Preventing rust... Before it starts

[AllBlackBimmer]

Just got an '04 supercab....

Paint looks good, no real rust, and the previous owner under coated and sprayed a lot of areas of the truck.

However, everyone knows fords have rust issues at the bottom of the doors, cab corners, tailgates..

I'm mostly concerned about my cab corners and doors. Can easily replace the tailgate, not concerned about that.

What can I do now, to stop rust from even starting? My last ranger, the corners and doors starting rotting from the inside out.

I know the doors have drain holes in them they need to be made sure they are clear of dirt, but what else can be done to prevent rust from starting?

Take the door apart and paint?
I want my truck to last, and living in the northeast with the winters we get and mass amounts of salt they throw on the roads doesn't help.

Also, I do wash my vehicles a lot during winter, spray it off once or twice a week. I've read people actually spray water up into the drain holes to help flush... I have power locks and windows... If I do this will it damage the electronic parts?

 

[97RangerXLT]

Well you have an 11 year old truck....

Pick a nice weekend when it is warmer and you can work on it and pull the carpet out of it and look at the floorboards. clean them really well before putting the carpet back in. Make sure you have some good condition rubber mats that cover the feet wells completely during the winter and try not to track in any slush or wet into the truck. the salt mixed in with that will soak through the carpet and attack the floorboards.

Make sure all of the trucks cab/ doors drain holes are not blocked up so that water cannot pool or sit in it. if you notice dirt or leaves in the drainholes, clean it out. you might have to take the interior door panels out to do so, or remove other interior panels to get access.

Keep washing it during the winter, especially when it gets above 32 degrees. take special care to blast out the dirt and grime int he wheel wells and wheel arches and get the underside really well. also wash the engine compartment. if you don't blast the hose into the electrical components you can use the wand at the local car wash, and focus on the radiator support and fenderwells.

You will still get rust, but it shouldn't be too bad. and if you address it as you see it, it won't be as costly either.

My 97 is doing real well, I am just now noticing some rust around the core support bushings, but the rest of the truck is solid. (have not pulled the carpet yet tho... but I do make sure the salt and slush does not get into it) and I will have had that truck for 10 years come May.

AJ

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The other thing that I would suggest would be to spray some oil where it can get into the seams of the metal in those rust-prone areas. My dad always would spray that stuff down on his trucks and the one F-350 that got used for work, he'd also squirt it down inside the front fenders. They never started rusting until he stopped doing it.

 

[cody93]

like they said, wash out the rockers/wheel wells alot. undercoating helps, and POR15 on bare metal and floors, lots of people "oil" their undersides. cowl's are really bad about having leaves and stuff in them. mine had them plugged up, there were little "flaps" behind the fender, i personally removed them and now stuff doesnt build up for me.

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

Wd40 and CRC both make corrosion inhibitor products... I think I may try one of them out too. Supposed to last up to a year. I'm going to blast that stuff inside the door drain holes. Hopefully it helps.

Underside of truck is coated in something, kinda looks like black spray paint, but I'm pretty sure it's not spray paint,

Either way, I'm a huge stickler for rinsing off m vehicles in the winter. I'm the guy in the car wash bay hosing off my car/truck with ppl driving by saying "it's just going to get dirty again the second you pull out"...standing outside in 20 degree weather. I def try to wash when above freezing, but it always doesn't work out that way here in PA... So far this winter hasn't been too bad though.

I don't have mud flaps, I guess I should get some of those too.

Weather tech floor mats are going to be ordered this week.

 

[ZMan]

I used "rusfre" mixed 50/50 with used oil pretty much anywhere I could get it in my f150, then sprayed the whole underneath of the truck with wd40, plan on doing the wd40 every year.

 

[Mark_88]

Yep...oil them seams...never seen tghe inside of a 2004 but the older Rangers were easy
to access the cab corners...so you could treat them with your favourite chemical concoction...

Ive tried WD40 on metal but I don't think that is enough to prevent rust...I prefer at the minimum a good grinding off of as much of the shale or rust scale as possible and at most a good sand blasting down to the metal...then treat as much of it as possible with rust converter (if needed) and then seal it with an epoxy primer and\or a rubber guard.

I forget who did it, but one of our members documented his tear down and rust treatment...a green truck I know but the name escapes me...but it was an awesome job and a good read....with more visuals than actual reading...

Maybe search for frame restore...I would do it for you but I am computer challenged at the moment and have to get of this one or a few hours..

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

so after further research, I order a some spray cans of Fluid Film... seemed to get great reviews on a bunch of different forums.

The Toyota guys love it and their frames rust out


I am mostly worried about my doors (supercab) and cab corners rusting from the inside out...

How can I access the inside of the cab corners? I want to spray this stuff all over the inside. I know I can get inside the doors via the drain holes, but I'm not so sure about the cab corners... can you access from the underside of the truck somehow?

 

[straycat]

Rust never sleeps...we can't do anything about it. The only way you can keep it away is to seal the vehicle up in a warehouse where the sun, humidity, cold and heat will never get to it....and never use it. With the amount of rust that your ride has it is just still there hidden and will come back. I would not worry about it, Bro. Just make it look better and take care of it as much as you can and enjoy driving it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Ive tried WD40 on metal but I don't think that is enough to prevent rust...

