So when is rusted too rusted? I have the cab corners / rocker / bottom of door rust, the outside of the bed still looks good but PO, used bondo over wheel wells and it's coming apart. I noticed the shocks are starting to rot, I lost part of my gas tank strap. Mechanically the truck is fine with 137K on it, new tires and wheels, new tie rods, ball joints, stabilizer links, The frame is starting to flake. So what's the general consensus, run it, junk it or try to keep patch working it?

Oh, it's a 2003 F350 SCLB 5.4L auto, 4x4

 

That really depends on you and how much money you want/have to sink into it, and how much you like the truck.

I had the same year truck, CCSB, 6.0 diesel. Ran like a champ, only left me stranded twice, both in my work parking lot (power steering line let go once, EGR valve froze once), mechanically was in AWESOME shape, and the interior was flawless.

That's where the good ended. The cab corners were rusting, the bottoms of both front doors were rusting, and the box wasn't really attached in the front anymore (were it not for the fifth wheel hitch rails, I'm pretty sure I'd have lost the box at some point). Even my bumpers were starting to rust through.

For me, it wasn't worth it to sink money into the body of the truck, because it was a general workhorse and a drive it to work every day truck. I'd already owned it 6 years or better when I started seeing rust, and knew I'd be replacing it soon, and you NEVER recoup bodywork money.

For some people, though, they love their truck, they're going to keep it forever, so it's always worth the money to them to fix problems like that. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you understand that you'll probably never recoup what you put into it.

 

i had the same truck as you, but a 2006. it’s been primarily a plow truck since 2010. i’m in salt country, so rust was everywhere. even had a local mechanic shop inspect it one summer a few years ago because i was concerned about the rust.

in the winter of 2019, the bed supports started dissolving from the rust and the bed was sinking; tried to stick some 2x4’s in there instead, but there was no place to raise the bed due to the rust.

got rid of it in April 2019; didn’t want to have it fall apart on me in the middle of a storm.

 

Yep...very much a personal decision. If the rust bothers you, or you think it's just getting too much, let her go. I loved my 2003 5.4L. I sold her a long time ago, but I still can't imagine any rust being on it. But I suppose they all have to after a while. Yeah, maybe it's time to let it go and see what all the new stuff is about.

 

I just picked up a rusty 05 79k 1 owner CCLB 4x4 v10 lariat with a roof for 3500 bucks. Picking up a used bed for 1300 and 4 doors for 450. Ill do the rockers myself, 250 for the metal repair parts and ill have 600 in brakes and wear items. I bought great used tires for 225 and ill have them mounted.
So for 6500 ill flip it for 10 to 12k. Or ill keep it as a nice workhorse tow vehicle. Car gurus today for an identical truck with identical mileage is 15k on a dealers lot and marked 3000 below value.
These trucks are expensive, so if you can do the work, you'll at least be able to make some money on it.