Ford rust issues, looking for creative solutions

[HicksNthaStix]

I've been racking my brain on this since I bought the truck. To fix it the "right" way I figure I'll spend more than the truck is worth, not an option. Truck is a 1993 F250 extended cab. The rise is at the bottom of the extended cab on both sides, otherwise the truck is solid.
My original thought was to remove the rust completely and get a set of tread plate rocker panel covers to cover up the mess, can't find any for this truck though.
One side was bondoed by the PO, doesn't look aweful but I know it will be an issue down the road.

 

[no mufflers]

pictures would help greatly.

when it comes to rusty metal best thing to do is cut all the old out and replace with new. layers of metal or anything overlapped is a fantastic place for rust to start.

 

[franklin2]

I am sure the extended cabs have the same probems as the regular cabs; The seam sealer in the rain gutters over the doors, and that seam that extends from the rain gutter to the rear upper corner and around to the back window leak. The sealer gets old and crumbly and lets water in. The back corners of the cabs are double wall, you do not see the leak. It runs down the back cab wall, and rusts out the cab corners from the inside out.

You can patch these corners over and over, and they keep rusting out because of the internal water leak from the top corner of the cab.

 

[no mufflers]

@laserjock has an extended cab.

 

[laserjock]

All those trucks rusted out there. The culprit is the foam stuff they used as anti rattle material I guess. I cut both sides of mine out and welded in new panels. The inner structure was good in one side, less good on the other. Really not a tough fix if you can leave the door lip and the curve at the back corner. The patch panels are available but I found the length was wrong. You actually have to stretch it to fit.

The other thing I did was cut holes on the inside structure to be able to get paint on the back side once it’s welded in. I can’t put my hands on pictures this instant but it’s all in my build thread.

 

[catbird7]

I've also noticed this as a consistent rust area on extended cabs (mine was the same). Just a guess however I wonder if the rust is due to window leak.

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[HicksNthaStix]

pictures would help greatly.

when it comes to rusty metal best thing to do is cut all the old out and replace with new. layers of metal or anything overlapped is a fantastic place for rust to start.

Very similar to Catbird7s issues. I'll try to grab some pics next time I'm home and it's daylight.

 

[laserjock]

I've also noticed this as a consistent rust area on extended cabs (mine was the same). Just a guess however I wonder if the rust is due to window leak.

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Could be. I don’t think I’ve personally seen an ext cab that wasn’t rusted there.

 

[HicksNthaStix]

Could be. I don’t think I’ve personally seen an ext cab that wasn’t rusted there.

Me either, I had a 92 F150 extended cab that had rust in the same place. These are Tennessee trucks that have spent their lives in and around Tennessee and they still have rust in this spot even though this area is not too bad for rust.

 

[Oledirtypearl86]

I wonder if this is only in the later years because one of my parts trucks (aka lockjaw) is a rusty pig but the cab in the back is still very solid I'll get some pics tomorrow when it's light out

 

[264WSM]

Could be. I don’t think I’ve personally seen an ext cab that wasn’t rusted there.

I have an 88 and an 89 that is not rusty. I bought a 91 from MI that is very rusty. I found a 90 gasser parts truck that has no rust. I'm guessing that because I live in a high desert and WY didn't start using winter chemicals until about 8 years ago (MT still doesn't to my knowledge), that this is the cause of the problem.

 

[david85]

You can get cab corners for those trucks but the fit may not be perfect. My preference is to TIG weld them in place using a carefully fitted butt joint. Alternatively, you can try 3M panel bond, which works well when used correctly. You will likely have a serious inside as well since that's typically where it starts. Either way, you will have welding to do.

My 1986 should have been rusted there too, but for some reason, it beat the odds even up here in canada. Soon after I bought the truck I got into the habit of spraying fluid film inside all the drain holes to prevent the spread of rust. I really does wonders for slowing and even stopping rust in some cases. Then someone backed into the cab corner...the one mint panel on the whole truck!

No matter what you do, you're looking at a minimum of one week's work per side, and that's if you've done this sort of work before. Personally, I wouldn't even trust a body shop to do it right. This isn't a mustang mach1 or mopar so most body guys would simply butcher it. I learned that the hard way.

Here's how I fixed it:

https://www.oilburners.net/threads/tin-bashing.71759/page-7

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