicle.. and the repair was free (yay recall!!)
on my previous vehicle, (2k sonata) the summer before i sold it( summer '09), i had it @ the dealer to do some last minute warranty work before my 10yr/100k mi expiration, they told me they had found another issue, and there was a recall coming down to cover it, but the parts wouldn't be available for a few days.
turns out the hyundai engineers hadn't taken the US rust belt prodigious use of salt into account when they made the subframe for this car... one side of mine was pretty much rusted clear through... the redesigned ones had more drainage holes, and better rust proofing inside the cavities...
on the plus side, that was pretty much the only rust on the vehicle.. and the repair was free (yay recall!!)
What is this "rust" you speak of?
Originally Posted By: exranger06
My Accord actually has no rust whatsoever, except a little spot on the rear quarter panel (these cars are notorious for rusting in this spot) but I'm having it fixed within the next few months.
i honestly don't think i've seen a civic or accord more than a couple years old that isn't rusted right there(just above where the bumper plastic meets the wheel well) i pretty much just refer to it as "the honda rust"
- i wonder if their models built in other countries are similarly rust stricken...
My Accord actually has no rust whatsoever, except a little spot on the rear quarter panel (these cars are notorious for rusting in this spot) but I'm having it fixed within the next few months.
i honestly don't think i've seen a civic or accord more than a couple years old that isn't rusted right there(just above where the bumper plastic meets the wheel well) i pretty much just refer to it as "the honda rust"
- i wonder if their models built in other countries are similarly rust stricken...
Kestas
Staff member
A long time ago when I started wrenching, I worked on enough rusty cars to learn that the time spent on rust prevention (rustproofing) is far less than the time spent on dealing with repair due to rust issues.
Consider the time and money spent on replacing spring mounts compared with the time and money you would have spent rustproofing.
Consider the time and money spent on replacing spring mounts compared with the time and money you would have spent rustproofing.
Until I started lurking on this forum, I thought rust was a thing of the past in modern vehicles. I must have believed all the car commercials over the years showing the body anti-rust dips during manufacturing. Having lived in the south all my life (TN, SC, and for past 22 years Louisiana), rust is pretty much non-existent. I have learned that the next time I shop for a used car, I definitely need to pay close attention to where it spent most of its previous life.
Rust is underway in my 02. Nothing can be done. Creeped up from underneath near a weld. Clock is ticking, have about 5 years.
Originally Posted By: exranger06
The Explorer has significant rot on the rocker panels, but it's not visible because of the plastic body moldings.
The rockers on '91-'01 Explorers are very poorly designed and this kind of rot is basically unavoidable on them in Northern states. Ford boxed the rockers in with sheetmetal, then put holes in to mount the plastic rocker covers. Salt gets between the metal and plastic, in the holes, and the rockers start rotting. Because the rockers are boxed in, there isn't much you can do to stop it. Rust is the Achilles heel of this generation of Explorer unfortunately.
My 1995 Explorer was in PA for 12 years before I owned it, and the damage was done...
The Explorer has significant rot on the rocker panels, but it's not visible because of the plastic body moldings.
The rockers on '91-'01 Explorers are very poorly designed and this kind of rot is basically unavoidable on them in Northern states. Ford boxed the rockers in with sheetmetal, then put holes in to mount the plastic rocker covers. Salt gets between the metal and plastic, in the holes, and the rockers start rotting. Because the rockers are boxed in, there isn't much you can do to stop it. Rust is the Achilles heel of this generation of Explorer unfortunately.
My 1995 Explorer was in PA for 12 years before I owned it, and the damage was done...
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