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How's your body / chassis holding up? How many miles? Your state location?

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2001 power seat fix?

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Mine 2001 with 187,000 Long Island NY. Original owner.

Bottom of doors have rusted and been repaired. No other rust I know of. Chassis has near zero rust I always kept painting and touching up. Also did same to under of body. Two rear doors of quad cab need done now for first time. When I get it inspected they say where has this truck been with no rust on underside. :)

Thanks
 
Mine 2001 with 187,000 Long Island NY. Original owner.

Bottom of doors have rusted and been repaired. No other rust I know of. Chassis has near zero rust I always kept painting and touching up. Also did same to under of body. Two rear doors of quad cab need done now for first time. When I get it inspected they say where has this truck been with no rust on underside. :)

Thanks

My 1999 Quadcab is holding up well with 251,000 miles. Drive mostly in Ohio & Indiana and the body has no rust and the underside had no rust. Touch up the paint nicks & chips every Summer. I use Fluid Film and WD40 to keep things oiled. The chassis has been good and only changed the track bar and shocks (front & rear) so far. The drivers seat is showing the most wear of anything. LOL
 
My driver's power seat died also. Plastic dash face panel was replaced also. Touched it to remove it and it just broke like corn flakes.
 
My 1998.5 Club Cab is holding up well. 228,000 miles. No rust at all, being it's spent its entire life in the West. I repainted it almost 4 years ago. I put some new tires and wheels on it 2000 miles ago, 20 inch Weld EVOs. I need to get some pics and post them.
 
Oh and my 1996 Ram LB CC 4x4 isn't doing too bad either. It is 99.5% rust free, just one tiny spot bubbling behind the right front wheelwell. It is at 483,520 miles. The driver door is sagging a bit, and the driver seat original upholstery has finally gotten a seam coming apart. Also the interior door handle grab is broken, but other than that there's very few faulty or nonworking items on the truck.
 
Well, I run the Southwest, based here in Texas, so rust isn't an issue for us. But rough roads and heat are. All my dashes have gone to pieces, and my higher mileage trucks are really showing their age. My personal '97 is holding up well with 456k on the dial, 267k on the second motor. The first motor wasn't bad, I just built an engine for it, so I could use all the numbers on my 50psi boost guage... The body is good except the dash. I was getting a little surface rust in 2004 when I put in the built engine and installed a 6spd, so I painted the frame with the body off, so that looks great.

One of my '95 ranch trucks has 145k on it, and it's like riding on air ride in the pasture. I had to take it out of regular service, as I didn't feel it was highway worthy. When you're idling through the pasture, you can feel the cab moving under your feet, as the cab sits on the frame. It's just coming apart. I've got a '98 with 315k on it that's getting to that point, too. I'll be having to replace it in another year or so. One of my 2001's has 367k on it, and it's holding up great. But it gets a few more highway miles between the ranches than the others. All in all, I'd say they're holding up at least as good as any Freightshaker I've ever owned. Clutch and transmission issues are my biggest problem.
 
Original Track bar is shot on mine now at 187,000 transmission at 110, AC toast it leaks after a year and needs recharged. Probably needs shocks again soon. Tired usually go about 50 k. Banks exhaust. Change oil every 10,000 according to Blackstone Labs dino oil. Excursion I have needs it at 5,000 with 6.0. one small crack in top dash.
 
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12/96 240 000 miles
Body : bottom of doors, front fenders, rocker panels, etc... has rusted ! It has been coated every year or so but 20 winters in east Canada... If you miss one year with anti-rust, it's like all the rust from the previous years comes at once !
Frame : spot of rust but nothing major
Axles, suspension : rust everywhere, my maxx links have broken, I think, because of rust.
Under the hood : rust on hydroboost, coolant tubes, etc...
I take care each year but winter is very rough for our old trucks here.
 
Washington 2002
No rust whatsoever. Doors are nice and tight, interior very nice. Paint is good except the hood has something going on. I think it was some crap from the neighbors tree that I didnt catch and now cant get off.
 
Wisconsin.
2002. Used for 2 winters and stored all winters since. Only use it to plow my private driveway.
No rust at all.
My hood has something going on too.
Frame clean. 128000 miles.
 
Mine is an '02 and I am the original owner, 283,000 miles and I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Body is in excellent condition as far as rust. The hood and roof have lost their clear coat and the paint is faded badly there. The rest of the body paint is fine. I think I am going to repaint the truck sometime and run it another couple hundred thousand miles.

