Hello Everybody,

I have a few weeks off in coming months and was hoping on doing some preventative maintenance on my truck (03 LTD V8). Currently, the frame has a decent amount of rust and I am hoping to treat it before it becomes a problem. I have found a few threads on this but most of them are either discussing new frames or frames with really significant rust. My plan for now is as follows:

1. Pressure wash the frame including the frame inside and out.
2. Wire brush lose scale and wipe down with a degreaser.
3. Paint exterior with a rust converter (thinking coroseal) and get some eastwood internal coating for interior of the frame.
4. Fluid Film

I have heard mixed reviews on rust inhibitors, some say they will just trap existing rust and others say they work well. Would I be better off with a wire brush and just fluid film? If anybody has and experience with this let me know!

That’s not bad rusting at all. You’ll be fine no matter what you do.

There’s no definitive on rust inhibitors because it’s tough to do 10 year studies. The chemistry of converting rust with an acid makes sense. Definitively, it gives you a paintable surface

Good luck

Yea just have the extra time off and figure it is good preventative maintenance. Thank for the reply.

Do you have the time to pull the body?

It's good you're thinking about performing some rust maintenance on your frame....but, for a 2003 that has lived in the north, your frame is in great shape!

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the tools or space needed to pull the body. Looking for something I can do with a jack and some pretty basic tools.

Was planning on getting all four corners supported on jack stands and working with that setup!

Thanks! Just trying to keep it that way. I really like the truck and want to keep it in good shape for as long as possible.

Could turn a underground pool into a big electrolysis tank, but a drill, some wire wheels and a rust converter, followed by encapsulator and a good top coat of paint. Inside the frame would be the hardest part. Do a small section at a time, to keep from getting overwhelmed and use a good set of goggles, keep that crap out of your eyes.Plenty of tubeyou vids to give you some ideas.

Old school juice to stop the spread while working on it.

1oz Dawn dish soap, 4oz PB blaster, 12oz of tranny... Gender neutral fluid in a spay bottle.
Transmission fluid has rust preventative, pb blaster will break it down and the soap will hold it in place.

My 08 is in worse shape. My frame overall isn’t bad but a lot of other components - the rear axle and the frame attachments at the front and rear / under the bumper areas are pretty crunchy. I think I can go through all this to make it look pretty but not sure if it’s worth all the time and effort if I can’t get the inside

I will be doing the job in a few weeks. I'll update the thread on how it goes

From what I see on my truck the holes end up coming from the inside out. My opinion is to get as much dirt and debris out of the inside of the frame and then oil it. I use warmed up bar & chain oil and spray it into the frame holes with an undercoating gun. Messy job but it seems to stick well. I do oil the outside of the frame and other body parts but so far it lasts pretty well on most of the surfaces but not all. I hope to only have to do a once a year quick spraying on the surfaces that get worn off quicker.

Did this job on an '05 in the fall. I would use compressed air if you can to remove rust - fast and effective. I only did a little wire brushing on particular spots. Suggest passing on the degreaser unless you have particular areas of oil build up - you are not painting so you don't have to worry about adhesion. I did rust convertor on a few bad spots (Purple Power Deruster) then applied Woolwax on the frame and the internal rails. Removed all the skid plates, spare tire and wheels prior to the job. Bagged the hubs with trash bags to prevent contamination of brake rotors.

Wire wheel everything and coat it with POR-15 at the end. I have yet to do this on the 3rd gen with a somewhat rusty frame.

Thanks. Good point on bagging the brakes. Did you use compressed air for the internals aswell or just wash them out beforehand.