Frame repair/rust
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New User
Joined: Jan 2015
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Frame repair/rust
At what point is a truck considered a money pit?
Portions of my frame in the front of my truck where the snow plow bolts to the frame are pretty hit/rusty and breaking. They have been patched up for now. Do I have the front part of the frames cut and welded back on? What if there is no good metal behind the cut pieces? How far to go before entire frame replacement or truck replacement? Cost of these type of repairs or replacements?
115k on the truck.
Portions of my frame in the front of my truck where the snow plow bolts to the frame are pretty hit/rusty and breaking. They have been patched up for now. Do I have the front part of the frames cut and welded back on? What if there is no good metal behind the cut pieces? How far to go before entire frame replacement or truck replacement? Cost of these type of repairs or replacements?
115k on the truck.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 120
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From: Pennsville, NJ
are you northern Del or Slower Del? lol- anyway , rust repair always costs more that is why i do my own. That and many places won't even touch it. I recently had to replace BOTH coil buckets on the front of an F150 4x4, and the frame under the bucket ,only on one side, was swiss cheese. I made it better than new. as far as cost to worth goes , I don't think anyone but you can answer that- what money have you recently spent on it?? and can you make payments on a new replacement @ $35K MINIMUM. . my truck already had nice paint and interior and ran well with 170K on it. And BTW it already had 3 out of four spring perches replaced in the back. The young man i sold it too afterwards is grateful though because he loves it. Crossy
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,769
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whether or not its a money pit depends on who will do the work. I rebuilt the rear 2/3 of my landcruiser frame (basically engine crossmember back) and it was prob 1000-1500 bucks in steel, body mounts, spring mounts, lots of mig wire/gas, etc...a shop would have to charge a ton to do that....it was basically a full winter of work.
that said, if you have solid metal at the engine crossmember it wouldn't take that long to fix, wouldn't need to take the entire body off the frame, and can easily find donor frame pieces in the junkyard. OR, use boxed steel tubing and lots of supports gussets etc.
that said, if you have solid metal at the engine crossmember it wouldn't take that long to fix, wouldn't need to take the entire body off the frame, and can easily find donor frame pieces in the junkyard. OR, use boxed steel tubing and lots of supports gussets etc.
Fleet Owner
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 75
From: Gilbert, PA
At what point is a truck considered a money pit?
Portions of my frame in the front of my truck where the snow plow bolts to the frame are pretty hit/rusty and breaking. They have been patched up for now. Do I have the front part of the frames cut and welded back on? What if there is no good metal behind the cut pieces? How far to go before entire frame replacement or truck replacement? Cost of these type of repairs or replacements?
115k on the truck.
Portions of my frame in the front of my truck where the snow plow bolts to the frame are pretty hit/rusty and breaking. They have been patched up for now. Do I have the front part of the frames cut and welded back on? What if there is no good metal behind the cut pieces? How far to go before entire frame replacement or truck replacement? Cost of these type of repairs or replacements?
115k on the truck.
Cross-Country
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 76
Likes: 13
Yep. The back usually goes first. If you have 2 tanks, look around the rear one. It will hold moisture and rot out your rear spring mounts.
It is fairly simple to make new frame rails from steel channel or box tube. Just measure EVERYTHING, BEFORE you take anything apart. Then just drill all the holes where they were in the old frame. One thing to keep in mind is that the factory frame has bends in it. Your new frame will not. Keep this in mind and maybe put a straight edge over the frame to see elevation changes or width changes. I will keep my truck going as long as possible. I know I will need to replace my frame some day, and it will be replaced with tube steel, but it is safe for the time being.
Be safe and have fun. There is no end to what you can do.
It is fairly simple to make new frame rails from steel channel or box tube. Just measure EVERYTHING, BEFORE you take anything apart. Then just drill all the holes where they were in the old frame. One thing to keep in mind is that the factory frame has bends in it. Your new frame will not. Keep this in mind and maybe put a straight edge over the frame to see elevation changes or width changes. I will keep my truck going as long as possible. I know I will need to replace my frame some day, and it will be replaced with tube steel, but it is safe for the time being.
Be safe and have fun. There is no end to what you can do.
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