I bought a "new"(well new to me) 1993 F150 extended cab shortbox this weekend. It has absolutely no rust on the bottom of the cab or above the wheel wells. I would like to keep it this way. How do I prevent the bottom rear of the extended cab from rusting. This truck only has 38,000 miles on it and I want the body to last as long as the chassis.

 

Have some sort of undercoating applied . If you live in a southern climate with little road salt then you shouldnt have a problem with excessive rust providing you keep the truck washed regularly . I have a 90 F150 with no rust , but I live in Tn & have always kept it clean & we rarely get enough road salt to do a lot of harm .

 

I have the same situation. I bought my '95 last year and the bottom is very clean, but not undercoated. I did a title search and found the truck was originally sold right here in the Detroit area and so must have been subject to some salt. Either the previous owner did not drive it in winter or washed it religously. (I found the drive thru car washes do NOT get the mud pack out from the body lip that rolls under the truck.)

 

Under-washing alot does the trick, I know several people with Ford's, who bought theres around the same time as me. They all have a little rust, and want to know why I don't (yet). I wash at the box corners, almost right underneath tailights, cab corners, and under the rear wheellip moldings.

Good luck with your new F150. BTW, what all equipment does it have?



Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

toydestroyer1(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

Up here so much salt is used to keep our roads ice free that in winter all our cars look white. If you don't look after them the're rust buckets in less than 10 years. A piece of painted sheet metal (flat, like a hood, roof or trunk) is not likely to rust badly no matter how much salt and wet it is exposed to. Where the problem lies is in all the bends, folds and joints (not painted) of the sheet metal that makes up the body of the truck. These are the places (cab corners, fender wells, bottoms of doors) that hold all that salty wet corrosive s#%t. Underwashing is a good habit in winter because it washes off and dilutes the salt. But in my opinion the thick wax or tar based undercoats do not work as well at preventing rust as a good oil spray does. Oil creeps into the seams and folds and displaces any moisture trapped in the nooks and crannies and leaves a protective film. Oiling not only prevents rust but can stop existing rust from getting worse. It needs to be done every year. I do it in early fall and then head for dusty gravel roads to sort of help it set (bonus!). I've tried both and oiling has kept my vehicles looking good.


1992 F150 Supercab SB 4x4 302 AOD 3.55 31x10.5 All Terrain on Ford 15x8 Ralleys

 

My truck is a 1993 4x4 XLT Supercab Short Box 4.9L I6 5spd 3.55 Red purchased with 38K miles

 

Jamden, What type of oil do you use? (motor, gear, wieght?) and how do you apply it?

 

Charlez. I use a light weight oil, like transmission oil. Spray it on with an air compressor and a long wand so you can reach into the hard to get to places. You will need to drill some holes (like in the door, door posts, tailgate) for easy access on a yearly basis. I put plastic plugs in the holes. To get between the inner box wall and fender wall take off the tailights. This is where you need a good long wand so you can get the spray all the way in. I basically spray it everywhere, inside the cab along the rockers and back into the corners, underneath etc. The only things I don't spray are the brakes and parts that get hot. If you have access to a lift it makes it a snap, you really don't want to be lying on your back under the truck and trying to spray stuff around. Oh, by the way, you may want to park it somewhere other than your driveway for a few days to a week after you've done it.

1992 F150 Supercab SB 4x4 302 AOD 3.55 31x10.5 All Terrain on Ford 15x8 Ralleys