WD40 is mostly water.

How can I access the inside of the cab corners? I want to spray this stuff all over the inside. I know I can get inside the doors via the drain holes, but I'm not so sure about the cab corners... can you access from the underside of the truck somehow?

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

WD40 is mostly water.

yea, kinda figured that was coming...

I'd rather not have to drill into a good body panel

what if I went through the inside? perhaps ripped up the carpet in the corner? I couldn't reach it from there?

Where the hell is water getting in then?

 

[ZMan]

crawl underneath, there should be holes to access the rockers and cab corners, if they're not open, they'll have rubber plugs you can take out, and put back in when you're done.

 

[Mark_88]

WD40 is mostly water.

Yeah, I saw or heard something to that effect years ago...and I bought a truck from a woman who claimed she had her 1992 Ranger sprayed with it every year...well, the frame was so rusty it was flaking...fortunately, they didn't use it on the doors, front fenders, or the box...the only parts that I kept.

crawl underneath, there should be holes to access the rockers and cab corners, if they're not open, they'll have rubber plugs you can take out, and put back in when you're done.

Yes, a sure sign that someone has had the truck sprayed...that and the black oil slick around the doors...

 

[ZMan]

Yeah, I saw or heard something to that effect years ago...and I bought a truck from a woman who claimed she had her 1992 Ranger sprayed with it every year...well, the frame was so rusty it was flaking...fortunately, they didn't use it on the doors, front fenders, or the box...the only parts that I kept.



Yes, a sure sign that someone has had the truck sprayed...that and the black oil slick around the doors...

I'm talking from the factory. Most cars have access. The only reason rust proofing companies drill holes is a combination of laziness and lack of knowledge.

 

[bobbywalter]

Just got an '04 supercab....

Paint looks good, no real rust, and the previous owner under coated and sprayed a lot of areas of the truck.

However, everyone knows fords have rust issues at the bottom of the doors, cab corners, tailgates..

I'm mostly concerned about my cab corners and doors. Can easily replace the tailgate, not concerned about that.

What can I do now, to stop rust from even starting? My last ranger, the corners and doors starting rotting from the inside out.

I know the doors have drain holes in them they need to be made sure they are clear of dirt, but what else can be done to prevent rust from starting?

Take the door apart and paint?
I want my truck to last, and living in the northeast with the winters we get and mass amounts of salt they throw on the roads doesn't help.

Also, I do wash my vehicles a lot during winter, spray it off once or twice a week. I've read people actually spray water up into the drain holes to help flush... I have power locks and windows... If I do this will it damage the electronic parts?

i have a 1988 cab and fenders with over a million miles on it.....seen every winter since closing winter 1987.

there simply is no saving shitty sheet metel in the rustbelt when used all winter every winter on salty roads.

using the simple inhibitors, not wd40 only, maybe wd40 as a prep but it evaporates quickly. but a real light inhibitor as you intend is the best way in my eyes though. undercoating just destroys shit worse and makes it harder to fix later.

i finally had to fix my floors last year from total failure....my firewall is trashed as well. if i had left carpet in it and washed it all the time it would have turned to dust 15 years ago.

most of my income comes from working at remote locations out of doors, the work environment has heavy mud the majority of the time. so carpet is a bad idea, add to that i was a very avid offroader and wasting time and money cleaning the truck not a priority.


i am in the opinion burying my rig in mud every fall and packing it right up is why i have as much metel as i do.

not sure if i am right about that...just my experience.


but spraying stuff on the insides of the doors and gunwales like this http://wd40specialist.com/products/corrosion-inhibitor/ with applications on the outsides i suspect would help through the winters....clean up in the spring with wd 40 and a good hot bath for the non bullshit salty slushy parts of the year should maximize life out of a truck.

WD40 is mostly water.

water? you would be the last man i would imagine to post such a wives tale.

it is a water dis-placer.....components of it are heavier...though most is just mineral spirits.

this is why it makes a great prep before some inhibitor for in the doors or what have ya.

WD-40's formula is a trade secret. The product was not patented in 1953 to avoid disclosing the details of its composition; the window of opportunity for patenting the product has long since closed.[4][7] WD-40's main ingredients as supplied in aerosol cans, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

50% "aliphatic hydrocarbons". The manufacturer's website specifically claims that this fraction in the current formulation cannot be accurately referred to as Stoddard solvent, a similar mixture of hydrocarbons.[8]
<25% petroleum base oil, presumably a mineral oil or light lubricating oil.
12-18% low vapor pressure aliphatic hydrocarbon, to reduce the viscosity for use in aerosols. This fraction evaporates during application.
2-3% carbon dioxide, presumably as a propellant, is now used instead of liquefied petroleum gas to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability.
<10% inert ingredients.
The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:

60–80% heavy naphtha (a petroleum product used e.g. in wick type cigarette lighters), hydrogen treated
1–5% carbon dioxide
It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. (Ordinary rubber is ruined by repeated exposure to petroleum products.) Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.

Wired published an article giving the result of gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy, claiming that its ingredients also make it resistant to freezing.[9]