One of the first "Projects" that i want to accomplish with my newly acquired X is to completely "Finish" the underside of the vehicle. Because of the salt use up here in Ontario, i just don't have it in me to subject my X to the conditions (Although i can only imagine how much fun it would be to drive the X in all this snow).

So, i have been slowly working it at it bit by bit, in the hopes of having it complete by May. I first attacked the DS and will work my way to the back, around to the PS and then end at the front. If anyone is concerned about corrosion and rust, be sure to look at your running boards. I was amazed at the amount of corrosion in this area and of particular interest, the spacing between the running board metal plate and the plastic cover. A haven as far as i am concerned for corrosion and rust.

I have finally taken some photos of the progress. Hopefully now i can get a routine in place to snap some pics as the progress moves forward!!!

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?albumid=32644

Cheers,

 

gecko,

NICE WORK!

I noticed your Ex lacks a rear sway bar...that mod should be high on your list! (IMO). JCWhitney sells the Hellwig delivered for under $200...a good move and easy to install and makes a HUGE difference in handling...I usually get email discount codes for Whitney for 10-20% off...let me know if you are interested...you can go to JCWhitnet.com and sign up for the email notifications too and then jump when you get one you like!

Keep the pictures coming...it is nice to see others work!

joe.

 

What is the color code on your Excursion?

The images make it appear a turquoise or aqau color.

 

Very nice work indeed. I have spray bombed a couple of the seams under my Ex...hoping to keep it nice and clean of rust. After the rusting my former Bronco did...I want to keep the Ex as good as I can.

 

I am using a "Lighter" green for the underside. There is actually a fairly large price difference to attempt to get "Exact" match color VS Near Match color. My X has the dark satin green (FU) for exterior. I deliberately went with a lighter green VS a darker green to so as to offset all the rest, which will be gloss black or gloss Grey.

 

What brand of paint are you using? I was think of starting that project on my X. Live in michigan salt all over the place in winter. have you noticed a rust spot where the quater panel and hood and windshield all meet up. Or a small gathering at the bottom of the doors(on the inside lip).

 

I like what u have done. I would like to do this to mine. How hard is it to do? Also where did u get the POR 15 from? I awesome that its the paint that u use?

 

I have been spending quite a bit of time crawling around underneath and from what i have seen, the worst spot is on the inside lip directly below where the front doors meet the front fenders.

In this photo (https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...176891&width=0) to the far right in the photo, you can see that the green paint is darker. This is where it had rust. I had to do some serious sanding here. Nothing perforated, however it was a concern. I then cleaned the bare metal and then applied POR15. I then painted over it.

You can see in this photo
(https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...176894&width=0) that the passenger side has done the same thing...

OTher than these two areas, the body is extremely solid. I was quite happy... The parts/brackets are mostly all rusted (As would be expected), however it is mostly all surface with some rubberizing pealing off... These should all clean up fairly easily. The other area that i have already mentioned are the running board metal plates. They were badly corroded and needed allot attention and POR15 to seal up.

I would have to get back at you re: paint. The black/greys will simply be Tremclad Hi-Gloss Rust paint. I may though not even paint at all with Black as POR15 comes out to a fantastic smooth gloss finish... I'll have to wait and see as it progresses.

 

It's not as hard as it is tedious and fairly dirty!! Unless you have a nice scissor lift in your garage, it's hard going on your back on a crawler!!! I picked up two pairs of car ramps (I had to get some HD versions because of the weight!!!). These were made of a strong poly plastic and are very well made. They added almost a foot to my work aread underneath and it is a real godsend.

I picked up my POR from a local supplier, however This SITE has great information regarding POR. The pricing is bang on with what i paid, less the shipping...

 

Is there any kind of sound deadner spray or something like that, that one could put at the bottom and maybe paint over it afterwards? Oh, and it looks really good, great job!

 

What do u use to sand down the frame? Any air tools?

 

Nice job ,nice colors.
I sprayed my X with 1/16 inch coat of greese allover the underbody, inside doors and fenders.
No water,salt,snow or dirt sticks to it now.And you're right about the running boards ,they rust b/c there's not much air goin thru while driving to blow it out.
good luck.

 

Thought i would make an update to this thread in my ongoing restore of the underside....

I took a break from "Being on my back!!" so to speak and moved to the DS front fender well area.. MUCH easier to work on.....

I removed the shock, shock mount, bump stop, all steering components, sway bars, fender liner, brackets,etc to get the best access possible during the cleanup and restore process....

That got me down to the frame as best as i could without doing a frame-off (That'll never happen.... ). ALLOT of sanding, grinding, cleaning. Then applied some metal etching for adhesion for the POR15. I used POR as much as i could, however there are some areas where it just made more sense to use some primer/tremclad instead.

Some notes that came out of this chapter:

• Shocks are pretty much done. With that said, i decided to put it back on and simply wait until next year when i will need longer shocks anyway with the planned lift.
• The bump stop(s) are done. I was going to bite the bullet and buy a new set, however like the shocks, I will need new stops with the lift and so decided to put the old ones back one for the time being.
• The fender liner is HARD to remove!!!! Not something you want to be doing every day.
• I was very surprised that, with the rotors being as heavy as they are, that there is not a retaining screw in place to hold it there (Like most of the other vehicles i have worked on in the past).

All in all, it went quite well. Now on to the DS rear wheel area!!
Newest photos in the gallery start at the following link:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...179724&width=0

 

Boy, it just keeps getting better and better! Good job and please keep everybody posted on your progress.