"Fixing" Rust on My Truck

Ok guys. I know some of you live in areas where the road salt is worse than here in central PA, so here goes...

This past year I bought a '97 Chevy K1500 from a family friend for $1000. The truck had been sitting since 2008, and he wanted it gone, I spent about a half hour crawling around under it to assess the rust situation before agreeing to buy it. It had some rust on the cab corners and rockers, but otherwise didn't look too shabby. It didn't run, but the guy assured me it was just the fuel pump. I cranked 'er over on some ether and it fired, then quit, so I took a gamble and bought it.

I had a buddy of mine pick it up and deliver it to my house. Here it is, parked in the driveway :
Sure enough, the fuel pump, fuel tank, and lines were destroyed, rotted from the inside-out from the ethanol fuel.

I replaced the pump, tank, fuel lines, brake lines, brake pads and shoes, master cylinder, wheel cylinders and calipers, brake hoses, sway bar end links, all 4 shocks, air filter, serpentine belt, windshield, stainless bolts for the bed, rear axle oil, engine oil and oil filter. Whew! Got 'er on the road a week before Christmas 2013. I also removed the cap and sold it for $200.
Fast forward thruough this past brutal winter, and I've put about 8500 miles on it, sitting at 184,5xx right now. I had an oil analysis done, and it did show trace amounts of coolant making it into the oil, and I already have the intake manifold gasket kit that I'll be installing shortly.

The truck runs awesome and has been returning 16 mpg consistently. The driveline is a 350, 4L60E trans, and 14 bolt rear with 3.73s and gov-lock. It also has the factory external trans and ps coolers. I am very happy with it, except the rust issue. The cab corners and rockers are pretty nasty looking to me. I took these pics this evening.
So it needs rust attention on the rockers and cab corners asap, it will not pass PA inspection like this. Since the truck runs so well, I hate to just patch it together using "great stuff" foam and fiberglass, as I have done to some lesser vehicles in the past.

What I'd like to know, is it possible to have this kind of rust repair done, and have it last more than 1-2 years? It would be nice if I could put it to sleep for at least 5 years before having to re-visit the issue again.

Buying a new truck is out of the question, and I figured for the price of 2-3 new truck payments on a $55k truck, I could probably get this straightened out.

Just interested to hear others' opinions and experience on this.
Thanks!!

I took my '97 Ford van to a reputable auto body shop & had them weld in some new corners & panels. They also sprayed the work they did with some rubbery stuff on the inside & painted outside. ..... they told me it would last 2 to 3 years.....that was 4 years ago & the work they did still looks great. There's a couple other places that are starting to look grumpy.... I might fiberglass those places in a few weeks. I'd like to have the ol' girl see 20 years..... that's 3 years off.

The trick to making repairs last is to make it so water can not get through. Bondo or hair alone is a poor repair.

Freddy wrote:that was 4 years ago & the work they did still looks great. There's a couple other places that are starting to look grumpy.... I might fiberglass those places in a few weeks. I'd like to have the ol' girl see 20 years.....

So there may be some hope for this 'ole truck! That's the problem with these... well.. still relatively new drivelines. It seems they can easily outlast the vehicle they're installed in!

The trick to making repairs last is to make it so water can not get through. Bondo or hair alone is a poor repair.

I agree wholeheartedly. I did that on my old '88 colt vista back in college. I got a few more years out of it, but the car looked horrible by the time I finally sent it down the road, and probably would have crumpled up like an accordian in a wreck.

Cab corners & rocker panels from JC Whitney work for quite a few yrs up this way LD--ya gotta cut out the old rusty stuff & weld on the new--BUT, in time, the salt gets em:( Mine lasted about 5 yrs & are starting to go to hell again.

