PSA- Easy free rust prevention

[Raider L]

@sirweesarunch,

Did you ever see any rust creep from under the seal that tipped you off there was something going on? Last weeks popular posts was about rust at the drip rails above the door. That got my attention and as soon as I get my truck back from shops I'm going to take a look at that. I've been checking all the places @PrairieDrifter is talking about. I know it's a freak show trying to keep ahead of the rust. And the deal is, you won't know it's there until you see some little nothing and then you take something off and...dang! there it is.

And speaking of the guard in front of the tank, that's how I lost my first tank. It wasn't leaking there or anything I just wanted to know what it looked like behind it one day. It looked pretty crumbly on the front of the tank when I took it off until I took a wire brush to it. And Holy Smoke!! Gas started just pouring out of a couple dozen holes of every size. I was grabbing everything I could grab to try and catch all the gas. I ran inside and grabbed pots and pans from the kitchen, which my wife didn't like one bit. But what could I do, I had more than a half a tank of gas! I did manage to catch most all of it.

 

[80BrownK10]

@sirweesarunch,

Did you ever see any rust creep from under the seal that tipped you off there was something going on? Last weeks popular posts was about rust at the drip rails above the door. That got my attention and as soon as I get my truck back from shops I'm going to take a look at that. I've been checking all the places @PrairieDrifter is talking about. I know it's a freak show trying to keep ahead of the rust. And the deal is, you won't know it's there until you see some little nothing and then you take something off and...dang! there it is.

And speaking of the guard in front of the tank, that's how I lost my first tank. It wasn't leaking there or anything I just wanted to know what it looked like behind it one day. It looked pretty crumbly on the front of the tank when I took it off until I took a wire brush to it. And Holy Smoke!! Gas started just pouring out of a couple dozen holes of every size. I was grabbing everything I could grab to try and catch all the gas. I ran inside and grabbed pots and pans from the kitchen, which my wife didn't like one bit. But what could I do, I had more than a half a tank of gas! I did manage to catch most all of it.

Haha, I would of caught what I could catch but for sure wouldn't have got pots or anything good. Letting 8-10 gallons (if you didn't catch a drop in anything ) fall on the ground is cheaper than buy the wife new pots...heck even buying one decent new pot!

 

[Raider L]

@80BrownK10,

Ha, ha, ha, I know! But I couldn't help it. The truck was under an awning right next to the car port, and big plastic tubs I use for oil changes and what not, catching anti-freeze, were way out in my shop on the back of the property. Yeah I could have run out there and did but you can't imagine how much was coming out of all the holes. I'm telling you it was as if someone took a shot gun to the end of the tank, and there were big holes to. And they just suddenly opened up as soon as I hit it with the wire brush. Because there was a lot of crust on the whole end of the tank I didn't know what to expect, I'd never seen anything like that before, so I hit it hard on the first wipe. And by the time I pulled back on the second wipe with the brush all those holes opened up and pieces were falling off and more gas was coming out, gas started gushing out!! There must have been thirty or forty holes of every size. You should have seen it! We're talking more than a half a tank of gas, and it would have been all under the car port and everywhere. One spark and the whole house would have gone up in flames! I had Tupper ware things and all that I could grab under there. The kitchen was right at the carport door. Then I hauled ass out to the shop and grabbed tubs!! Ha, ha, ha,! My wife was freaking out! Ha, ha, ha. It was to dangerous to just let it fall on the ground.

 

[Raider L]

@Rudy Mienert,

If @prairie Drifter will show what it looks like when stuff falls down in that space where the wiper blade arms are and how the water falls down into the rear of the front fenders, you can see how trash falls down in the bottom of the rear front fenders, and that little vent that is supposed to be all the drain there is for all the stuff that falls in that huge space is supposed to drain out of?? He has one pic of that type drain, (3rd. photo from top). GM certainly didn't allow enough drain for what all builds up in the bottom of the fenders, after awhile. I'm telling you it builds dirt! And then the bottom of the fender rusts off! Mine was like that, the whole end of the rear front fender was completely gone!

When we were rebuilding my truck, we took the front fenders off that's when we saw how the water and stuff went down there and drained out. When I get my truck back I'll show ya'll what I did to stop all the stuff from falling down there to begin with. I looks real nice and neat. I got a lot of uooo's and awww's when I used to show my truck. I hope I gave people ideas. I used stainless screen so it wouldn't rust itself and blocked all those places up.

Otherwise you have to lay down under there with a small screw driver, a scribe with a hook in one end, and maybe a piece of wire, and the water hose and pick all the trash out of the bottom of the fender to try and get all the stuff that has built up in the fender over the years. It will take you awhile to get it all out, if you do get it all out.