It is a 1997 ford f150 with the 5.4 v8 with 323k miles and recently I know there has been a rust spot for a few years and was able to put a hole in the frame with my finger by the drivers side wheel well. Can I just cut that section of frame off and weld another piece of frame the rest of the frame is solid its just rusted in about a foot long section. Is the pickup still safe to drive? In all my life Ive never seen a frame rusted in a spot like that before.
Rust is almost never as small as it looks. My '99 Ranger had a hairline crack in the frame at the rear shock that was rusty. The hole was actually about a half inch tall and ran 6" down the frame. A pro-welding friend inspected the surrounding metal and found it to be good to take new plate, so he welded new metal in. In the meantime, I've found other areas of concern and constantly monitor them.
If it's eaten through enough to get your finger in, it's probably quite rusted surrounding the hole as well. Get a big hammer and bang on the frame around the hole. If it crunches, it's shot. You want to hear ringing and banging. If it's just one area, depending on how severe it is, you might be able to weld a patch as well.
With that age, mileage and a rusted through frame It's finished and not worth saving. Yes it's unsafe.
Thanks I appreciate the help the frame is rusted a foot right where the fuel hose is. I took a hammer to the frame and I dont get the ringing sound til a foot forward from the rust spot and I dont hear the ringing at all on the frame going to the back of the frame. I asked 3 frame repair shops about it and they said they wouldnt bother fixing it. They also said an entire frame for it would be more than its worth bluebook. I guess I was already on borrowed time before I could put a hole in the frame with a finger.
hey 24 years aint bad if you ask me. That's almost a quarter century!
Yes and 24 years in Arkansas with rain snow freezing rain and salt on the roads and it towed my 20ft wellcraft boat and 25ft coleman camper trailer with ease Im just hoping my 03 tundra can do the same.
Unfortunately rust is often the undoing of ford trucks. I've retired them sooner than yours because of a rusty frame. It's very dangerous and it would be hard to know if it was fixed correctly. Good luck with the Tundra.
Some people around me in Ohio really don't seem to care about themselves or others. We also don't have state inspections. A few months ago I saw a couple drive out of the gas station in a late 90s Chevy S10 that was so rotted out underneath that the frame was practically folded in half. The bed was against the back of the cab, and you could see the rusted out frame rail underneath. I was shocked the thing was still driving. At that point their driveshaft is probably the only thing holding it together.
Those people are nucking futz. One bad pothole or sudden stop and they'll end up smeared across the road. It's fine if they want to remove themselves from the gene pool, but the worst part is they could injure somebody else. 😡
Ive been to Ohio a few times and sounds about right and have seen some of that in Arkansas too. I already got a hold of the toyota dealer and they said towing capacity is 4900 to 7200lb but because mines stickshift they said its more in the 5000lb range but the boat is 4500lb with fuel and everything in it and the travel trailer is right at 4900lb with everything in it so I should be ok to tow those with the tundra.
What's the problem, that'll just buff out...
Is Nucking Futz the same thing as Sell Fwoop?
same poop, different pile/different cow