If you weld in your repairs, LPS 3 or Fluid Film the back sides will stop this madness. I am a nut with corrosion, my 2001 Sierra is one of a few with all still original metal no rust through. Check out this nozzle from Fluid Film, I have used it in the weep holes and bolts holes where my extended cab door latch with the bolt removed.
http://www.amazon.com/Fluid-Film-Spray-Extension- ... B00CLUGXFI

My magic on the back side will prolong your efforts. I even sprayed LPS 3 on my Sierra after my dump trailer chased me down a hill That is another story. With that being said I had bare metal exposed where the damage was. It was sprayed with LPS 3 and went through an entire NY winter and in the spring it was removed with some paint thinner and the bare exposed metal looked like new. I was then able to finish the repair with saved money that winter, COAL did not help Well maybe

2001Sierra wrote:If you weld in your repairs, LPS 3 or Fluid Film the back sides will stop this madness.

I had a can of LPS 3 for my DS1500 stove.... I used what was left of it on the truck's frame behind the cab, when I had the bed off, also sprayed the inside framerail on the driver's side where the brake and fuel lines run. Those items look great after this past winter.

That fluid film sprayer looks interesting, but how do you apply to areas like rocker panels and cab corners? Drill a hole after welding and then use a plastic/rubber plug in the hole?

LDPosse wrote:

2001Sierra wrote:If you weld in your repairs, LPS 3 or Fluid Film the back sides will stop this madness.

That fluid film sprayer looks interesting, but how do you apply to areas like rocker panels and cab corners? Drill a hole after welding and then use a plastic/rubber plug in the hole?

Yes fluid film actually has a unibit and the plugs. I have been using fluid film for three years and have been impressed

Rick is going to laugh at me
but if you want a few more years - just done't spray too much in the hole at one time - it will cure from the outside in and the inside will puke out back thru the surface for days

so trim the thin crispy rust off
wet the inside - can foam loves moisture
fill - in layers
trim
dent the area in sightly

DO NOT USE plain auto body filler - it is made from powder that absorbs same as baby power - buy water proof body filler like "KITTY HAIR"
Smear that over the area be sure not to fill too hi because this stuff sands like rocks
Then finish over that and the good metal with normal filler
prime with something that claims to be "etching" primer - two thin coats only and paint = BLACK rustoleum works nice and make a two tone truck
done

Rust is a neverending battle ... once it starts, it's impossible to stop.

Repairs all depend on how deep your pockets are. Could ship an entire cab up from AZ and call it a day. Could cut all the metal out, bond it in place (welding makes more rust eventually), and repaint .... or just do what I would do. Fill with foam every year, saturate what's left of the metal yearly with used motor oil, spray bomb it with Rustoleum and call it a day. Total cost about $10.

I spray mine down with oil on the insides. Use a gallon or 2 of oil in an undercoating gun that I made a couple nozzles for. I try to mix in some heaver weight oil too to help it stick. I have holes in the body panels like they would do for undercoating.
I try to spray it every fall. Then drive down a dusty road to help it stick.

I wrecked my truck a few years ago and the body guy said to "Keep doing what your doing" cause the body of the truck looks great. Have 175K miles on it now. All in the salt zone of Ohio and Pittsburgh.

The oil penetrates the seams, soaks into the dirt and any rust that starts and displaces the water and O2 that allow rust to form.

I know it won't last for ever, but it sure has made a difference. I would expect this would also help your repairs last longer too.

Weld panels are cheap, cost is in the labor to weld them in nice. Fix it, paint it, then put several coats of oil on it.

I have to do mine. I'm not going to weld them, going with an epoxy adhesive. The premade repair panels run about $50 a piece and usually fit like a glove. Welding them in and blowing holes or warping the panel is easy and as stated, invites rust. Gluing and a coat of filler has got to be cleaner and easier with better results. Especially for the bodywork challenged guys like me!

Richard S. wrote:If you are just trying to get a year or two out of it I'd just cut the major rust out. Wire wheel what you can get to and paint it up with some rustoleum. Cap with sheet metal and paint it. Won't look great but it will legal. I had to fix the doors on the on the Mercedes twice. Second time I shortened them as much as I could, they were almost all metal at that point. Those patches would last 3 or 4 years.

Here it is just after I got done with it:

**Broken Image Link(s) Removed**

Richard, Is that a recent pic of the Mercedes?