stopping deterioration of body, etc

[original condor]

Since I have virtually no $, and lots of time as I recover/rehab from a stroke and Lymphoma, I'm trying to stop rust in its tracks at it's current state, , and stop it from restarting, while preventing noise, water, exhaust and fumes from coming into the cab. I'm using some very old school, backwards methods, since they are all I have available.
I will go thru the procedures I've followed, hoping folks can point out parts I've missed or can improve on. On some things, I'm probably going overkill a bit, but I'm also being forced to jerryrig some things the best I can to make things hold up till I can do it right.......
I started out on the inside of the door bottoms and the floor boards. As cool as these trucks are, some really stupid design flaws practically gaurantee areas will rust out way worse than they should have. I'll be back with more rants and raving later, I can only type so much at a time............Steve

[original condor]

Howdy all. I started out on my doors. As I found out, our doors have very little that limits the water entering the door, so they rely on the water exiting the door out the bottom. On mine I found lots of debris that was hampering this.
I should mention that I removed both inner door panels, & that there was already 6" X 9" holes down low in my doors but no speakers in them. Without these holes to work through, I don't know that you'd be able to copy what I've done. I'll be putting speakers back in when I get to that point, since I like opening the doors and playing music when I'm parked or camping etc.
First thing I did, or should have done, was tape up the ragged edges of the
6X9 holes, to keep from cutting up my arms as I'm reaching through to work. Then I set up some good lighting inside the door. Working in the evening made seeing inside the door even clearer. Once I had access with vision, I started removing the leaves, pine needles etc. that were rotting on the bottom inside, while also clogging the drain holes. The buildup of dirt was also retaining residual moisture, trapping it against the unprotected inner bottom of the door. Not Good.
Working mainly blind by touch, I thoroughly wire brushed/scraped as much of the bottom and lower sides as I could possibly reach. I was especially thorough on the seam between the door bottom and the bottom of the outer doorskin. I was diligent to make sure I reached all the way up to the corners below the hinges, and the hinge mounting suface. I followed up by shopvaccing out any and all dirt & residue.
At this point, I was properly prepped to phosphotize/ convert any rust that had started inside the door. I used a spray bottle to coat the entire inner hinge suface, the latch surface, and the outer skin. I paid special attention
to that skin/frame seam cuz it could hold & hide rust back in the fold. After I had coated every surface with the full strength Jamesco rust converter, I let it set overnight.
The next morning I took a hose & thoroughly flushed out the entire inner door, and let it dry till the next day.
Next step was to coat every accessable part of the inner door with Rustoleum Rust Reformer primer. Probably overkill, but why mess around when I've already done so much work.
Final step was to coat the inner bottom and lower sides with Rustoleum rubberized undercoating, as thick logical, without blocking the drain holes at the door bottom. Also coated the inner side of the door skin to reduce noise etc. Should have zero deterioration in those areas from now on.
I'll be back about my floor boards later.............Steve

[tommys72]

Sounds good so far, only problem is...rust is like cancer. Youre never going to stop it once it's there, only slow it down. These trucks rust period. Mine is rusting in my garage due to the Missouri summers and humidity. Starting with all brand new pieces, never drive it in the rain, and store it in a climate controlled facility would be the only way to stop rust.

But good job on your efforts. My way to stop rust, I haven't driven the truck in rain or snow for about 3 years now...since I've owned it. Its still rusting.

Tom

[doo142]

Good job!! The best therapy a feller could do, keep it up!!

[Custom/Ten]

Tape up the edges of the holes... Sounds like a good idea but I'm pretty sure they fill these things full of razor blades, I can't see them but I know they're there!

[cleszkie]

You can't fault these trucks for their rust. They are over 40 years old. And if all the previous owners had periodically opened up the drainage holes in the body panels, rather than let leaves/dirt/animal carcasses/bees nests/etc. accumulate over the decades and hold in moisture, there would be a lot less rust on these rigs.

Its sounds like you are doing the best you can to deal with the rust. But I would also recommend that you now periodically check your drainage holes. Even the best rust inhibitors will eventually lose the battle with water if it is allowed to sit against it for a long time.

On a final note, the old timers may have had the best solution for rust prevention. Cover the truck (top to bottom) in used motor oil! Sounds strange, but I have seen trucks treated this way survive very well in the rust belt states.

[Daubs]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

You can't fault these trucks for their rust. They are over 40 years old. And if all the previous owners had periodically opened up the drainage holes in the body panels, rather than let leaves/dirt/animal carcasses/bees nests/etc. accumulate over the decades and hold in moisture, there would be a lot less rust on these rigs.

Its sounds like you are doing the best you can to deal with the rust. But I would also recommend that you now periodically check your drainage holes. Even the best rust inhibitors will eventually lose the battle with water if it is allowed to sit against it for a long time.

On a final note, the old timers may have had the best solution for rust prevention. Cover the truck (top to bottom) in used motor oil! Sounds strange, but I have seen trucks treated this way survive very well in the rust belt states.

...and sometimes it has nothing to do with the owner keeping it clean. Purchased my 2004 2500HD Crew Cab 4x4, and washed regularly, kept drain holes open. And now i'm seeing rusty rockers from the inside out

Is what it is.

I have a welder and planning to cut out and weld back in good metal. Stay strong!

[Matt Man]

Even here in California, anything over 30 years old is now starting to rust somewhat, when I was searching for trucks none were completely rust free. Although we still have it tons better than back east...