My '89 extended cab F250 has rust on both sides of the cab right behind the front door opening at the bottom corner. It's an '89 so the extended cab does not have a separate door. I couldn't figure out why it was rusting so quickly in the same exact spot on both sides. One day as I was watching the rain I noticed it really dripping frequently from this spot. Even after the rain stopped I have noticed it dripping from this spot for an hour or so after everything else has dried. Clearly it's holding moisture. Today I took a peak underneath and found the stuff in the picture below. It looks like chewing gum lol. But it's hard as a rock and is actually painted like the rest of the metal around it. Wouldn't I be better off knocking that stuff out of there so it won't hold moisture anymore? I plan on sandblasting that corner and seam and don't want to have rust back immediately. Does anyone have a picture of the spot on their extended cab? If I knock that stuff out I'll end up having maybe a 1/4" opening between the sheet metal. I don't think it is providing any structural support. Any ideas/suggestions?? It's started rusting very quickly since I picked the truck up a month or so ago.



From the outside. It's some kind of white material that has been painted.





Underneath the rocker panel. It looks like chewing gum.

 

Appears to be some sort of (failed) sealant or perhaps an expoxy? Certainly does NOT look factory. By the look of the picture and the rough edges around that area, it looks like someone cut out a portion of rust in the past and tried to fill it up solid with some junk and paint over it. It's already bubbled through around the entire area and you even said you think it is trapping moisture, so I wouldn't think knocking it out of there could hurt anything.

Also - I believe I recall seeing a picture of your truck on the Show Off Your Pre-97's, it looks great! Love that style of rims on that bricknose.

 

I've got goo like that on my truck. It's a sealant.

 

I've never owned a bricknose, is your 'goo' in the same spot as his?

 

Sealant. After a few decades, you may wish to replace it. Any good auto paint supply should have a proper product to do so.

Scott

 

Thanks! I love the old bricknose Fords! I've been looking for a southern one for a while and came across this one. It's been in Ohio the last 2 years. It doesn't take long for Fords to start rusting in Ohio unfortunately. I want to stop or slow these couple spots before they get too bad. I think I'm going to knock it out of there today. Once I get some warm dry weather I'll sand blast it real good, put some rust inhibitor on it, prime it, put some better sealer in there (maybe), then paint.

 

Seems like a bad design the way it traps moisture so bad. If it was factory sealant I'd think they'd have made it a little more smooth. As mentioned above I think someone may have "trimmed" a piece of rust out of there and then used epoxy to fill the gap. It looks like you can actually see the imprint of a fingertip from pushing it into place. I'd rather just have a small gap there than rust so I think I'm going to remove that stuff.

 

Yeah I thought so too.. it looks a little too poorly done for Ford's standards..?
Definitely understand the rust - I've lived in NE Ohio my entire life. It's a shame.. though the new ones weren't made like the old ones.. it's pretty sad to see 2010+ trucks already rusted through and bubbled. I've never owned a bricknose but certainly wouldn't mind, they're good looking trucks. I've just always driven my 94&95 while (very slowly) restoring my dentsides. I currently have on some 38.5s on my DD but plan to get this extra set of 35s transferred to the 8 hole style rims like you have, I like them a lot!

 

The extended cabs had a tenancy to rust out in those areas. If I'm not mistaken that area that is sealed over might be a drain channel, you said water dripped out for an hour or so after it finished raining. If the PO didn't know what he was doing he may have sealed over the drain. When you knock the caulk out, check it real good, if it is a drain channel, you may just want to cut out the affected area and weld plate back in there then paint it over.

As long as you're under there check the bottoms of your doors also, there are drains there that no one ever cleans out that causes rusting also.

 

Yeah it definitely seems like a drain channel. I knocked the stuff out pretty easily and you can easily see a thumb print from it being stuffed up in there. I checked under the doors and there is some rust starting there too. I'll check the drain holes under there. I plan on getting a gallon of Fluid Film and spraying under the truck. I'll also spray down inside the doors. Below is a couple pictures of the "sealer" I knocked loose. See the thumb print lol.

 

That is FACTORY seam sealer. It seals the panel so road splash does Not get in. Ford did NOT care how it looked under the truck, just as long as it filled the void

The problem is, the rear window and the supercab window like to leak which allows water in. The the sealant does it job so well it doesnt allow the water out and that rusts the cab panel from the inside out

 

Do you think it's better to have it in there or out of there? I left the sealer that ran up into the door jamb. That was just the wad of it that was filling that gap on the rocker panel from under the door to where the ext cab sheet metal starts. I don't see how that should allow water up into the cab or anywhere else. I'll keep an eye on it though the next time it rains. I may have to put some new seam sealer in there quick But my goal is to clean the seam up as much as I can and put some kind of rust inhibitor on it before respraying it.

 

Too little too late. The rust has already started. The only way to fix it is either cut out the cab corner or if you can see the backside and sandblast it. But i don't think you have much metal left to sandblast