Time to give up? (1 Viewer)

[Travelfeet]

I got a 99 with 185k. Just asked a frame shop to patch the rear crossmember, (particularly rusty) but once they got up close, they smelled fuel, so no thank you they said. I do a lot of my own work, but I don't have indoor repair space, so I took it to a local for the fuel leak... evap system tested ok, but no pressure in tank (never got a code). A smoke test identified a leak somewhere at the top of my tank. The skid is half rusted away, though the tank itself looks good in the areas you can see, the main seam too. The mechanic I took it too is very hesitant to touch it, since the strap bolts are rusted to nubs, and he sees the other rust issues. He's afraid the job will domino into a 3k job when he tries to drop the tank and recommended I scrap the truck before spending more than it's worth!

That's a hard pill to swallow, but from the financial side, I spent less than 5k on the truck, I wouldn't work on it myself until the spring at the earliest. Is it worth paying a shop 2k+ if the tank fix turns into a train wreck. The shop basically tried to talk me out of doing what would be a big job, so I've no particular reason to doubt they believe this.

I have read several threads about tank repairs, and have not seen reports of huge problems outside of supporting the tank when replacing the straps. Plenty of people reported rusted apart skid plates. Anyone think this could be as bad as the shop is afraid it could be?

Thanks.

 

[bhsdriller]

Can't you just replace the tank? Shouldn't be that hard, I don't think replacements are very expensive.

Pics of rear crossmember?

 

[GTV]

Without pictures it’s anyone’s guess. Sounds like a parts truck to me though.

 

[Travelfeet]

Might not even be the tank, could be evap lines, probably not fuel line. I Don't have a pic of the crossmember, but it has surface rust on the passenger side, (normal 20 year old frame if you ask me) and a rust hole 5 inches in from the driver's side. The last 8 inches is bad. I have seen several like it. That spot seems to rust badly, but the weld shop didn't think it would be a big deal to repair. Quoted me around $300.

 

[Travelfeet]

The shop can't identify the cause without dropping the tank and think it might be too much to fix when they do. If I pay them, they'll of course do it, but its an all in situation. I could have however many hours shop time and it's a point of no return.

 

[LXKevin]

Bring it to another shop for another opinion. Take a bunch of pictures and post here.

 

[gamecock2009]

FYI cost me about 2k to replace my tank, that was with an OEM tank though and probably would have cost about 1500. Id bail on that thing, rust is going to infect every place and problems will continue to pop up. I bailed on my first one after tanking 3k into it

 

[Travelfeet]

FYI cost me about 2k to replace my tank, that was with an OEM tank though and probably would have cost about 1500. Id bail on that thing, rust is going to infect every place and problems will continue to pop up. I bailed on my first one after tanking 3k into it

I agree, rust is a cancer, but I live in upstate NY, rust is a fact of life for any vehicle driven in the winter... I've sprayed fluid film everywhere but the rear crossmember (anticipating the weld repair) but it's an endless fight.

 

[Ayune]

There is a fuel pump access panel under the rear (second row) seats. Unbolt the seats, lift up the carpet and you'll see it. You can peek through the hole to get a better look at the top of your gas tank.

Pic from Flintknapper's thread.

 

[Travelfeet]

Yeah, I need to look for myself. I'd think the shop would have checked what they can see from the top too, but I don't k ow that they did.

 

[AlpineAccess]

You can drop the tank and get a junk yard replacement for cheap. The tank bands are cheap if they are to break, and if you drop the tank and the brackets break, have the shop welding in the rear cross member patch grind and weld in some new tank strap supports before you put the tank back in.

I don't blame them for not wanting to weld up there with the fuel smell. If your tank is leaking you might have a bad fuel pump seal, a leak in an evap or gas line, etc. All of that stuff is cheap to fix materials wise, just requires some time.

You said you need to pay a shop to do the work, and that I think is where it's going to cost you some money.

 

[Travelfeet]

You can drop the tank and get a junk yard replacement for cheap. The tank bands are cheap if they are to break, and if you drop the tank and the brackets break, have the shop welding in the rear cross member patch grind and weld in some new tank strap supports before you put the tank back in.

I don't blame them for not wanting to weld up there with the fuel smell. If your tank is leaking you might have a bad fuel pump seal, a leak in an evap or gas line, etc. All of that stuff is cheap to fix materials wise, just requires some time.

You said you need to pay a shop to do the work, and that I think is where it's going to cost you some money.

That's all what I was assuming when I took it in. I'm not in the mood to mess with it and was ready to pay someone else to put in the time, and suddenly the guy thinks the frame is going to crack in half or something (it's not that bad outside of the one spot) I wondered how bad could it really get and you're saying what I was thinking, Yeah will cost some money, but more than the trucks worth? Hell I can weld on some new retaining bolts... Maybe I should just do it the job and suffer the inevitable cold and wet driveway. I've got wrist surgery in a few weeks though which will put me out of commission through January.

 

[AlpineAccess]

That's all what I was assuming when I took it in. I'm not in the mood to mess with it and was ready to pay someone else to put in the time, and suddenly the guy thinks the frame is going to crack in half or something (it's not that bad outside of the one spot) I wondered how bad could it really get and you're saying what I was thinking, Yeah will cost some money, but more than the trucks worth? Hell I can weld on some new retaining bolts... Maybe I should just do it the job and suffer the inevitable cold and wet driveway. I've got wrist surgery in a few weeks though which will put me out of commission through January.

If you know someone who'd let you use their garage for a weekend that's the best way to go.

 

[Travelfeet]

FYI cost me about 2k to replace my tank, that was with an OEM tank though and probably would have cost about 1500. Id bail on that thing, rust is going to infect every place and problems will continue to pop up. I bailed on my first one after tanking 3k into it

I assume your replacement was due to rust issues on the tank? DId you end up just replacing the tank, or other parts too. My guy is worried he going to have to run new fuel lines filler tube, whatever else. Basically every part in the fuel system. (his worst case scenario)

 

[Travelfeet]

If you know someone who'd let you use their garage for a weekend that's the best way to go.

If I knew it would only be a weekend.....

I won't be sure what parts I need until I drop the tank though.

 

[e9999]

No advice about course of action, but count your blessings that you have a honest and considerate tech identified. Not everybody does.

And, yes, I would not take it someplace to work on it yourself if you can't leave it there for quite a bit if needed. You kinda need a tank to drive it and who knows what you'll find.

 

[abuck99]

Just drive it- and enjoy it. Forget about the rust- you live in Rust Central. Mitigating what ever rust you have won't change the value and the truck isn't going to break in half. So save your $$ to put towards another newer LC at a later date.

 

[e9999]

^ yea well, I would not extensively drive a truck with a known possible fuel leak. Unlikely something would go very wrong but that's a hell of a liability.

 

[abuck99]

^ I read vapor leak on top of tank not a liquid fuel leak- but yeah isolate the concern. Could be gasket on top of tank or VPS outlet.

 

[MJK]

I vote for a new truck from somewhere outside the rust belt, and a new house by the same description to go with it.