Let's revisit the rust issue

[Deezal Man]

My 98. 5 is finally falling victim to years of road salt. I had the bottom door seams repaired two years ago and now I'm right back to square one. Not a surprise because the shop told me it was likely to happen. So I figure ok, I'll have new doors put on the truck, after all the cost of new doors is pale in comparison to the idea of purchasing a $50k truck. Ok, drive to shop 1 & 2 for estimates. While we're looking over the doors, I noticed the suicide doors on the QC are just starting to rust at the bottom seams which means they're on their way. Rear bumper will survive one more season of salt blasting before needing to be replaced in spring. Both shops told me the door shells alone are ~$1,100 a piece. All said and done they both estimated between $3,000 - $3,750. Mind you, both were 'premium' shops who pay attention to details most shops overlook to reduce cost. Regardless, no small lump of change and neither included the rear doors. Thankfully the rest of the body panels are intact (amazingly). I'll be heading down to Nashville shortly and was thinking what if I bought used doors down there? They don't salt nearly as often and maybe I could find a good set of used doors? Then the next question is, what should I expect to pay for a used set of doors off a smashed truck??



How are most of you dealing with this issue?



On one hand I feel like I have to invest half the trucks value to keep it intact, causing me to want a new truck. Then I think, the same thing is going to happen on my new $50k truck... This really sucks.

 

[steved]

Although its messy, I blow my truck down with a mixture of used gear oil, new motor oil, ATF, and/or hydraulic fluid. I fill the doors, tailgate, and rockers until it runs out all the drain holes. This oil then seeps and creeps into the pinch seams.



I also blow the underneath down, and as long as you don't blow a diesel hose; the dust from the road seals it on and creates a protective coating that is self healing.



I have been doing this since before I could drive, my grandfather and dad did it way back in the 70s when they first started using salt around their neck of the woods... they never lost a car to rust.



Its not for the faint of heart... but while my truck looks absolutely horrible underneath, there isn't a bolt I can't remove.

 

[RDHamill]

I spray my truck every fall. Never had a rust issue, and I drive it in Nova Scotia where either the roads are salt covered or the sea air is full of salt. messy but it saves the truck!

 

[dclassens]

line x or rhino type product is an option.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...e-transmission-discussions/190177-cancer.html



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...ussions/91140-rhino-lining-rocker-panels.html

 

[dclassens]

PS ~ you already posted here..... https://www.turbodieselregister.com...-forum/226761-if-you-miss-your-old-truck.html

 

[roadking]

I spray my truck every fall. Never had a rust issue, and I drive it in Nova Scotia where either the roads are salt covered or the sea air is full of salt. messy but it saves the truck!

with what?

 

[JTucholke]

Yeah, Isn't road salt awesome?!! Every winter I complain about it. However, it does help to prevent people running into me... I guess. Sometimes I think it is a conspiracy - car dealers subsidize the salt!

The sad reality is there ARE alternatives, they just never get used. I seem to remember reading about a corn based melter that does not affect the vehicle.

My solution is to not drive my 4x4 truck in the winter unless I need. Since they salt if there are 4 snowflakes here, my 16 year old daily driver (a rear wheel drive Lexus) takes all the abuse. Crazy that I drive a rear wheel drive car in the winter, but I rarely have to leave town. Last summer I sandblasted both rear quarters on that car, POR'd them, sanded smooth with bondo, and painted them. Took me a weekend, but hopefully will save the cars quarters for a few more years. And, it is still cheaper than replacing anything on my truck.

I've also taken POR and painted anything I can under the truck. I have also rhino lined the rockers on it and sprayed the bottom with wool wax. The wool wax probably isn't that effective as it can spray off with high pressure it seems. POR on the other hand is nutso strong. I highly recommend it.

Until people demand something other than rock salt, we are stuck with this issue in the MidWest. I hate, hate, hate it. You can fix a lot of things, but rust is a tough one. My car is a salty coat of salt white as we speak. I cannot believe people tolerate this. I guess getting to the mall during a snow storm is pretty damn important.

 

[Deezal Man]

And I really love the genius's we have working at PENNDOT. Now they 'spray' the roads before it actually snows with some mixture of Calcium Chloride. Oh it works great!! Roads are trecherous during the first couple hours of a snow fall because this salty brine tries to melt the snow but turns into a slushy ice mixture in the cold temps. Whereas back roads where the townships cannot afford to use it. . are perfectly fine.



Like you said, I guess it's "MISSION CRITICAL" to get to the mall on bald tires.

 

[steved]

Now they 'spray' the roads before it actually snows with some mixture of Calcium Chloride.

Its not just calcium chloride... its also got a polymer that makes the salt more effective. Have you noticed all the pine trees and evergreens are dying next to the highways since they started using it?



Like I said, oil (NEW OIL) undercoating seems to be the most effective at protecting from rust... unlike paint, it will creep into the cracks, crevices, and seams.

 

[Deezal Man]

No I didn't know that Steve but I'm not surprised, I just assumed it was a mixture of things. . maybe even a little battery acid. . for good measure.



I also didn't put it together about the evergreens but yeah. . Most of the everygreens planted years ago in the highway cloverleaf's have recently begun to die. Makes total sense because the time lines match rather well. Unbelievable. .

