Repairing a rusted Rad support for a 1986 style

[david85]

I'm sure many of you can relate to the struggle. LMC and Raybuck now are able to supply OBS style diesel rad supports but so far, nothing for the 83-86 style. Not sure about 87-91. And even then, they don't come cheap.

Those of you in the southern USA can probably find something decent but in the rust belt or anywhere in Canada, forget it. And even if you can find one, the cost will usually be quite high (and then there's shipping etc.).

For the longest time I was planning to build a new one from scratch. Maybe out of aluminum and with have it better shaped to accommodate an intercooler. Well, reality strikes and I've had to reign in my pie-in-the-sky schemes. Right now, the truck is undergoing a 4wd conversion (thread here: https://www.oilburners.net/threads/dana-60-going-in-eventually.86730/#post-1040921) and my E4OD is also needing a rebuild after 13 years of reliable service (No thread on that one yet, but it's coming). Too many projects on one truck and summer already over.

The rad support had to come off to properly install all the 4wd chassis modifications so after staring at it hard enough, I came to a shocking realization that it wasn't going to fix itself. So here I am, picking it apart and performing reconstructive surgery on it.

The 1st 4 photos show the damaged parts cut out and expanded do give an idea of how it goes together. I know many of you have probably done this repair already but there are few well documented photos on the web for the rest of us to follow.

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[david85]

Typically these will rust out at the mounts and typical to my truck any kind of rust that happens is always worse on the driver's side. The passenger side will need some attention but nothing like this. You can see the pillar above the mount is completely rotted out at the bottom. Again, typical.

After cutting off the cancer, I pounded it flat and used it as the basis to make a cardboard template. That one was easy. The harder part will be the bottom area where the plastic wheel well normally attaches (every bullnose I saw has this area rusted out). Lots of compound curves that will require notching and stitching to get the shape right. I can't remember exactly, but I think the new steel is 14ga, so it should hold up well. It's also zinc coated for added protection.

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[david85]

One thing I always wondered about was why these rad supports rusted out so quickly? I know ford was using a fair amount of zinc coated steel starting at least in the 70s but these parts don't seem to get the royal treatment. If you look carefully at the back of this pillar, there is a ****** patch of factory steel that hasn't rusted yet. The clear, silver color tells me that this is simply raw steel; no bluish zinc or the telltale sign of white powder from zinc oxide. I guess all things considered, these parts held up pretty well.

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[david85]

Okay, the hack & stitch part of the job is done. I still have to make the big oval hole for the mount and the smaller holes for the front fender liner. I could have done this before welding the patch in, but with such complex shapes, you can never be sure exactly where things end up. This way, I can put the holes right where the need to be.

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[david85]

The pillar is also ready to go. Here's what everything looks like all mocked up. Only thing left for this side is the inner reinforcing for the main mounting bolt. I don't have steel to match the original thickness of the factory part. However, the combined thickness of the patch should make it equivalent once everything is permanently welded together. I'll also have to clean up the corner reinforcing piece, since it's covered in surface rust.

The last photo shows the passenger side, which is not as far gone. I made a point not to cut out both sides so I could have one as a reference.

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[genscripter]

I appreciate your efforts on repairing this core support. I'm sure it'll be better than new.

Any time you need some rust free parts, there are lots of pick-u-part junkyards here in Los Angeles with dozens of old 80's Fords. Trucks, vans, broncos, etc. Good prices at the Wilmington lot. If you ever wanted to make a roadtrip from BC to LA, it might be worth it. I just visited Campbell River in 2019, and drove back to LA. I think it was something like a 1 and half day drive, but you could add a few extra sites to the road trip to make it a little more fun that a parts run. Of course COVID might make driving cross country a PITA, but that's up to you.

We even found some yards in southern Oregon that had some nice rust-free parts. Half of Oregon is basically desert, so you'd be surprised on what you can find.

 

[Scotty4]

Horseshoe Autowrecking in Belfair, WA has about 5 or 6 bullnose trucks with varying damage but low rust. Also a pick n pull in Lynwood, just north of Seattle. Not sure if there is anything there.

 

[david85]

No bullnose trucks left here that I know of. And even if it wasn't for the pandemic, I'd have a hard time going more than 1 hour outside of Campbell River because I'm on call.

It's good to know there are still places that have parts though. I plan to maintain my truck for as long as I can.

 

[genscripter]

No bullnose trucks left here that I know of. And even if it wasn't for the pandemic, I'd have a hard time going more than 1 hour outside of Campbell River because I'm on call.

It's good to know there are still places that have parts though. I plan to maintain my truck for as long as I can.

Sometimes shipping isn't as bad as you'd think. I use car-part.com a lot, and I once had an aux overdrive shipped to my door for a very reasonable price. Also a bumper shipped for a decent price. I always worry the oversized parts will cost a fortune to ship, but they are typically fine.

But then again, prices in canada are always nuts. We once had a quote on a new vac pump in Prince Albert for $500. It's almost like they coat everything gold flake maple syrup in that country.

 

[david85]

All the parts are welded in for the driver's side. Only thing left is to knock the holes for the mount and fender liner.

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[david85]

I'm pretty happy with the result. Last photo shows what I'm up against on the passenger side. Not as bad but I won't know for sure how much metal to replace until I dig into it a little.

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[david85]

Well, I looked at carpart.com and I regret it already. Somebody please tell me *** this truck is doing at a wrecker!!!??:***:

https://imageappky.car-part.com/ima...ck F250 Rad/Core Support Assembly-Stock# 8364

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Well, I looked at carpart.com and I regret it already. Somebody please tell me *** this truck is doing at a wrecker!!!??:***:

https://imageappky.car-part.com/image?seller=5623&partsourceid=5623&partGUID=E6982F8C-78E4-42FC-BBD9-FD006B2FF14E&vehicleGUID=933C1697-498F-456E-9D1F-FAA8F3821874&display=1985 Ford Truck F250 Rad/Core Support Assembly-Stock# 8364

I was going to suggest car-part.com myself, got me a core support a little while back. Took me forever to replace it but lessons learned.
They actually shipped it for free to the local NAPA. They said that was pretty standard. Just have to talk to the guys at NAPA first so they know to expect it. I found that to be quite fair and amazing since the core support was only like $100 anyway, shipping would have been another $100.

That said... nice work! Looks great and after some good paint will likely outlast the rest of the rig.

 

[david85]

Well, I'm always looking other parts so I might have to give it a try and see how it is. I never would have thought they'd distribute through an autoparts store to save shipping cost. But I'm still choked about the truck in my previous post. That's way to nice a truck to part out...

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

If it makes you feel better it's probably a gasser.
At least that's what I'm telling myself...