Ugh, this is depressing me

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
02/21/2019 at 15:21 • Filed to: Rust monster

I’m sure some of you are already stick of me complaining about my truck rusting, but too bad. Revel in my misery!

This winter has been incredibly unkind to my poor truck. This is the passenger rocker.

The driver’s side is even worse.

I feel like it has gotten exponentially worse, just in the last week. I was going to take it to the car wash today, but I’m scared to see how much less truck I will have when I leave.

To add insult to injury, the chrome on my bumpers has cracked, thanks to more rust.

Here’s an overall picture of my beloved truck. This silly thing is the only vehicle I’ve ever developed a sentimental attachment too. I bought it new, and we’ve been through so much together . I’m going to have to push its surgery timetable up a year, and get it done this summer.

DISCUSSION (30)

Nothing > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 15:39

Damn, that sucks. I couple of months ago, I was complaining about how “white” the roads were in my neighborhood. Then I went to Chicago for my son’s hockey tournament. It had been so long since I’ve left Colorado during winter months, that I had forgotten what a lot of road salt looked like.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 15:43

It sucks living in the salt belt

My F150 has gotten considerably worse this year too...there’s even a hole in the middle of the sheet metal below the extended cab window.

I’m planning on parking it after this winter and start fixing it up*.

*I haven’t decided yet if that means finding an older cab to swap on or start rust repair

BigBlock440 > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 15:45

If you want to postpone a year, naval jelly or similar works pretty well to stop it. It can’t exactly reverse the damage, but you can just spray it on, and it sticks there for a while until the rust is metal again. Spray it afterwards with rust converting primer and paint, and it’ll buy you a bit of time. It’s going to be pretty bad under that paint and plastic though, I’ve spent the past 6 months battling rust on my vehicles and it seems to be helping.

cbell04 > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:04

I fixed all my rust problems with this one easy trick move to North Carolina it’s beautiful here and all the cars are rust-free for the most part:)

WilliamsSW > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:14

Yick. My Pathfinder is starting to show some rust, too. I guess 170k miles of Chicago driving, street parking, and hardly ever washing it is taking its toll...

I hope the surgery isn’t too painful - are you going to do it or farm it out?

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:15

This winter just sucks entirely. Both of my daily smarts are broken (rusted alternator in one, dying ABS in the other) because of the weather and the winter scooter still needs tuning. Spring is going to be quite “fun”.

Hopefully the bottle of Krud Kutter gel I bought a couple nights ago will solve that first one, and I can fix the second and third ones for about $100 total, but still...

If you’re doing DIY on the truck I can lend a helping hand. It would be an educational experience for me! :)

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
02/21/2019 at 16:32

No, I won’t be DIYing that, but thanks for the offer.

dogisbadob > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:32

Krown :o)

shop-teacher > BigBlock440
02/21/2019 at 16:32

I think it’s too far gone, but thanks for the tip.

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
02/21/2019 at 16:33

Brutal.

shop-teacher > Nothing
02/21/2019 at 16:34

Yeah, it’s crazy how much of it they use. This has been an e specially tough winter. Lots of ice storms and freezing rain, so tons and tons of salt is getting used.

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW
02/21/2019 at 16:35

Yeah, I don’t do bodywork. I’ve got an el cheapo body shop in Addison that replaced the bedside for about 35% of what big body shops wanted. It’s quite not as good of a job as those would have done, but I got 90% of the job for about 1/3 the price.

shop-teacher > cbell04
02/21/2019 at 16:36

Somehow I doubt I could pull the same kind of coin down as a shop teacher there.

shop-teacher > dogisbadob
02/21/2019 at 16:36

I hadn’t even heard of that until it was way too late.

dogisbadob > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:38

It’s not too late for your next car/truck

And even if there’s already some rust, the Krown will stop it from getting even worse.

BigBlock440 > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:43

Like I said, it’s not going to magically fix it, but with some sanding and a few spray cans, you could postpone it a year.

Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 16:51

You’re truck looks like an average Minnesota truck.

shop-teacher > Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW!
02/21/2019 at 17:04

Average Chicago truck too, but I still don't like it.

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > shop-teacher
02/21/2019 at 17:05

It’s ridiculous the amount of salt they’ve been throwing out this year, even down state. The county trucks are out going hog wild with it if there’s even the slightest chance of snow, no matter the amount. It’s just a colossal waste of time/money/resources