Post #15 https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...e-x-today.html

 

All I can say is that I hate rust! I've tried to keep mine in top condition, even keeping it garaged and out of the snow for the past few years, and low and behold, there's a rust hole in one of the bed cross members. There's no rust on the rear wheel wells, and the little that started under the doors was minor and taken care of a few years ago. I decided to lower my spare this weekend, and was expecting some crust, but not a hole. Now the fun begins! I'll be taking the bed off, cutting the bad sections out and rebuilding them. I'm going to sandblast the underside of the bed and put some por-15 on the scaly surfaces. The fun part, so far, has been trying to get the 8 bed bolts out. After 6 broken T-50 torx sockets and 2 cans of PB blaster, I've gotten 2 of them out. Oh, and the Line-x that was sprayed over the bolts has been a blast! Anyone in the northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin area should be able to hear the swearing!!!!

 

I wish I could say the same about mine but in the spring ill be removing my bed as well you'll probably hear the swearing from here in Mass lol, how would you guys recommend POR-15?

 

acf6,,,your going to want to pull those rubber gaskets off your door bottom,,You probobly wont like what you see,,,Have at it !

 

I need to because the left one is falling off

 

When Ford replaced my bedsides, under warranty, they needed to remove the bed. I was able to see the truck without the bed at the dealership (my father said he saw it sitting outside and went over and took pics, goofy guy!) It looked as though they somehow cut the heads off to pull the bed. How they got the remaining bolts out of the frame is a mystery to me. I no longer have this truck though.

 

Wow, its hard to imagine those bed bolts were so seized after a few years. Maybe they find it quicker to cut them out? Your frame looks just like mine (chicago area road salt), I should pull the bed and address the issues now.

 

I'm not surprised, road salt just seizes everything!! I'm sure it is easier just to cut them although it looks like they just cut around the top to slide the bed off (you can see the star pattern on the one bolt still). I'm trying Fluid Film on the doors and other areas prone to rust but thats a battle, in my opinion, that can't be won. I've come to the fact that until I'm able to garage the truck, it's going to get eaten alive.

 

I do garage mine but unless you have the time/energy to clean all the salt residue off all the time it still takes its toll.

 

Oh I meant garage it for the winter as in not driving it at all.

 

Those bolts are a huge pain to get out, on my friends we ended up cutting them, then heating them up with the torch and using a monkey wrench to twist them. As far as the rust on the bottom of the door goes, you should get in there and fix it asap. The design is simple, the inside and outside panels of metal sandwich together at the bottom, and moisture gets trapped in between them. I used an angle grinder with a cutting disk to cut along the bottom edge of the door where it's folded over in order to separate the two layers. You will need to cut about 1" up from the bottom, and at the inside edge of the bottom as well. Once you get it started you can probably just cut the top then roll the metal back like I did....do not force it though, if it gets stubborn just encourage it with the angle grinder. Be mindful that you're paint is on the other side and try not to stay in the same place for too long, or go too deep with the cutting wheel. Here is a pic of the drivers side door, close to done with the cutting.


Here's a pic of where I started....I then used the grinding wheel and a wire wheel and brush to remove the rust.


And toward the front of the truck, drivers side


After I got it pretty clean, I used my MIG welder to tack the two panels back together. I left a decent amount of space between the panels in order to let air flow and moisture escape. Again, keep in mind that your paint is on the other side of the door when you're welding and move quickly!! I set up my shower-head hose attachment on the other side and ran it on the paint while I welded to keep it as cool as I could. I was planning on painting the bottom black anyway, but I could have kept it red if I wanted...the water worked to keep the paint from burning.


Here's a picture from the outside. I highly recommend doing this to your doors before they rust out on the bottom. The sooner you do it, the more good metal you'll have to work with. Also, the cleaning/prep work will be much easier. Less rust = less to clean .


Good luck, and keep fighting the good fight!!

 

Rose Clifford,

I commend you on your efforts in battling the rust and those who want to battle can use this information. I'll sell before I put that much work into a vehicle.

 

Nice work John. At least yours is 8 years old, I'm kind of po'd that this is happening to 3 and 4 year old trucks.

 

sorry John/Rose

 

This I completely agree with!!!