Has anyone ever seen rust in this area to this degree? (1 Viewer)

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Looking for some expert advice on that brace/support area on the left of the pic if we have any body shop guys here. I certainly don't want to screw this up. That area looks important for body support and rigidity. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Looking for some expert advice on that brace/support area on the left of the pic if we have any body shop guys here. I certainly don't want to screw this up. That area looks important for body support and rigidity. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Anyone else have this issue and experience in repairing it? Many thanks
 
Unfortunately, it is hard to get much rust repair guide here on 100 series forum. Instead, you will get plenty of comments on how fixing a rusty truck is pointless. My recommendation is to either show it to a body shop you can trust to get an advice, or if that is not possible, then err on the side of caution and brace the mounting area with extra metal.
It doesn't have to be pretty, it just needs to be functional.
 
Unfortunately, it is hard to get much rust repair guide here on 100 series forum. Instead, you will get plenty of comments on how fixing a rusty truck is pointless. My recommendation is to either show it to a body shop you can trust to get an advice, or if that is not possible, then err on the side of caution and brace the mounting area with extra metal.
It doesn't have to be pretty, it just needs to be functional.

Thank you for your reply and information, I sincerely appreciate it. I hate corrosion as much as the next guy, especially being primarily in the south. Still shocked and horrified by this finding, given the condition of the rest of the truck. This was and maybe still is my long term project truck. I hope this can be satisfactorily rectified.

Was your brace/support area affected by the corrosion issues you showed me?
 
Mine was patched by a local shop and they didn't think the body mounting area was compromised.
 
i removed the sill bungs as after rust proofing the inner sills the drains blocked

Yeah unfortunately I believe that's what should've been done many years ago when the rust proofing coats were applied. I'm at the corrosion repair stage now.

I'm baffled that nobody else has chimed in and had this same issue on that body mounting brace. Again, I'm betting many other 100 owners do in fact have this issue, but haven't had a rock or something else that punctured and revealed the underlying rust. If you review the pic of the other side there's not much in the way of an exterior sign of this issue, other than some slight discoloration resembling a small amount of surface rust. I'm actually glad I found it now before it had the chance to continue to eat away without detection and correction. I just need to get some direction on how to both properly repair and thoroughly prevent further spread.
 
I just looked under my ‘01 and sure enough, what looked like dirt and some flaky paint opened up into a nice crusty hole, right in the same spot. It’s packed with mud, as was the cavity behind the wheel well liner. I think the culprit is indeed the sunroof drains, as I have holes where they drop in the rear too. Fortunately, I had a date with my rust guy today to look at the frame and he says it should be easy enough to patch. May need an extra gusset for that crossbrace, but once it’s all welded up and sealed, it shouldn't affect structural integrity at all. I’ll look into extending the roof drains out the bottom of the panel while it’s open as a preventative measure.
 
I checked mine as well. It had a couple areas of rust on the pinch weld at the bottom but rust nonetheless. Hit it with a grinder, wire wheel, and some rustoleum rust reformer. Don’t care to paint it to match since it’s hidden, just wanted to stop it from growing.

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How many sunroof drains are there and where do they drain out? I’m sure I have bad stuff going on!


4 drains total, 1 on each corner of the sunroof, 1 in each A pillar and 1 in each C pillar
 
I just looked under my ‘01 and sure enough, what looked like dirt and some flaky paint opened up into a nice crusty hole, right in the same spot. It’s packed with mud, as was the cavity behind the wheel well liner. I think the culprit is indeed the sunroof drains, as I have holes where they drop in the rear too. Fortunately, I had a date with my rust guy today to look at the frame and he says it should be easy enough to patch. May need an extra gusset for that crossbrace, but once it’s all welded up and sealed, it shouldn't affect structural integrity at all. I’ll look into extending the roof drains out the bottom of the panel while it’s open as a preventative measure.

This is great news to hear from your rust guy. Glad there will be no compromise to the structural integrity. That's a great idea on extending the roof drains, will be doing the same. Would you care to post up some pics of the finished job? Would be super helpful to have a visual reference. Very much appreciate the reply and information bud.
 
I'm so glad I saw this thread, thanks guys! I got to work today behind the front wheels and pulled out a ton of dirt and some debris/stones. I went to a computer store and bought composite plastic scraping tools (like dental tools but less damaging to the paint) and compressed air which helped immensely.

There are some pebbles and some dirt left that I can't seem to get out. Should I just leave that stuff in there or does someone have a trick to get the rest out?

Should I leave the area open or should I use cavity wax (which would only coat the bottom)?

Even having used plastic tools there are light scratches in the paint inside, should I hit it with primer/paint?

I have no rot yet and I want to keep it that way, I figure I'll do this before every winter.
 

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