I have a 1998 Flame Red 5.9L Sport (loaded, leather, ...) that still looks good and I enjoy driving ~170K. The last 2 years rust is an onging battle. I live in MA where road salt is used heavily.

Specific items replaced so far:

1. All brake lines were replaced due to rust about 7 years ago and some of those replaced will need to be replaced soon.

2. Power steering hoses rusted out and were just replaced

3.gas tank straps broke due to rust and were replaced

4. Fuel filler neck disintegrated and replaced

5. Door bottoms and fender lips - I grind,fill, sand and paint these every other year. Looks great from 10 feet. These are rusting from the inside of the fender and doors

6. 4WD front axle disconnect (vacuum) rusted out and was replaced

7. Both rear shackles were replaced due to rust.

Other rusted items that look like they will need replacement soon

1. Top of exhaust manifolds are looking like there will be a hole soon

2. Front axle control arms are flaking big time

3. Rear bumper needs replacement due to rust beyond repair at this point

4. Spare tire carrier is starting to look shaky(swiss cheese)

5. Brake line from front to rear (along the gas tank).

6. The front dive shaft looks like it it is disintegrating due to rust. It is all original, sometimes when in 4WD I hear clicking perhaps the ujoints in this shaft.

7. Oil pan has a few leaks due to rust. I have the new pan but haven't gotten around to installling it.


Issues:

- steering gear has slop, I did the adjustment which eliminated most of the slop
- track bar needs replacing
- AC has a slow leak recharge lasts about 1 month. I've lived with this the past 2 summers. Can't find the leak.
- Clicks sometimes when in 4WD (used rarely)

On the plus side:

The drive train is good, transmission shifts as smooth as the day I bought it. Rear diff rebuilt about 4 years ago. The NP231 snap ring broke and the transfer case was rebuilt about 2 years ago.The enigne is strong uses about a quart of oil every 3K. The truck has the original plenum. Occasionally a quart of oil will dissappear in 500 miles. When this happens I think that it has the plenum issue, but then it will go another 3K without losing any oil. It gets about 13MPG around town and 15-16 on the highway. Tires are good.

New items: radiator, front hubs and axle joints, new rotors/pads.

Back to the rust issue, my main concern is safety. Has anyone gotten rid of their RAMs due to trust safety issues?

Are there specific things to look for?

Thanks,

Jim

A/C leak is probably evap core. Change that, and the heater core at the same time.

Look at your u-joints for the click....

If the body is still hanging on to the frame, keep driving it.

apparently you havent seen my truck....

this is after i got t-boned......$35 bucks worth of sheet metal later its almost fixed....pass side was rusted out bad and with sheet metal i redid the whole bottom half of door, rocker panal and cad corner....cost about $35 for pass. side......



rust is nothing....if it runs, drive it

find the bumpyest dirt road u can drive down it as fast as u can and if thetrucks still holding together keep it

I'm literally astounded at the amount of people on this forum and in this world that have genuine interest in the well-being of their car, perform hours upon hours of body work and repairs to fix rusted out body panels / components...... and don't understand the dead simple concept of undercoating / oil spraying bare metal to protect it.

Putting a thick layer of undercoating everywhere under on a brand new car, as well as drilling holes and injecting it into rocker panels, door pillars etc. will keep bare metal in perfect form. Scrape that gooey mess off the floor pan after 30 winters with annual rustproofing and I guarantee you it will look like the day it rolled off the assembly line.

In your case, a heavy undercoating job will nearly freeze your current rust situation so it doesn't get any worse. Coat the living **** out both the good and bad areas to prevent further propogation of the cancer, and also to prevent all the work you've now done from ending up back how it was 2 years down the road.

Anyway I guess that doesn't really answer your question I just thought I'd get that off my chest.

^ +1, you can even get a suction gun to make the process a whole lot faster. I undercoated the hell out of my frame, axles, and bed and then bought a suction gun and did the rockers and bottoms of the doors with raptor bed liner. Now, every time someone looks at the underside of my truck i always get "holy crap how is this thing still so clean?!?"....a little undercoating goes a lonnnnng way, especially in the north

I feel you man, I was walking towards my truck thinking how good it still looks. Flame Red paint too. New clean tires, long 8ft bed, tall quad cabin. Then I see the rust, the door bottoms, fenders lips, behind small quad door. I took it to Maaco they want $1000 to fix it. I guess I'll ride it till the wheels fall off.

Seeing how I just moved into the rust belt with my Ga truck (rust free), I guess I should get some undercoating

Judging from that pic ^^ it's too late.

Nah. First real snow that truck has seen. I've still got time