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This car spent lots of time outdoors and the frame is rusty, but still intact. The attached images show the condition.
I bought it for $1200 3 months ago and have put about $800 into it. I like it and want to find a reasonable way to preserve the frame so that I can get 100k miles out of it.
I'm also in New England (MA) and refinished the rear frames of 2 Rangers ('99 and '05) this summer. I've owned the '99 since new (this was the 2nd time I've completely redone the rear frame on that truck) and the only way to preserve Rangers in New England is to tackle the frame rust before it gets too bad (especially on the 98-'11 generation), then stay on top of it as it reappears. Not sure if yours is too far gone to save, but it will go fast if you do nothing. It really depends on how much effort you want to put into the truck. Some quick thoughts:
1) You're definitely *at least* going to need new rear shackles. Probably more. The good news is they're cheap and easy to do if the frame rails are still solid. The frame rails are key b/c the rest (shackles, hangers, shock mounts/etc) are cheap and easy to replace.
2) It's possible to assess how bad your frame is before you remove the bed: Use a small sledge or hammer and a tough flathead screwdriver or chisel or similar to knock off the worst parts and see how much decent metal you have left on the rails. Some good taps will usually dislodge the really bad stuff.
3) If you want to do it right/thoroughly, take off the bed. It's 6 bolts. You may find some of them come right off while others will be rotted and break OR hang on for dear life until you grind them off.
4) If there's still decent metal there after you've knocked the worst off the frame, break out a wire wheel and clean everything up. Get as much rust off as you can.
5) Use something to neutralize the remaining rust and prep for metal for coating. Several companies sell rust convertor/reformers in the form of spray or brush-on acids. I usually use POR-15's Metal Prep, but there are many and they're all similar and pretty cheap. (BTW The spray-can "rust reformer" stuff is not the same and is useless unless we're just talking surface rust.)
6) I use multiple thin coats of POR-15 to coat my frames after the rust has been cleaned up and prepped. There are other brands but this is the one I've had the most experience and success with.
7) I use multiple POR-15 Chassis Black coats on top of the POR-15. This creates an extremely tough and durable coating on the frame.
Rough cost of this: $125-150 plus sweat and time. I touch mine up every year and this summer I re-did the rear frame completely for the first time since first using POR 15 on it 7+ years ago. Nothing is perfect, but I credit this for saving the rusted frame of my '99 and keeping it alive for going on 20 salty MA winters. Happy to answer questions and provide pictures if I can!
Amac
Last edited by amacadams; Sep 2, 2019 at 08:57 PM.
Reason: edited because I can't count. :/
Thanks for your response.
I tapped the frame with a ball peen hammer and it rang like a bell. In spite of the layers of flake rust, there is still some metal.
I judge by your response that you think it's worth the effort. I have to admit I am reluctant to commit. Next week I turn 73 and every bump takes a while to heal. I don't suppose you want to take on the job? This is my first Pickup since a long wheel base 60's Land Rover that I had in the earl 70's and I am lovin it.
Just a few more camping trips this year and I will be ready to face the task
Thanks
Richard
For me it's worth the effort but that's partly because I'm a teacher on a limited a budget. To me regular maintenance and reasonable upgrades plus modernizing as/where necessary means I can keep a nice old truck going for years without having to worry about car payments or the pricey repairs of modern vehicles off-warranty. Unfortunately the school year starting also means I won't have the time to do these kinds of projects until next June/July, but if you're still interested then I'll consider it. Good luck and enjoy that Ranger!
I have begun. The cap is off and I am working the 6 bed bolts. The one by the gas tank has not started moving yet, but the other 5, I am working back and forth. I see there are pneumatic needle scalers at Harbor Freight (https://www.harborfreight.com/air-ne...aler-1108.html) . Have you had any experience with these,
Separate from that I am getting an 02 sensor heater circuit failure. I can't find the fuse for the 97 3.0 liter. Do you know where they get grounded?
Good luck with those bolts, if they're moving that's a good start. First time I took my bed off I had to grind the heads off a couple of those...
I've never used a pneumatic needle scaler but the reviews look optimistic and now I'm curious. Maybe someone else here has experience with one? My go-to for the frame rust has been polycarbide abrasive wheels (HF sells them and 3M makes a more expensive purple version). Those will take everything off as long as you can reach it with a grinder or drill.
In the midst of the 5L swap AND coil-over conversion here. 4L is out and I've been going through the front of the frame before putting in the new motor. Quick rant: Boxed frames are TERRIBLE, at least in areas that use a lot of salt on the roads. They might be stiffer than a C-channel (a fact which means NOTHING by itself, BTW) and be great for propaganda and advertisements, but they create AND hide a multitude of potential rust issues that you CAN'T SEE and are difficult to find/repair. That's been keeping me busy for the last couple weeks (front end of our trucks are boxed). I feel bad for anyone buying a boxed frame truck with intentions of keeping it long-term (again, in rust-prone locations).
I don't know about the O2 sensor ground location, might be a good new question thread to post if nothing comes up in the search: It'll get some more eyes on the question than this thread might.
Attached are two links to videos showing my initial progress (for some reason I could not load the videos directly). I need a new rear spring shackle hanger. One side has already been replaced.
I have looked at the POR-15 website, and their 3 products for this purpose are a cleaner,etcher,converter. The converter seems to be the recommended finish with no top coat.
I am also looking at other products. I think one type only converts rust so if there is bare metal it has no effect, this type would definitely need a top coat. I see that there are some water based products on the market.
I am not sure how I am going to proceed, mostly because I don't fully understand the different processes.
The job is done. The frame was solid. Replaced spring hangers and shackle on one side. Coated with POR-15. Crawled under the front and cleaned that up as well.
Thanks for your help
Richard
That's great, do you have any after pics? And did you decide to topcoat the POR-15? Your frame wasn't nearly as far gone as mine was!
What did you decide about the tank strap?
I'm currently finishing up the coil-over conversion, so while everything's been out in the front I've cleaned the frame. Starting multiple coats of POR-15 + POR Chassis coats on top of that.
I've had to cut out some rust and weld in gussets, as well as fabricate 2 of the 4 lower control arm mounts, which were swiss cheese and scary thin (what was left), but I'm finally getting ready to bolt the new suspension up and start the engine part of the project!
