rusty truck

[sisco]

I found a truck up in the northern US. It is 1990 Ford C8000D
has a 60 ft altec over center boom and is a cat diesel with 137.000 miles 6714 hrs. It came from a power company. Im on the fence about the truck due to the fact that the body bins are rusty and have holes from the rust and the truck just looks like crap in general. The truck runs perfect and the boom is tight and does what it is suppose to. Would it be possible to just cut the bins from the body and replace that area with diamond plate or are the bins a structural part of the body and boom tower? It runs great and drives out nice and he wants $14,000. Help

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

What else is rusty that you don't know about?

I just scrapped a family van because the rear brake lines rusted through, and it was going to cost more to fix it than the van was worth. Why? The shop fully expected to break just about everything they had to touch in the process of doing the repair - it was that rusty under there.

And that was only the rear - the fronts were in no better shape.

The van looked great from the topside. Just the merest hint of rust starting to show at the wheel wells.

I won't buy a northern vehicle again. Too risky.

 

[Pilsnaman]

Think of rust as cancer, there is a good chance it is somewhere else and seems to keep coming back. I would go over that truck really well and take a good hard look at the whole underbody.

 

[clearance]

Truck runs perfect and the boom is tight, short answer get it. The pedestal that the boom is on is made from thick plate, the bins are made from sheet metal, the boom is steel and glass. I would go over the truck with someone qualified (like a h/d mechanic) to check for the things Mark is talking about, don't judge a book by its cover. The bins have nothing to do with the structural integrity of the truck, they are the least of your concerns. As long as this machine can do the job safely you can make money to paint it later.

 

[sisco]

The frame looked ok as far as I can see. The motor is a 250hpCat 3208 turbo with an Allison auto trans. The boom is really nice over center 60ft. twin bucket with a material handler also. Im just starting out and I need an affordable truck. Like I said I had though of just cutting the bins off and extending the diamond plate over top the wheels to make it flat all the way across.

 

[skwerl]

Go for it. Fill a pump-up sprayer with thinned oil and crawl underneath and spray everything down. That will help stop or slow down the rust. Check your springs and spring holders, brake lines, etc.

 

[Newfie]

Why is it that us northern boys have no problem dealing with our rusty vehicles but you southern boys have such bad luck with them?:biggrinbounce2:

 

[Pilsnaman]

If the boxes are all that is rusty and the truck runs great go for it. Having a H/D mechanic look it over would probably be a smart move and make sure to really look over that boom for any signs of stress. Good luck.

 

[Tree Frog]

Paint it with rustoleum leather brown and you will never see the rust again.

 

[stihlatit]

Check the frame rail on the left hand side by the catylitic convertor. If the cover fell off a lot of them burn through the frame. It's a weak spot.

 

[limey]

check the upper boom for cracks in the fiberglass.

 

[Groundie30]

Thinned Oil?

Hey Skwerl, what exactly is thinned oil? I have a rust problem too. Thanks.

 

[DDM]

Hey Skwerl, what exactly is thinned oil? I have a rust problem too. Thanks.

Hydraulic oil thinned with kerosene.

 

[Freakingstang]

Hydraulic oil thinned with kerosene.

Or Tranny fluid. I have seen engine oil used also, but the most common in my neck of the redneck village is the red tranny fluid.

 

[PWB]

Any kind of oil that you can spray will work, best bet is something that will creep and not drip. If you're buying it up north, go to an "oil gard" or equivilant and have it dne before you go south. Some oils will be hard on rubber components, there's lots of stuff sold specificly for this job.

Now the 3208 cat, THAT would scare me. Lots of hours, and the engine is built like a car engine , not a real diesel. No sleeves, etc. Throw aways when they blow up.

 

[Groundie30]

Thinned Oil.

Thanks, It is already in the south. I don't think it has seen the road salt thing. Just rain and salty air from the ocean. I still have to wire brush and hit it with rust converter then paint it. Lots of work with no pay... Thanks again. I will try that hydraulic oil thinned with kerosene.