My camping buddy had a 2006 350 diesel that he traded in up in NH. The clincher was we looked under the rear wheel well and saw where the bed rails were almost rusted through. We both live in Jersey so salt and brine are a common thing here in the winter. He bought a new 2015 350 and had them rust protect it. I have a 2011 350 that I bought in Maine and noticed some rust forming on my frame and was wondering what can be done at this point. Its out of warranty except for the drive train. Interesting thing is another friend at work has a Toyota truck 10 years old and just got informed about a recall on frame rust and to bring it in.

Any ideas on this? I can't imagine I could take mine in for rust treatment as it is already after the fact.

 

There are paints like Chassis Saver and POR15 that work really well for a few years. Painted my Ranger with this. It can be very labor intensive with brushes and rollers and you need to put a few coats on to get really good protection.

Before Chassis Saver:


After Chassis Saver:








Sprayed on POR15:


You can get a Ziebart undercoating done. I have this on my F250. You take it back each year for a touch up for a small fee. I have been very happy with this, but I am developing a small amount of bed side rust (from my truck getting hit at the dealer, not from the under coating). Other than that, they really did a nice job getting that stuff in all the nooks and crannies.

This year for the Ranger I am trying something new. I read an article online about using bar and chain oil as an under coat. It adheres to the metal leaving behind a slippery oily film. It has phosphoric acid in it which actually "eats" rust and turns it black. I've tested this and I am very happy with it so far. I bought a shutz gun from Monstaliner: Economy Shutz Gun with 1 Quart Can and got my bar and chain oil from Tractor Supply for $7 a gallon. Once I clean up the Ranger, I am doing the whole under carriage! Sprays out pretty well at 50 psi without having to thin it down.



Test stake:



Finally, Rugged Liner makes wheel well liners after you decide on protection. I am adding these after my next Ziebart touch up. $82 at Summit Racing is as cheap as I can find them. Pretty simple to install too.

Wheel Well Liners « Rugged Liner
http://ruggedliner.com/truck/wp-cont...e_English1.pdf
Best price I've found: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rlr-wwf25009

 

so the picture of the chasis is after it was treated with "using bar and chain oil ". It looks great and it sounds too simple.

 

No. That is just Chassis Saver.

The only photo with the bar and chain oil is the stake. I have not yet tried a winter with it, but I have heard and read many good things. And I know oil use to be a popular way to undercoat.

The key to the Chassis Saver and the POR is the surface prep. Make sure it is scuffed up well like what you would do for bed liner and make sure that it is cleaned with acetone or something of that nature. IE read the instructions and follow them carefully

 

im not sure about the ziebart, the rustiest truck i ever owned was treated with that stuff, its like it trapped moisture and rusted out anything coated with it, i was peeling ziebart off and there was nothing underneeth it anymore. i could walk in that truck and close the door behind me with my feet still on ground.

 

I've used por 15 on my restorations and the stuff does what they say it does. I'd recommend it as well.

 

Toyota's have boxed frames- the Tacoma's and Tundra's- and Toyota has been recoating frames that aren't structurally damaged yet (I have a friend who had his truck done under a Toyota recall), and replacing some frames completely- I know someone with an earlier Tundra and the local Toyota dealership replaced that frame to the tune of a little over $10,000 (he saw the work invoice). I have another friend with a Tacoma, that Toyota bought back. He wanted to keep it and have the frame repaired, but it was Toyota's decision. He was given book value plus some- he came out ahead.
Toyota (and Ford, obviously- it is amazing, today, to see rust so prolific with the products available to protect them)aren't alone in dealing with rust- Jeep YJ's and TJ's have boxed frames and deal with rust through, for example. But, Toyota really stepped up to the plate.
Unless you strip the frame and have it galvanized, you are just going to have to keep up with it in the manner of maintenance. Check it a couple of times a year, and nip rust in the bud as soon as it appears. If you just drive it and ignore it, you are going to have major repairs at some point.

 

I did my 94 f150 last year with por-15,its already rusting through the por 15,i also did all the pre treatments too,must just be the pa salt,i just coated it now with fluid film,hopefully that will work.

 

audi dips their body parts in zinc plating, warranties it for 12 years.

 

Just found out my Toyota friend is getting a whole new frame. What a slap in the face to American Vehicles. My 2011 already got denied help on my chrome peeling off the running board, and now I see signs of rust on the frame and it only has 23k. My thoughts when I bought this truck was it would be my last and I would enjoy touring the country camping. Now I have my doubts.

Maybe some of the Ford Reps who monitor these boards should take it back to the higher ups. Yea RIGH?T!

 

It is extremely frustrating, but you need to do something to protect your investment if nothing else. My last truck rotted away literally as fast as I paid it off.

So I tried my hand at the bar and chain oil undercoating two nights ago. Here are the results:

Before:








After:




















Not the greatest photos, but I am please with the results so far.

So far I have used 2 quarts of bar and chain oil. I sprayed bed liner under the cab last night. After it hardens, I will finish with the oil. I am definitely putting this stuff in the foam in the Super Duty bed sides. It has been great so far and so damn cheap. I have used $3.75 in oil and the underside is 2/3 done. Bedliner is a bit more expensive (2 guarts of Monstaliner), but I needed to coat the cab floor with something.

I'll post some photos of the bed liner on the floor this weekend.

 

Nice pic's, and agree seems like the ball is in my court and will have to protect my own investment. I'll have to wait till next year probably as I don't have anywhere inside to do this and it's starting to get cold and damp out here in N.J.

Thanks for the tips and pictures. good stuff.

 

A lot can happen to the underside of your truck in one winter- I encourage you not to wait until next year. At the least, check the pinch welds- the medal lip on the undersides of your doors-, the bed supports, and run the spare tire up and down to make sure that the winch isn't corroded up. And remember- a lot of this rust happens from the inside out- just because it isn't highly visible now, doesn't mean it isn't there.
On my 94 Dodge, I kept VERY close tabs on corrosion. This past spring, I crawled underneath to see how it had faired the winter, and found the forward cab supports were gone. Just that past fall, I had checked them, knowing that they were vulnerable from moisture and debris thrown back from the tires. They were visibly fine, at that time. In one winter, they ate through. I cut them out and rebuilt them, but it certainly took me by surprise. Doors, upper rear fenders, bed supports, spare tire cross member, interior of bumpers, etc.- these areas aren't seen, and can go real far before getting caught. I have been thoroughly going through this 04 that I just bought, so that I am ahead of it, instead of the rust getting ahead of me. It's rediculous to deal with this on late model trucks (look at 07 and up Dodges, for another example- eating through above the rear fender wells- there's insulation in between the panels, that holds moisture. Why should an owner deal with that on a truck that's less than 8 years old?), but it is what it is. I have just as much concern for my 04 Ford as I do my 75 GMC K15 (55,000 original miles). I will drive them as little as possible on winter roads, keeping that nasty brine away from them.

 

Thanks for the heads up hodge5. My truck mostly sits in the drive as I have a Camry that I use for work. Cheaper to drive that than a diesel. I had a 2006 F150 where inside lower doors were rusting out so I keep an eye out every time I wash this one. Hopefully we will have minimal snow this year and it will stay parked as snow days is when I use it for work.

 

That's good that it stays parked. This is actually a job I wouldn't do inside. Oil gets all over the place. The painting I would do inside though.

If there are any areas you are really concerned about, just get some kind of oil and just brush it on the concern areas. That can easily be done outside with or without a creeper. If you have concern about the doors, remove the door panels and pour oil in the door frame and let it run out of the drain holes.