Have you noticed that your truck frame is started to excessively rust? If so, you are probably wondering how to fix this problem. This entire process can be quite costly and time-consuming. Depending on the type of repairs your truck frame needs, you could be looking at a couple thousand dollars in repairs. The majority of your costs will be associated with labor due to the time it takes to fix a rusted truck frame.
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If you would like to attempt to fix your rusted truck frame by yourself, it can be done it will just require a great deal of time. It’s not a very complicated process, but it will take a lot of your time to complete the entire process. Listed below is a breakdown of the different steps that are involved in fixing a rusted truck frame.
Rust Repair Basics
So, it is important to note a few simple steps when fixing a rusted truck frame. You will want to make sure that you have scoped out your entire truck to see exactly what you are working with before removing any parts. Once you assess your truck, you will have a full understanding of the amount of rust your truck frame has. This will allow you to get the correct tools necessary to remove the rust from your truck frame and plan out a schedule on when you will perform all of this labor.
Expose The Frame Of Your Truck
You will first want to make sure that you expose your entire rusted truck frame. To do this, you will need to lift up your truck on a jack so that your frame drops down. Once you have the truck lifted up on jacks, you will want to remove any wheel well covers, mud flaps, or trim pieces that are attached to the frame.
Remove The Rust
On you have all of the rusted parts exposed, you can begin addressing the rust itself. You will want to wear goggles and a mask to prevent flying particles from getting into your eyes and mouth. Once you are fully protected, you can begin to drill any loose rust that you can spot. You will use a wire brush wheel to remove all of the exposed rust on your truck frame. The wire brush wheel should remove most of the rust, but you might have a few leftover spots that didn’t fall off from the brush.
In this case, you will want to take sandpaper and scrape off the rest of the rust until it is completely removed. Once you ruff up those extra spots, take smoothing sandpaper to smooth out the entire surface of the rusted truck frame.
Wash The Frame
After you have smoothed over all of the ruff surfaces, you will need to wash your truck frame to ensure that all of the rust has been removed. You can use regular soap and water to wash down your truck frame. Once you have thoroughly rinsed down the frame, you can let the frame dry completely before you do anything else with it.
Apply Primer To The Frame
Once the truck frame is completely dry, you will want to inspect the entire truck frame to see if you have any spots that you missed. If you do locate small holes in the frame or small rust spots, you can just wash off the rust spots. If the hole is deep, you might need to further evaluate it to see if it needs welding. If you don’t want to make that call, a qualified mechanic will be able to help you with this step.
Once all of the rust spots have been washed off and removed, you will want to apply primer all over your truck frame. You will want to apply two coats to make sure the frame is completely protected moving forward. After this primer drys, access the entire frame one more time to ensure you removed all of the rust. If you can’t find any more spots then you have completed the entire process.
How Can I Prevent Rust
Moving forward, you might be wondering how you can prevent rust so you don’t have to perform that process again. There are a few different tips and tricks to keep in mind when you are trying to prevent rust from occurring on your truck frame.
It is a great idea to perform yearly rust inspections. As you can imagine, it is much easier to perform rust spot treatments than it is to take off all of the rust on a truck frame. If you do yearly checks, you will be able to spot small areas before it escalates into bigger problems. If you keep up on this year, you can perform spot treatments on the affected areas and get rid of the rust as it comes instead of waiting until the entire truck frame is rusted.
Another tip to preventing a rusted truck frame is to wash your car frequently if you live in a colder climate where salt is used. Salt can cause corrosion to certain areas of your truck frame. For this reason, it is really important to clear your car after salt exposure. It will help keep the frame in good condition and prevent rust from occurring sooner.
Lastly, it is a good idea to look into applying an undercoat every few years to your truck frame. Many manufacturers will do this before the car leaves the factory but then it doesn’t get done again. If you apply undercoats to your truck it will help protect the frame and keep out rust for longer periods of time. Your local experienced mechanic will be able to help you apply the undercoat and give you suggestions on the best ones on the market.
Is My Truck Worth Fixing?
As your car starts to age and rust worsens, you might start to wonder if your car is worth fixing. This is a common question that many individuals in this situation face. Ultimately it is your decision, but there are a few factors to consider before you make the final call.
The first thing to consider is the age of your car and the miles you have put on it. If you have a 20-year-old car with 200,000 miles on it, you might be better off junking it and buying a new car. You could end up spending all of this money on fixing it and other issues could arise. You want to make this type of repair if your car has a lot of life left in it.
Another factor to consider is the amount of rust that you are seeing on your truck frame. Is the entire thing rusted out? Are there holes forming and have parts started to fall off? If so, you might not want to invest in fixing a truck frame in this type of condition. It can be difficult to amend the broken pieces and holes once that has started.
If you are unsure whether you want to fix your rusted truck frame or junk your car, contact your local mechanic to get their option. They will be able to give you an educated option on the matter and tell you a price range that you are working with as far as repairs go. They will be able to run diagnostics on your truck and quote out a price so you can understand the type of repair costs you are facing. This is probably the best way to get a full understand of the problems and costs associated.
Conclusion
If you decided that it is too much work to fix your rusted truck or you don’t want to spend the money, you have other options. Don’t feel like your only option is to fix your car. You can sell it to Cash Cars Buyer and we will give you cash for it.
We completely understand that repairs are expensive and buying a new car is also costly. We offer a very easy process where you can sell your car to us and we will take it off of your hands for its working parts. We will give you cash for your vehicle so you can put it towards another car. We have a team of qualified individuals who will determine what parts we will keep and the rest we will junk or you.
Our process is so simple all you have to do is give us a call and we will drive over to you to get your car. You don’t need to fix it or bring it to us. If you are interested in selling your car to us, go over to our website and get a quote or give us a call today at your convenience. We want to make this process as smooth as possible for our customers.
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