- John
 
Truck in Sig = Acquired 5/2001, 75k, bone stock. Now 226k, tweaked a bit (see sig). 2 years back decided to give her a face-lift = roughly $10k+ for: Orig. New still in Mopar box! Dodge Dr. Door (acquired from a TDR member for $300 + $100 shipping to my home), new front outer fenders, bed wheel arch patch panels, L rear lower door patch panel (all patch panels and fenders acquired from LMC Truck) and a fresh paint-job at an old friend’s restoration shop. I removed everything before delivery to his shop = interior (I got a junkyard full front split/seat for $50 to use during the paint/metal work), carpet, door panels, door to body seals and etc. I decided to install faux hood scoops, but not the aftermarket stick on ones = I went with re-pops for a 67 GTX complete with chrome bezels for $400, painted to match the original/re-painted Light Driftwood paint. I took the lower portion of the factory door “2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel” call-outs, trimmed the areas on top of it (Cummins Turbo Diesel - I think they may say Cummins 24 Valve Turbo Diesel but forget as I sit here typing) where it fits into the 2500 call-out and applied them on the outer edge of each of the scoops. Very pleased with how it all turned out = no call-outs anywhere on the body except for on the sides of each scoop, I’ll have to post a picture of two when I get home, I’ve been meaning/wanting to do so since completion, this gives me a reason to do so...

As far as the Chassis: about 6 years ago I found rust holes on both sides of the inner channels (L & R inners) of the frame (exactly where the frame needs to be spread a bit to R&R trans mount when removing trans = had the trans DTT’ed back in early 02 “prior” to BOMB’ing) in my driveway I supported both rails in front of and behind of the subject areas, cut out 1/2” around both areas in a rectangular fashion, removed all crusty areas from inside the channels, applied etch primer and Eastwood chassis black to inners, angle ground area to weld-in patches and cut to fit the “to be installed” plate steel patches. Using my trusty 110v Craftsman mig welder I spotted-in (about 3/4” from each other working corner to center, top to bottom, then side-to-side spot welds) the patches, smoothed the spots and then flowed-in (making certain I had good penetration) the rest. I then smoothed the welds, re-coated the inner rails (Eastwood has this awesome little hose with nozzle that comes with the chassis black that directs the spray pattern everywhere!) etch primered the outside and coated with more chassis black. I allowed everything to cure (allowing about a week) then wire wheel and sanded all crusties from all areas of the frame, I brushed the whole frame = front-to-back with “Fluid Film” an awesome product BTW. I’m a bit of a “whacko” and actually removed the front and rear differentials including the rear spring-pacs to be sure I could get to all the crusty spots, painted with etch primer and then chassis black allowed to cure then applied the Fluid Film. Also, wire wheeled the diffs, spring packs, etc. and installed new rear spring hangers = they both had about 1/2” rust holes....

All in all I’m very pleased with the restoration and my handy patches and feel my old girl shall serve me well into the future. Only thing I would have done differently during the metal work while at my old friends shop would have been to acquire a new driver side outer rocker panel instead of having them cut out, fab up small patches to weld in. Unfortunately the knucklehead working at my friend’s shop used a cut-off wheel to remove the seam area of the rocker and neglected to blow-out all the grindings and coat the inner areas before welding in the patches, so about 6 months afterwards the rust began to appear. This coming summer’s project = cut out, blow out, coat inners and weld in patches acquired from a pristine 01 quad-cab I located at local yard this summer. Yes drilled out all the spot welds from the rocker (inner and outer) that I found, weld-thru primed areas to be welded and etch primed the rest. So, looking forward to completing this project and then get the bottom 1”, or so, of the body color match rhino lined afterwards.

Oh, almost forgot, on the front left frame just below and forward of the steering box I found a rust hole!? Back to my favorite parts yard and cut off a complete = from behind the box forward frame rail section (cost me about $50). I cut out the rusted section, maintaining original frame areas not rusty, sized to fit sections I needed - from the yard acquired rail - prepared all as previously - and installed.

All the frame repairs performed have not displayed any fatigue and/or re-rusting. I consider myself fortunate to be able to have performed all these by myself and more fortunate that they “apparently” were performed well, as evidenced by the lack of fatigue and/or re-appearance of rust in the work areas.

Hope I remember to post a few pictures when I get home next week.
 
That is an impressive amount of work and dedication to your truck! It just shows how fortunate we are out here in the west, not having to deal with the heavy rust you have in the east. Looking forward to seeing some photos.

- John
 
John,

Thanks. It is, for sure, a labor of love. I plan on keeping her for “forever” = however long that may be...

I was hoping I didn’t, as my wife says, “ramble on and on, and on...” (of course she “never” does that —> LOL) so I appreciate your comment and I will (try to remember to) post up a few pictures when I get home next week.

Joe Mc
 
'93 Ram 250 - 410,167 miles and still going strong (hope I didn't just jinx myself...) I live in western WA, spent a small time living on the coast. It's been well used, as I raised beef for about 10 years... Body is doing OK, a number of scratches and small-ish rust spots. Had to replace both doors due to power windows failing and wanted to switch to manual cranks instead of replacing motors. I will admit, however that I can't remember the last time I washed the truck. IMO it's a waste of time as it's just going to get dirty again, and with all the rain, it gets "washed" almost daily in the winter.
 
