Dodge super genius'-
The body of my 92 ext cab was restored a couple years ago, however underneath is showing the wear of 22 years of everyday driving and northeast winters. I'm considering pulling it off the road to freshen up underneath before it gets too bad. The wear is normal - flaky brackets, dried up body mounts, a touch of rot etc. Anyone been through this project that could help me with a game plan or at least tell me what to expect in this project?
Thanks Bill

 

With my 93, I tried to grind the rust off and sand it and sand blast using a tiny blaster. Then I tried to use eastwood rust convertor and rust encapsulator--- bad idea. Rust is back.


So, on my 88, I bought a needle scaler, then ground the tough parts, then a flap disk, then ospho, wash that off, then sand with flap disk again, then lacquer thinner to clean, then epoxy primer, then vht epoxy paint, then CRC marine anti corrosion spray. So far, THAT seems to be bulletproof. It only took me 3 months worth of weekends. I had the bed off and the gas tank out for both of them.

Bottom line is to do it right, surface prep is key. Do the dirty work, then have some pro sand blast it to speed things up. Mopar action did the same blast/epoxy technique on their scat dak.

 

TWICE... Read here:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...-dodge-295193/

Second time I learned a bit, but only time will tell. Two part epoxy applied after a rust converter.... So far, seems really good, but again, only time will tell..

 

Thanks for the info guys, however now I'm feeling like daily driving this girl, and living in NJ, is not a recipe for longevity. I had always hoped to keep this truck forever, and it seems like I got my work cut out for me. Related question - like I mentioned, I daily drive the truck, and always have. How do these diesels store? How often do you need to run them? Any other considerations?

 

They don't lot rot as fast as a gasser, but should be driven every so often......

My personal fav. thread doing what you describe is Bannerd's build.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...garage-314856/

 

As far as being diesel: I have started diesel engines that had been shut down & left to sit for 10 years by doing no more than hooking up a battery & turning the key . . . same oil (checked level first) and same fuel that had sat.

I am not recommending doing that, but my point & opinion is that so far as the engine is concerned, unless you are going to run it up to full operating temperature for twenty minutes, don't touch it. As long as there are no leaks in the injection pump, lines, etc., and clean fuel in the system, it will keep almost forever.

Where I have had unfortunate experience, is rust problems from condensation in axles, gear-boxes, fuel tanks (luckily ours is plastic), etc. Climate controlled storage helps a huge amount. Keeping things dry & off the ground, with a vapor barrier between the storage & the ground helps.

I'm sure there will be other opinions, but that is my experience.