Recently bought a 2008 Ranger Sport at 33,000 miles only but found entire undercarriage is rusty but no clear corrosion (i did "screwdriver thing"). I want to keep this Ranger 4~5 years at least. I saw many people run their rangers 10~20 years/even more than 200,000 miles on it. I have read tons of articles about this and also seen many trucks/rangers on the street have rusty undercarriage. How you guys handle it? Just ignore? Undercoating ($450~$750) at a shop? Self undercoating? Friend of mine who is a mechanic said just do not undercoat (can't trust quality of work at shop) but take a look regularly. If find corrosion which is rapidly progressing, just trade in. Just want to hear how you are doing with it. Thanks. Sorry for any typo, i am using my cellphone.

Por-15. When I bought my truck I undercoated the whole thing myself. But you can't run the truck that long without the frame giving way before it should

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2005 XL 2.3 (duratec), 15x8 American Racing Baja wheels, BFGoodrich 32x11.50 all terrains, 4.10 open diffs, CB/PA, ORI Baja Eliminator Lightbar(sold), Hella 500 Foglights, Fabtech upper control arms, camburg coil springs, Maxtrac "4" inch spindles and shackles, 32 inch Bfgoodrich AT's, Spyder Halo Headlights, custom rear tube bumper with integrated hitch, custom front prerunner bumper with skidplate, roadrunner fiberglass front fenders, pulled bedsides

every couple of years I take a wire brush to the frame to knock away any scale and rough up the surface, then I paint everything that looks rusty. POR15 lasted the longest, but for the price I really like rustolium's XO-rust product. used it on my plow truck at work and it's holding up great.


I would not recommend using undercoating, I've seen it seal in moisture in the metal and actually speed up the rust. only time it's good is when the vehicle is new

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2000 XLT 4X4, 3.0, Auto, regular cab - throttle cable mod, K&N drop in filter, taylor thundervolt 8.2 plug wires, autolite sparkplugs, Accel coil pack, AVS Ventshades, Rampage LED tailgate light bar, BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A tires, Trail F/X toolbox, cruse control pod light fix, Cobra 19 ultra II CB, lil wil antenna, pioneer door speakers, expo woodgrain radio bezal, 06+ mirrors & tails, powerdome hood

2000 XLT 4X4 Offroad, 4.0 / auto, supercab - the project truck!

Thx for the inputs. So everyone here who runs ranger a long period of time (longer than 8~10 years or more than 100,000 miles) has been doing something at least for rust/corrosion, right?

Well sure, if you live in an area prone to issues....it's glorified general maintenance at that age.

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x2

Done deal.

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Curent 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1 owner - Build Thread for her: Logan's 2003 Mach 1

Former 2003 Ford Ranger owner - Build Thread for her: Project Budget Buster

yes it's called a hose

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2021 F150 5.0 Screw

Past:18 F150 2.7, 16 F150 5.0, 14 F150 5.0, 07 F150 5.4, 03 Ranger 4.0

Master Certified Ford Parts / Warranty Admin

Rust issue?

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If rust is superficial, will these sprays, Rust-oleum rust reformer and/or WD40 specialist ling-term corrosion inhibitor, work? If anyone tried, pls share your experience. Thanks.

Wire wheel to get the loose material off, then use a rust preventative coating (POR-15 is a great product) to seal everything up. Repeat process when things start rusting again. It's a major pain in the ass, but it will keep surface rust from turning into cancer.

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I've never heard of those products before


But, If it's just light surface rust, I'd clean it up with a flap disc or wire wheel and paint it.

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No, incorrect on the above. I don't live in a place that uses salt as a road surface in the winter, I don't buy used vehicles, and when I did I ran like hell from ones with rust. This answers the "has been doing something for rust/corrosion" question.

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2004 Ranger FX4 Level II, 5R55E, Sonic Blue Pearl

Proudly JAP/RICE free since March 2000

I live on the beach in Oregon and i was just under my 94 ranger to remove the drive shaft to change a U-joint. lots of rust but no holes. Good to spray the underside at a car wash gently. there are some really good products that help, sprays and what not, you just have to put them on often.

you must treat the rust before applying any anti corrosive treatment. Por15 and chassis saver both claim you can apply directly over rust. They mean light surface rust. Remove what rust you can, then apply osfo let dry this will change the chemistry of the rust. Lightly brush off the dusty chemical residue then apply por15 or chassis saver.

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MY BUILD THREAD
1999 MAZDA 2500SE, 2.5L 4-clanger, 5 speed, Green n slow. Rangers as daily drivers since 1988.
ASE Certified Mechanic, Builder of Show Destroying Protouring and Classic cars..

POr-15 is formulated to stop the rust. Chassis Saver is another good product and less pricey.

I made the mistake of parking over organic material, grassed area with sand mix. Not using the truck much. Fuel lines rotted and diff. cover rotted from outside. Living on Cape Cod in MA,USA. Not near salt water but in the air sometimes and they heavily chemical the roads in winter. Was extremly dissappointed in myself for allowing this to happen. Sold the truck when I no longer needed it. I like POR-15 . I would use that and never park on dirt. The condensation forms on the under side of the truck and rusts it.

Here's what I did 4 years ago. I'm in mid-atlantic region, where salt is used on winter roads. No, I don't bother hosing it off. MasterSeries paint works. Today it still looks the same as when I painted it (except for spots between the rear leaf springs that rubbed against each other). http://imgur.com/a/CKVUo

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1997 4x4 Mazda B4000 SE, Ext.Cab