Truck in Sig = Acquired 5/2001, 75k, bone stock. Now 226k, tweaked a bit (see sig). 2 years back decided to give her a face-lift = roughly $10k+ for: Orig. New still in Mopar box! Dodge Dr. Door (acquired from a TDR member for $300 + $100 shipping to my home), new front outer fenders, bed wheel arch patch panels, L rear lower door patch panel (all patch panels and fenders acquired from LMC Truck) and a fresh paint-job at an old friend’s restoration shop. I removed everything before delivery to his shop = interior (I got a junkyard full front split/seat for $50 to use during the paint/metal work), carpet, door panels, door to body seals and etc. I decided to install faux hood scoops, but not the aftermarket stick on ones = I went with re-pops for a 67 GTX complete with chrome bezels for $400, painted to match the original/re-painted Light Driftwood paint. I took the lower portion of the factory door “2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel” call-outs, trimmed the areas on top of it (Cummins Turbo Diesel - I think they may say Cummins 24 Valve Turbo Diesel but forget as I sit here typing) where it fits into the 2500 call-out and applied them on the outer edge of each of the scoops. Very pleased with how it all turned out = no call-outs anywhere on the body except for on the sides of each scoop, I’ll have to post a picture of two when I get home, I’ve been meaning/wanting to do so since completion, this gives me a reason to do so...

As far as the Chassis: about 6 years ago I found rust holes on both sides of the inner channels (L & R inners) of the frame (exactly where the frame needs to be spread a bit to R&R trans mount when removing trans = had the trans DTT’ed back in early 02 “prior” to BOMB’ing) in my driveway I supported both rails in front of and behind of the subject areas, cut out 1/2” around both areas in a rectangular fashion, removed all crusty areas from inside the channels, applied etch primer and Eastwood chassis black to inners, angle ground area to weld-in patches and cut to fit the “to be installed” plate steel patches. Using my trusty 110v Craftsman mig welder I spotted-in (about 3/4” from each other working corner to center, top to bottom, then side-to-side spot welds) the patches, smoothed the spots and then flowed-in (making certain I had good penetration) the rest. I then smoothed the welds, re-coated the inner rails (Eastwood has this awesome little hose with nozzle that comes with the chassis black that directs the spray pattern everywhere!) etch primered the outside and coated with more chassis black. I allowed everything to cure (allowing about a week) then wire wheel and sanded all crusties from all areas of the frame, I brushed the whole frame = front-to-back with “Fluid Film” an awesome product BTW. I’m a bit of a “whacko” and actually removed the front and rear differentials including the rear spring-pacs to be sure I could get to all the crusty spots, painted with etch primer and then chassis black allowed to cure then applied the Fluid Film. Also, wire wheeled the diffs, spring packs, etc. and installed new rear spring hangers = they both had about 1/2” rust holes....

All in all I’m very pleased with the restoration and my handy patches and feel my old girl shall serve me well into the future. Only thing I would have done differently during the metal work while at my old friends shop would have been to acquire a new driver side outer rocker panel instead of having them cut out, fab up small patches to weld in. Unfortunately the knucklehead working at my friend’s shop used a cut-off wheel to remove the seam area of the rocker and neglected to blow-out all the grindings and coat the inner areas before welding in the patches, so about 6 months afterwards the rust began to appear. This coming summer’s project = cut out, blow out, coat inners and weld in patches acquired from a pristine 01 quad-cab I located at local yard this summer. Yes drilled out all the spot welds from the rocker (inner and outer) that I found, weld-thru primed areas to be welded and etch primed the rest. So, looking forward to completing this project and then get the bottom 1”, or so, of the body color match rhino lined afterwards.

Oh, almost forgot, on the front left frame just below and forward of the steering box I found a rust hole!? Back to my favorite parts yard and cut off a complete = from behind the box forward frame rail section (cost me about $50). I cut out the rusted section, maintaining original frame areas not rusty, sized to fit sections I needed - from the yard acquired rail - prepared all as previously - and installed.

All the frame repairs performed have not displayed any fatigue and/or re-rusting. I consider myself fortunate to be able to have performed all these by myself and more fortunate that they “apparently” were performed well, as evidenced by the lack of fatigue and/or re-appearance of rust in the work areas.

Hope I remember to post a few pictures when I get home next week.

Any pictures? Thanks. Lots of work!
 
Any pictures? Thanks. Lots of work![/QUOTE]



Returning home late afternoon, in Orlando presently, today. I’ll post some up maybe tomorrow or... next week = soon tho, I’ve really been meaning to for quite some time. Thanks for interest. Yes lots of work and labor of love.
 
Here's some pics, weather was a bit overcast so not really good pictures.

IMG_2082.jpg


IMG_2089.jpg


IMG_2084.jpg


IMG_2083.jpg


IMG_2085.jpg


IMG_2087.jpg


IMG_2088.jpg
 
Nice truck !
I like your fender flares (since I'm not a big fan of the pocket style). What's the brand ?
It's difficult to find some just for the front (I have a custom bed now).
Are you happy with your headlights ?
 
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