Hello everybody, I'm new to the board, and quite green to trucks aswell... I have a question for you guys i was hoping for some opinions.. I'm having a friend do the bodywork on a 90 bronco that I got for nothing from my uncle, and he pointed out a nasty frame rust problem... How bad is this?? Is it safe, and what, if anything should I bother to do? (I dont wanna try to rebuild it though) Any ideas, or opinions on the longevity of this thing would be much appreciated

Thanks

 

I'd say that's pretty bad, b-boy. I would have it looked at and repaired.

MR

 

At least put new shackles and leaf springs on it.

 

Ok, that spring hanger????? One good jump and it's gone !!
Seriously, at least keep the family out of it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it. Maybe I will look into having it fixed... Just hope it wouldnt cost too much, I really didnt want to sink a bunch of money into this thing, but safety is important thx again

 

You're welcome and welcome to the site. You are correct, you can sink a fortune into those EXACT kinds of projects. Part of what I said was serious and part was a bit of humor. What you can do is tap around on these areas with a hammer. If pieces of metal fall off, then the original integrity of that part is diminished. On that spring hanger, the steel has substantial delamination. Parts like that are trash. The frame is certainly crusty with cancerous rust. You may get by with it, but a thorough examination is a must. You need to look closely in all of the areas that parts mount to it with the parts removed. I've seen worse restored, but a quality restoration will certainly be a money pit.

 

Thanks very much Max! Sorry to ressurect this thread, but I had a couple more little questions I was hoping you could help me with. If I replaced the hangers and possibly the springs and any other replaceable parts that may need it, is there anything I can do to the frame itself to strengthen it? A friend told me that welding to a frame (like reinforcement) is a no-no.. Is my only option to rust guard it and hope for the best?

Thanks very much

Lee

 

No problem-o ! The hangers need to go due to delamination...see where they look like separating layers from the Titanic? (kidding) The spring rust doesn't look horrible, but they lose their arc, strength, and bushings at that age. Frame welding is not "ideal" but has been done a million times over. People have strengthened and boxed frames for decades. One problem is that you cannot weld properly to rust and each individual area needs evaluation. Frame coatings will not stop rust of that magnitude. I think what it comes down to is what level of restoration each person is looking for. A high level restoration would basically require tearing the vehicle down. With all parts removed from the frame, see where rust goes all the way through and how deep it is in hidden areas. I can see very little in that picture and much of what needs to be evaluated is where all of the components bolt on to the frame. A lower level budget restoration could be as simple as observing all of these areas on the assembled vehicle and replacing the worst of the worst. This is where you investigate the "bolt on" areas. A hammer, pick, long handle piers, etc. probing for severity of rust. What I can see of the frame doesn't look severe. Cancerous scabby looking rust like that is not the worst problem. Delamination, complete rott through, and missing areas of metal is where things get scary. So, a complete, thorough evaluation is really the key to starting. At these "bolt on" areas is metal missing, causing bolts, washers, nuts, and parts to move? Unrestored areas on a vehicle other than rust come to mind next; a complete drivetrain, suspension, brakes, body, etc. evaluation. Pick your level of restoration quality, get several opinions, pick around in all of the areas that I mentioned, estimate parts costs, and decide if it is worth it to you before you start.