I just bought a 2000 F150 4x4 Sport. It looks very nice. The Sport model has a 2" piece of trim that is held on by a few bolts. This looks to be a possible place for corrosion to start....

You see a lot of pickups rust thru from the inside above the rear wheels. How can I prevent this? Illinois uses a lot of salt in the winter, and I plan on trying to keep the inner fender clean as possible, but will that work?

 

oil spray the heck out of it every fall.

 

Pressure wash really good, and then spray that red can rubberized undercoating you can get at walmart.

I do this every year. just did it last weekend as a matter of fact.

 

This is what you need (or something like it at your local auto parts store).

http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...4919595+301994

 

Thanks,
I'll try the VHT spray. I bought a 1991 Ranger XLT new in 1990 and had it undercoated before I drove it. Its wheelwells russted thru after about 11-12 years. Maybe once every 5 years, it should be cleaned down to the metal, and reapplied. Or, is this new stuff better than what we had 15 years ago?

 

Your other much more expensive option is to find a Line-X dealer and get 'em sprayed. No worries then. Ever.

I don't know about re-applying it every X number of years. Just inspect it and check for issues. Also, ensure you lay it on thick enough the first time to a totaly CLEAN surface and you should be good to go.

 

The problem that I see is that it needs to be appled between the inner fender and the outer sheetmetal. There aint much room to get between there, much less see what you are doing. I will give it a shot, and see how good I can clean.

I rechecked my old ranger. There is no rust inside the inner fender and there was no way to clean between the outer sheetmetal and the inner fender. I seem to remember something about places that apply undercoating drill access holes from the inside. I don't want to get into that.

 

I'd be very careful about spraying anything like undercoat in the area between the inner and outer panels of your bed. Like you've already found out, that area is very difficult to get to anyway. If you do it wrong and cause moisture to get trapped, your bed will rust even faster. Oil will flow and drain and probably will not cause a problem. Undercoat will almost certainly cause more problems than it's worth becasue it's designed for the underside of a vehicle - not for inner body panels.

Now for the big news. Today's Ford trucks are much better built and much more resistant to rust than those built in years gone by. I used to get the full Zeibardt rust protection thing done to mine in the '70's and 80's. When I bought my '97, I only got undercoat. My last two trucks ('99 and '02) got absolutely nothing. Guess what? They both held up just fine here in the salt capital of the north-east. The single and double sided zinc clad steel and the electrodeposition primer used at the factory do wonders all by themselves. My suggestion? Just wash it regularly and enjoy it. It will probabaly be 7-10 years before anything rusts through.