How bad is it if my truck has been sitting for 2 years… can it be saved?

So, my truck has been sitting at my parents’ place for about 2 years. I’m starting to worry that the weatherstripping has been bad for a while. Is this something I can fix, or would it be too expensive and not worth it?

You can buy the metal from a store that specializes in truck parts. But the real issue is the labor, it’s a lot of work. Whether you should do it or not depends on how much money you’re willing to spend. I had to let go of my 1996 F150 when we found frame damage after we started fixing rust.

@Aspen
I can’t afford to do anything now, but I was hoping to keep it and maybe pass it down to my kids. It’s not costing me to keep it, but I know the longer I wait, the worse it will get.

Hart said:
@Aspen
I can’t afford to do anything now, but I was hoping to keep it and maybe pass it down to my kids. It’s not costing me to keep it, but I know the longer I wait, the worse it will get.

Yeah, it’ll get worse as it sits, but you could plan for that. Maybe just grind off as much rust as you can for now. You might end up needing to do both floors and sills later though.

How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

It’s a 1996 Bronco, man.

Noah said:

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

It’s a 1996 Bronco, man.

Oh, now that makes sense. Yeah, that’s going to be a big fix.

Noah said:

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

It’s a 1996 Bronco, man.

Wow, that truck is almost as old as me.

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

Yeah, it’s a 1990 actually. It’s probably been bad for years, but I only noticed because the rust flakes caught my eye.

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

This isn’t one of the newer generations.

Van said:
How did that even happen? Shouldn’t that be under some kind of warranty? That’s messed up.

Must be your first time dealing with Ford paint.

Hard to tell without seeing it, but a lot of weatherstripping has metal wire that rusts. Or is the rust actually on the door jamb itself?

Ziv said:
Hard to tell without seeing it, but a lot of weatherstripping has metal wire that rusts. Or is the rust actually on the door jamb itself?

Here’s a pic: https://placehold.co/600x400.png

@Hart
Yeah, that looks like the door jamb. Not the best news.

@Hart
You could do a temporary fix to stop it from getting worse. Get a new door seal kit for about $200. Remove the old seals, clean the area with a wire wheel, and spray Rust-Oleum rust reformer on the exposed metal. Paint it, bedline it, or leave it black, then put the new seals back on. It’ll hold up until you’re ready for a bigger fix.

Sounds like it could be both the floor and the rocker panel. You’ll need to take some parts off and see how bad it is. Hopefully, it’s just the pinch weld.

Ouch… better find a good body shop.

Might be time to replace the whole floor.

Jai said:
Might be time to replace the whole floor.

Guess I’ll save on gas if I end up having to Fred Flintstone it.

Hart said:

Jai said:
Might be time to replace the whole floor.

Guess I’ll save on gas if I end up having to Fred Flintstone it.

Most of the rust is probably in the door sills, so hopefully, you won’t need to redo the whole floor.