Cab rust

[hr8882]

I have a 1988 and a 2002 ranger with the same cab corner rust. Has any one found any kind of remedy for this? Living in the NE I rinse off the salt but didn't help. Has to be some kind of of body flaw.

 

[Mark_88]

The corners need to be protected first of all and also constantly sprayed with water. I used to wash my truck about once a month in the winter and made sure I went up under the cab and frame with the spray.

Prepping the corners and other areas takes a bit of work but well worth it. More importantly, the frame needs to be protected and maintained along with spring and body mounts.

I think CVAR posted a frame restore link a few years ago that was awesome. He showed the prep and recommended products to do the job and how to apply them...the body is similar in need but a bit more challenging.

I had a guy sand blast my frame about ten years ago and then he sprayed it with epoxy sealer. I then applied rust paint on the inner rails and rubber guard on the outer rails top, side and bottom. It was still pretty rust free when I scrapped it last summer...only because I bought a newer frame in better shape.

While the frame was being sand blasted I stood the cab up on the back edge on top of the frame and had the guy sand blast the bottom of the cab and inside the corners. I then applied the rubber guard to the bottom of the cab...

I still have the same 88 cab and it is in need of another round...so far only minor rust and the corners are still solid...a bit of rust through but working on fixiing that...

As for now...you can actually buy the corners from parts suppliers...just a matter of cutting out the old ones and welding in the new...then apply some good paint and/or rubber guard inside and out.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

With the '88 you might check the "rain gutters" above the doors. If the sealant in the trough of them has dried out and cracked in the past 27 years it can let water leak into the inside of the cab (like inside the cab posts) where it sits and rots the metal until it creates its own drain holes.

Also, if you haven't yet you might pull the tin covers off the firewall and pull out the blower motor and check the cowl for leaves, they can rot out the cowl. IMO it was a design flaw to have the big slots for the cab air intake along the bottom of the windshield, apparently Ford agrees with me because for the second gen they had a bunch of small round holes. At least they made it fairly easy to clean out.

 

[hr8882]

Yea I think the issue with this truck is due to previous owner not taking care. The body corrosion probably was underlying before I got it. Even though I was cleaning it the rot had already started in unseen areas. I mean it is a 1988. it's whole life subject to the elements . The rust gotten to bad I think.
weird though the floor pans are good. I think I'm just going to sell it. Hate to though because it's mechanically 100% and has factory limited slip diffs. which is awesome. in bad conditions.

 

[Mark_88]

If you can lay it up for a month or so you could cover all that and more by just poping the body off and standing it up on the back edge. Windshield and door pillar rust are what really take some finesse to fix, but a good welder and grinder will do wonders.

My first 88 was a regular cab and it rusted out on the firewall and the door posts near the floor pans...that was fixable but I didn't know it at the time...besides...I really wanted an extended cab so it was a perfect excuse to do a cab swap...except you can't do a ext cab onto a regular cab frame without some serious hacking and welding...

Well, it may be something to consider...but while I was searching for a new cab for mine I saw so many rotted second and third gen cabs that I got leary of considering a swap...until I found the one I have...

 

[hr8882]

I think I'm going to concentrate on my 2002 at least it's at a point I can work with. To really find a good
body you would have to look in the mid west but that's not realistic. Thanks

 

[Mark_88]

Understandable...the parts are available last time I checked to fix what you have.

I've ran across a few in Ontario that were in not bad shape...but it really depends on the previous owner and how much they cared for the vehicle. The one I found was owned by a friends aunt who bought it new. She oiled it every year with something called Onion Skin or similar (I scratched the sticker off years ago) and there was not a spec of rust on it...till I got hold of it and drove it for several years without any work on it at all...

So...keep your eyes open for something and it will come along...always nice to have the money handy for when that happens. When I found this one, I was on temporary layoff and had just enough money in the bank to buy the truck...went a week with no money that time...but it was worth it...