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Maybe pick up a comparable clean, rust-free southern truck and start over? My plan is to do whatever it takes to continue running my 96 for another 30 years. If that ever means a body swap, so be it...



Old guy's story: "I've had this hammer for my whole life. I've replaced the handle 5 times and the head twice. "

 

[jgillott]

Several years ago, a friend of ours replaced the entire body on his '94. Now I'm not 100% sure that I am remembering the company name correctly, but he purchased an entire rust free body from a company in Atlanta called "The Chop Shop" or something of the like. I was there when the parts were delivered to help them unload, and the guy literally drove the parts directly to the body shop from Georgia. The parts were perfect and a great price from what I understand.



I couldn't find a link for you, but maybe someone here who has heard of them may have one.

 

[mwilson]

Its not just calcium chloride... its also got a polymer that makes the salt more effective. Have you noticed all the pine trees and evergreens are dying next to the highways since they started using it?

They are dying up here in Maine the same way from that slop that they pour on the roads... ... ... ...



Also after the first application of it every little crevice in the road surface starts to rise and open up. I think it gets under the top layer of asphalt and then expands when it gets really cold.

 

[Deezal Man]

The problem with the new body is... everything under it is still rusted to bits. Tonight I replaced the track bar and it just makes me sick to work under the truck. Every repair requires me to spray the bolts the night before in hopes of breaking the rust bond before soemthing breaks. It's absolutely unreal. Sometimes I think the answer is to buy a beater and keep the truck in the garage for 3 months. I used to laugh at my father for doing that but when I was working on his 2000 Ford the other day, it was incredible. His still has the manufacturing stickers on ever part underneath the truck. It literally looks like it rolled off the showroom floor under the truck... Which means, the summer rain does little to corrode the bodies. . it really is the winter salt.

 

[Deezal Man]

Well I tried something new. . lets see if it works. First i removed all the flaky rust and wire brushed the area. Then I used some of that Rust converter stuff. Turns it black. When that was finished I used clear coat paint to seal everything and not look unsightly. Last but not least I sprayed everything down including inside the door with LPS #3 rust preventer. . I think the finished product turned out great, you can't even tell I did anything. Time will tell if it works but I have to believe I bought myself another year to decide if I buy new doors or a new truck. P. S. I apologize for posting on the 3rd Gen side. . I have a 2nd gen truck.

 

[JTHUSKINS]

I feel your pain. I live in the mountians of NC where NCDOT chase the snowflakes to salt them before they hit the ground. I don't drive my 98 Cummins 4x4 in the winter months and instead drive one of two 98 4x4 2500 gassers which get a heavy coat of used oil and fuel oil in every crack and crevice that oil can be put with a garden sprayer. I do this three times a year. The rubber body plugs in the cab rockers and cab corners should be removed and these cavities coated well then replace the plugs

. This does pose a problem with the wife sometimes when she uses the trucks just after a treatment and ruins a clothing article but clothes are cheaper than truck parts.

 

[rbattelle]

Now they 'spray' the roads before it actually snows with some mixture of Calcium Chloride. Oh it works great!! Roads are trecherous during the first couple hours of a snow fall because this salty brine tries to melt the snow but turns into a slushy ice mixture in the cold temps. Whereas back roads where the townships cannot afford to use it. . are perfectly fine.

Ugh, I hate this stuff. I'm convinced it's nothing but clever marketing on the part of whatever company makes this crap. Convince the municipalities that it's "for the children".

including inside the door with LPS #3 rust preventer. .

I did that a couple years ago. I also regularly clean under the rubber seals and spray liberally with silicone lubricant. So far, my door bottoms are fine, but I have rust for a 2" portion of the rolled seam at the back of the driver side door. Alas.



My undercarriage is so-so. During warm weather I get under there once or twice a year and shoot the rusty spots with some Rustoleum because I'm too lazy to put any more effort into it. It's not great under there, but not so horrible that doing work under there is something I dread.



Oh, how I wish they made car bodies from aluminum. Yeah, it still oxidizes, but not like steel does. (I know, I should've bought a Ferrari).



-Ryan

 

[Deezal Man]

Would be nice if the manufacturer offered an 'Anti-corrosion' package for those of us who live in the north. It would be worth it if it cost $1,000. Imagine not having to oil down your truck just to keep it from looking like a pile of rusty metal.



With everything we can do in this country, you can't tell me someone couldn't figure out how to dip an assembled frame in a similar anti corrosion solution they use on the bodies.

 

[rbattelle]

With everything we can do in this country, you can't tell me someone couldn't figure out how to dip an assembled frame in a similar anti corrosion solution they use on the bodies.

It seems like a good idea, but logistically I can see where there are some serious issues.



For example, axle assemblies usually arrived preassembled. You wouldn't want to dip the assembled axle in anything which will leak into the tubes and foul up the oil. So you'd have to require the axle assembly supplier to dip prior to assembly, which means the axle supplier now has to invest in a complete dipping apparatus. $$$



Now, in a perfectly vertically-integrated automobile manufacturer (which doesn't exist), maybe something like this would be plausible. Still, it would be astronomically expensive.



In the long run, rust 'em, then replace 'em is probably way more economical.



-Ryan

 

[Deezal Man]

Planned obsolesces is a wonderful thing in business I suppose. .