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Is it time to bid farewell??

1063 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  blageurt, 
burnetma
I am at that cross-roads where I have to make a big decision. My 1997 F250 is still running strong, but I am concerned about the body and chassis rust. I bought the truck new and it has spent it's entire life in upstate NY with tons of road salt. My primary concern is about chassis integrity and degradation of towing capacity. I intend to keep using the truck for conventional towing of loads upto 12,000 lbs. I do not see any holes in the frame yet, but maybe I haven't looked in the right places.

Questions:
1. How concerned should I be about the chassis rust?
2. How do I check and evaluate the rust?
3. Are there any known trouble spots to look?
4. Has anybody seen a frame or hitch failure?

I am in the position to upgrade to a newer truck and plan to look at used 2008's on Monday, but I am still not sure that I need to spend all of that money to remain safe.
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burnetma
Hey, thanks for all of the helpful advice. I will have to look into getting the truck checked over. Unfortunately, I do not have time to do it myself as my job is really demanding a lot of OT (unpaid). Paying somebody else may be cost prohibitive.

I already had to replace all of the brake lines, parking break cable (4 times) and both fuel tanks all due to rust. I am seeing rust under the cab and on the bed around the wheel wells. This is why I am concerned.

I know my front spring bushings are doing a bunch of shucking and I bet the rear hangers and bushings are doing the same.

I did a visual on the truck frame and hitch yesterday, crawling on my back. I did not find anything noteworthy, but then again, I need to look from the top down. Tomorrow's another day.

Thanks again.
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