So I dont have a carpet its just underlayment and a hard molded piece of plastic with a mat. Anyway I notice that rust is appearing at the corners of the cab and one has broken the outer skin and my underlayment is sopping wet. Im going to pull the interior and put new underlayment in the truck but I was gonna coat the floors with this Rust grip that encapsulates anything. Anyway I know I will need to find the leak but is Rust grip overboard? Any advice appreciated! Thanks, Corey.

 

Paint it with whatever you trust and have had the most luck with on previous projects.

I will give you a tip that may or may not be your problem; If you are getting wet at the rear inside corners of the cab, open the doors and stand on the sills and inspect the body seam that goes from the gutters over top of the doors to the rear top corner of the cab. The seam then goes down diagonally the rear window. The sealer in the seam and in the gutter had opened up, and that was my water leak in the inside rear corners of the cab.

 

What's the best stuff to reseal those body seams?

 

Franklin, I seem to have the same issue with my rain gutters. I am waiting until the weather warms up (aka spring) until I address the issue properly. What did you to remove the old sealer? How did you prep it before you put the new sealer back in? What sealer did you use to seal it back up? Any information on this subject will be greatly appreciated.

Corey, I seem to have the same padding and rubber type mat that you have. I am waiting until warmer weather to address my floor issues. I have not removed anything yet, but I suspect there will be some rust holes to patch with new metal. I am assuming that I will get to practice on my welding skills (haven't used a welder in more than 25 years). I have seen this stuff called HushMat ( Sound Dampening, Vibration Damping, Thermal Insulation for automotive applications - HUSHMAT. ). I have also read somewhere in FTE about someone using a FrostKing product which is cheaper and readily available from Home Depot or Lowes, although I personally have not done any research on the FrostKing product yet. I am considering using a rust encapsulation type product on my floor once I do all the repairs on it. Then I am going to put an undercoating product over that, then the HushMat type product over that. Once that is done, I will replace the old mat with a new one. We only use our truck for camping and hauling stuff anymore, so we really prefer having a rubber mat (easier to clean) over carpet.

 

Interesting, yeah theres rust in the rain gutters and a couple spots on the roof but other than that it seems pretty intact ill have to carefully investigate. I have been thinking that the deals around the windows are cracking and drying and water is getting in the doors or through the back window. I think my floors are pretty intact (famous last words) ive only found some minor holes. Im just thinking of putting something on the floor like that rust grip because the bottom of the truck will dry out at regularly but inside the padding has allowed it to just sit. Thanks for the advice so far.

 

What I am doing bud Is wiring brushing and or grinding the baddest rust spots get it all down to metal and or paint to get the rust off. Also on top of that used a rust to primer convertor and then rust stopping/converting paint and then my oem paint and then bedliner a couple coats and then a vinyl type mat. Not sure what but even with the all new weather strip and seals I don't want water in my jute anymore so I may use frost kind but I couldn't find it the other day.

 

For the seams use 3M All Around autobody sealant. This can be bought at most auto paint stores. Do not use silicone based sealant as some silicones can not be painted over, and they are also caustic to your trucks sheet metal.

As for a rust preventative. I'd consider using zinc enriched galvanizing compound, which you can get in spray cans, then primer and paint over that.

 

If you are restoring your truck, you probably have a auto body supply shop in your area, and they will sell the proper sealant like the previous poster mentioned. My trucks are functional, and I use whatever I can get cheap. I used the stuff from lowe's that is still paintable, but has some silicone in it.

I believe if you get in and observe your truck while it's raining with the trim pieces off, you will find it might be leaking up high in the roof area. I believe this is a common problem in these trucks, and is the reason the rear corners rust out all the time.

 

Another place that leaks is my truck had an original windshield & the windshield sealer had dried out & was leaking in places causing water under dash on the floor. Finally had a new windshield installed after the original broke. That seemed to solve that problem.

Craig

 

I'm getting water in around the cab lights. Looks like something was dropped on the roof at one time. (Actually several times)

 

You called it Franklin. Weve had rain here in Tacoma and I went to pull it in the garage to drop a exhaust manifold and pull the butterfly valve block out, anyway I keep a roll of paper towels behind the seat and they were wet and i started looking at the sealant and its cracked and the rain gutters are pretty rusty. BTW anyone know about muffler requirements in Washington? Thanks, Corey

 

Maybe thats what is going on with my truck. I don't know the state of my floor, but I know there are rust holes that look more like saw zaw cuts from the middle of the door sill to the back corner of the cab. I guess I better look into it more.

 

Tonight after I got back I put some thin duct tape over the seams to the back window til i can get to it in spring. But that 302 is loud!!! rattles the whole cab, way too much fun. Feel sorry for the neighbors.