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How bad is this rust?

2076 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  TOY_BREAKER, 
C
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Pulled some tape and weatherstripping off my newly acquired truck, and found all this rust around the glass. I don’t see any obvious rust behind the drivers side wiper cowl or A piller, but VIN has corrosion. Water has been leaking through the top portion of the glass, it’s caused the parking brake to rust and general interior corrosion from the humidity (I’m guessing). Wondering about the best approach towards fixing it. Sent pics to a body shop who would fix the rust only if they could repaint everything. They want $7,000. It’s a 20 year old work truck, so that’s definitely not ideal. I thought they’d just pull the glass, grind away the rust, apply primer, and reinstall new glass. Now I’m hearing things about roof panel replacements. My whole goal was to fix the mechanical issues, seal the glass, and shoot some cheap paint. Any ideas, suggestions, etc? How screwed am I?

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greenskeeper
I would clean up the rust, paint the metal, and try to seal the windshield up with silicone.

Other option would be a cab swap if the rest of the cab is rusty.
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Jeff-F350
Clean up the worst with a wire wheel, brush, what ever you can to get it cleaned up. Then, Por15 system or Ospho and brush on rustoleum primer and rustoleum red paint. Rustoleum is easier. Use the sealer after, especially if it’s a silicone base. Or get a sealer that can be painted, your local auto body store should be able to fix you up with an inexpensive tube of something.

Carry on working it.
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T
I did not take photos of when I did this exact repair on my truck, but get the windshield out, wire wheel/brush the worst of the rust off/out. Cleaner with brake cleaner/ acetone/ then mix up a 6-10% acid solution (Muriatic or phosphoric)
use an acid brush or small brush to apply, let sit for 3-5 minutes then rinse thoroughly with fresh water ( I used distilled) then air dry with compressed air.
Devcon or enecon metal epoxy compound time.
I used duralloy. Mix it up per manufacturers recommendation. apply liberally over all the rusted areas, work it into an through the holes in the panel.... While it is lightly set knock down the amount close to the "base" metal. let cure and sand back to be "flush" or "faired" in to the exisiting surface. now take it to the body shop and have then paint to match and install a new windshield.

We use this method on submarines to repair O-Ring grooves on salt water systems, works great and lasts for years in a high pressure salt water enviromnet.

The body shop i had repair my winshield frame now offers this as an option for people doing rust repair.

I did this in 2017 to my 01. No issues since.

I ended up replacing my Gem, Fuse panel, and it looks like I am going to have to get my PCM repaired/replaced thanks to the water intrusion.
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T
Note: If you "whip it" while mixing you will get air pockets (pitting) in the epoxy. If that bothers you mix up more and apply to the pits, let sure and sand back....

This stuff is like bondo, very aggressive mixing creates LOTS of little air pockets. you want to gently fold it together to minimize that.
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C
Thank you for the guidance. I'm assuming the roof can be repainted normally afterwards? I was thinking about shooting paint afterwards with paint-matched spray cans and 2K clear. Also, how much did your repair cost? Similar amount of damage?
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T
Yes it can be painted/prepped as normal. I can’t say how my repair compares without photos of your frame sans glass and gasket. It was rusted through on both side uprights ( 2 or 3 spots each side 2-3 inches total) ) as well as 3 holes along the top totaling about 10 inches
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TOY_BREAKER said:
Yes it can be painted/prepped as normal. I can’t say how my repair compares without photos of your frame sans glass and gasket. It was rusted through on both side uprights ( 2 or 3 spots each side 2-3 inches total) ) as well as 3 holes along the top totaling about 10 inches
Click to expand...
What were the side effects of your cab water intrusion? I have brake pedal circuit out, and my cruise + 4wd don't work. Engine misfiring and hard cold start, but I'm assuming that's from worn injectors (unless water damage can be causing it?) Seatbelt circuit was also acting up, but some WD40 fixed that.
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T
I had all kinds of electrical issues before I fixed it. sealing it up and replacing the moisture affected components fixed my issues.

I replaced the GEM and the under dash fuse panel.
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