this angers me beyond beleif that a vehicle from 99 is rusting out like an 89. Ok so my front driverside finder rusted bad all over and it wasnt from stone chips then the bottom of the doors are rusted to crap thhe drivers side is showing a surface rust or so starting on the outside of the door passenger side is just noticeable if you open the door and look - tailgate is the same way. The rest of the truck shows a lot of little rust specs in the paint if you look close around fenders or rear wheel wells i see a lot of dodges that are rusted out like this and normally i wouldnt care but when i think about it it was a sweet truck "was"
this makes me regret buying a dodge even more anybody else go through this and if so how much $ to fix it its probly not even worth it

 

im not trying to be disrespectful in any way. your truck is 8 years old, has 150k miles, and you live in Michigan. your truck is gonna have rust. no body work is ever cheap. my advice, drive it and dont worry about it.

 

If my truck every started rusting at the bottem I would either Rhino or LineX the bottem panels all the way around. But I live in North Carolina, chances of that ever happening is slim to none.

 

It seems that once the surface rust starts it goes like wild fire. My doors went first then rocker panels. Look around the body mounts to the frame. The doors have the famous seam on the bottom that traps water from the inside. Good luck finding used door panels. I dont trust Chinese replacements and dealer retailed door panels at 700.00 a piece! Has anybody used those door panels from Pershing? Lots of sandblasting and POR-15 paint is the only cure.

 

What about Texas? do cars rust in Texas?

 

Do they use a lot of salt on the roads during the winter where you live? I share the concern that the Cummins part of the truck may outlast the Dodge pieces. I found a car wash in my neighborhood that washes off the underside, and make it a point to run my truck through as soon as possible after each winter storm when the roads get salted. Trying to hold off the inevitable rust as long as I can. Sounds too late for your truck, but something to consider if you get another.

 

this is true to a point but i have freinds with older vehicles that arent showing rust or hardly any maybe theres were better maintained but my old mans 91 f 150 hasnt been washed in years and its hardly any worse than my truck o well who knows i guess
i suppose a new fender and fender flares and some sandblasting and paint on the door seems will be the extent of my fight against the rust

 

You should have been in New England in the early "70's" when the recycled metal was so inferior. Trucks were rusted out in four years. Seal the bottom of the inside of your doors and get inside those rocker panels, they have enough gaps,exterior paint isn"t going to help.

 

They start rusting from the inside out, I just did rockers, cab corners, door bottoms, and wheel arches on the box a couple of years ago. Every piece I took off was covered with rust on the inside. Not really much you can do about it but replace panels and keep it out of the salt.

 

sucks that they can send a man to the moon.... I feel your pain. I've painted my old chev with POR-15 everywhere that rust shows. Some places I did not even clean the parts very well and it does a fantastic job. The $30 quart will not last if you don't seal it well. Pour into smaller containers...... LOL

 

my advice is to chase it while its early. spray the back sides of the fenders, wheel arches, door sill, door skin seams and cab corners with zinc / phosphoric acid treatment (or that other type that turns rust to black primer).
sand down the bad spots and prime / paint over it after the treatment. If you get the little stuff before it gets out of control its not bad.
Another tip is to drill drainage holes in the door sills and rocker panels. There are rubber body plugs behind the rockers you can remove and spray the treatment inside. Removing the turn signals gives access to the wheel arches and removing the vents in the cab's door frame gives access to the cab corners.

 

The Brits use a product called Waxoyl quite a bit on the insides of their cars. You can get it at any British car parts dealer. You have to have access to the inside of the body panel, and then you spray it in. It does a good job preventing rust from the inside.
If you have dealt with post war British stuff, you know it was rusting on the assembly line.

 

My trucks have not started rusting yet, and I'm trying to keep them that way using a product called Fluid Film. It's non-toxic and has tons of other uses as well. So far I've used it inside of the doors on my '98 to keep the rust out of that lower seam. Soon I'll be spraying the entire underbody and inside the rocker panels of both trucks. I buy it online at mowpart.com for $24.50 per gallon, or you can buy individual spray cans.

http://www.eurekafluidfilm.com/

http://www.mowpart.com/fluid-film-gal-p-6002.html

 

Dude, you live in Michigan It doesnt matter what you drive, dodge, VW or a Nissan, where there is salt...there is cancer. You really only have three choices, let your truck hibernate in the winter, deal with it or find a warmer climate

 

Rustcheck is the stuff , Don't think ya can get it in the US though. I get mine at Crappy Tire.