rust repair

[hotrod24]

well jeff i think i am going to have to replace the kick panel to i think it is like yours was and i know yours is not a 4wd but my transfer case cover is rusty on one side and where it bolts to the floor is it fixable

[JJSZABO]

I am not familiar with 4x4's.  Any metal is fixable though.

[hotrod24]

what would you do

[Blazin]

Get a different one.

[JJSZABO]

The metal looks solid - sandblast to get rid of rust and paint?

If the footwell is solid (no holes) sandblast there also and paint.  Use you screwdriver to probe and see how solid the metal is.

If a panel has rust, you need to evaluate the extent of the rust.  If the panel has surface or superficial rust but the panel is still solid, you can either sandblast to get rid of the rust and prime the panel or convert the rust using one of the many product out there that do that (ie.. Eastwood rust convertor, POR-15, Chasis Saver etc...).  Now if you probe with the screwdriver and start poking holes through the rust, then the rust needs to be cut out and replaced with new metal.

[Blazin]

I was refering to the center hump. By the time you get done screwing around trying to fix it you might as well get a new one.

[JJSZABO]

I was refering to the center hump. By the time you get done screwing around trying to fix it you might as well get a new one.

That's fine Harold , I figured so.  I was reviewing the whole thread and wanted to elaborate on what I said before.

   What you see as replaceable - I see potential in that part.  Just about everything I painted on my truck, looked like that    I can picture in my head a sandblasted cover with some nice powder coating or maybe some nice epoxy with base and clear.....hmmmmm there is potential

[truckdoctor]

Blazin you were talking about a new center hump for a replacement 4X4 truck, where would you get one?


By the way I agree with some of the comments others have made about using the air cut off tool saves time and is about the biggest bang for the money as tools to do this kind of work. I finally graduated to a Plasma Cutter (waited many years to finally afford one) but if I could have only one tool to use other than the cutter, I would definitely use the cut off tool.

So if you want to replace panels, flooring, or about anything else get yourself a small MIG welder and a cut off tool. For what it would cost you to pay someone else to do what you want to have done you can purchase your own tools and learn how to do this yourself. Granted you'll need things like tin snips and so on, but these aren't real expensive. A word of advice, if you decide to go this route, buy decent tools because they will last longer and do a better job, plus a better MIG welder will have a lot better adjustments for low heat welding. Oh and the suggestion about small welds (spot welding) is a fantastic suggestion. Too much heat will distorte what you are working on, and this us created by welding in one area, where spot welds don't create near as much heat. 

Good Luck, this is how most of us learned. It's not brain surgery, it's metal repair. Although I think brain surgery is easier because brains all look the same, where metal repair is definitely different each time you do it.

[77 step]

Hey hotrod,

I kind of agree with what everyone has said, even though they are opposites.  Sounds strange, I know, but if you have access to a sand blaster, or even spend some time sanding it probably is usable.  I think I have used worse. 

However, you have to consider the cost of a new,or better used part versus the time and money you will put into repairing the old one. 

I had a hard time justifying the repairs to my core support, but I had the tools and steel laying around, and considered it a learning experience.  (maybe even therapy?)  If I had been in a hurry, I could have justified replacement.

It is all a matter of spending more time, less $ or more $, less time.  The choice is yours.... I, however would repair it.

 

[truckdoctor]

That is an idea I haven't used in a while, but it's one that works well and it's cheap to use plus you get great results. Yeah if you have access to a sand blaster I'm sure you could use that tunnel piece (as long as there isn't any holes in it, and if there are it would depend on how many if it were worth fixing or not) A sand blaster would clean that piece up and make it look like new (sort of anyway) once that is done use some rust inhibitor, etching primer, and paint it with a decent paint. Once you're done that part might very well out live us all, OK OK OK, last a fairly long time.

If your piece is hole free, I would reuse it in a heart beat. I have asked around and I don't really even know if that part is available new or not, so you might have to fix it any way? What ever you do with it, never throw anything away until your project is completely done. You would be surprised how much stuff I've thrown away through the years only to find I'd wished I would have kept it. This goes for even the smallest parts as well, a lot of times I've found the smallest parts are the most expensive.

One little thing to remember especially when installing parts in areas you won't see once they're installed, if you can't see it that's where rust will appear and there won't be anything you can do about it. Never just use a primer, always use a good etching primer it metal is exposed and then a good paint. When primer dries it has pores that moisture will definitely get in those pores, the moisture will then restart any rust that was already there and create more. Once a piece is painted water won't get through unless the paint has been chipped or damaged in some way (weather, chemicals, etc) and exposes the  much metal under the paint. If nothing else use a can of good spray paint over the primer just to seal the metal.

[hotrod24]

i think i am going to have to replace both sides of the floor and rockers and one cab corner the place that i am worried about the most is the part of the floor where my transfer case cover goes oh and one of my cab supports is just about gone i pushed on it today and it made a 2 inch hole

[hotrod24]

here is a couple more


 

[hotrod24]

what should i do for now to save the floor because i am saving for a shop and i can not spend much money could i sand it and put some rust conveter on it and it would be good for now

[Swims350]

well I'd buy a can of por-15 or something like it, and do them in it.

I did the floors in my monte carlo with it, just bought the por-15 and not the prep stuff, hit it with a wire brush by hand, then one on a grinder, vacuumed, applied it as directed.

It stuck great and protected the rusted parts, but it did scrape off a couple spots due to me throwing seats in on the bare floor. They say it will if you don't use the marine clean and metal etch stuff, but it hasn't got worse, it didn't scratch off more or any new rust, or get worse. it cost about $35 and was well worth it. One quart is more then enough for truck floors.

[hotrod24]

cool i will do that

well I'd buy a can of por-15 or something like it, and do them in it.

I did the floors in my monte carlo with it, just bought the por-15 and not the prep stuff, hit it with a wire brush by hand, then one on a grinder, vacuumed, applied it as directed.

It stuck great and protected the rusted parts, but it did scrape off a couple spots due to me throwing seats in on the bare floor. They say it will if you don't use the marine clean and metal etch stuff, but it hasn't got worse, it didn't scratch off more or any new rust, or get worse. it cost about $35 and was well worth it. One quart is more then enough for truck floors.