GEN 1 Cab Rust and the Current Market

[MFNG]

Well, I am in a pickle:

I got a 2014 two years ago and love it to death. A year ago I noticed paint bubbling in the driver cab corner. Fast forward one year later and there is very visible rust bubbling/stains. A slight tap on the area yesterday broke loose a quarter sized chunk, leaving a hole. Photos below.

I didn’t know much (reads anything) about the rockers/cab/sunroof drain problems in Gen 1’s when I bought it, and have now learned more than I ever wanted to know thanks to this place - kudos to all. BTW This truck came to me in IL from South Dakota by way of Missouri.

The rocker panels look good to me (love to hear from you all, ahem @FordTechOne). All the original tape is in place, with no signs of being disturbed, leading me to believe it is the sunroof drain, and/or moisture accumulated in the cab corner from freeze/thaw cycles and the vast temperature swings being in IL/SD/MO.

Now the real question:

I live in IL and this problem is only going to obviously get worse, especially with winter coming. I could probably get what I paid for it if I sell/trade it, but I probably wouldn’t end up in a Raptor.

With the current market so crazy I am tempted to just keep it and try to have the pros cut it out and save it. Local body shop owner and his son both have Gen 1s and they say they’ll do it, but don’t recommend it because where we are it’s just going to happen again.

Do I:
Keep it and pay the $3-5k to cut the corners out and replace them since I will probably break even, lose a little if I sell/trade…

Or

Get rid of it now. It’s fooked and there’s no hope. Cut and Run!

I hate to abandon the Raptor, as my initial plan was to keep it forever and hand down an SVT vehicle to my son, but this is really making me look at used Gen2s (when the current insanity dies down) since they are aluminum bodied.

Help! Weigh in! I am so pissed/distraught/confused right now.

Driver Side

 

[MFNG]

Passenger Side

 

[Big Papa Gecko]

I feel your pain, My rockers are just about shot, thankfully they arent structural in any way.
-If youre not looking to cut it out and replace it, aim would be to correct the moisture buildup issue, dry it out and seal, get ride of the rust by brushing, sanding, etc. then bondo hole, primer and paint.
-I'm pretty sure yall salt up there, but with your rockers in great condition and what looks like no serious rust on underside, a cut and swap should be fine too. Just requires alot of undercarriage washing in a garage during winter.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

The rockers look pretty good from the photos, I would get new cab corners welded in and then a good yearly ritual of rust prevention. Don't use undercoating. Use something like fluid film or that woolax? stuff that others talk about. Once the bodyshop cuts into that area they will be able to tell how the rest looks. You don't get rid of a Gen1 for just that little bit of rust. Good luck. Oh and remove that tape and put gorilla tape on there, that tape will be all brittle by now.

 

[MurderedOutSVT]

It's fixable now, maybe not so much in the not too distant future though.

How much do you like your truck and how bad do you wanna keep it?
Those two questions should point you in the right direction
If you aren't attatched, cut and run

 

[CoronaRaptor]

It's fixable now, maybe not so much in the not too distant future though.

How much do you like your truck and how bad do you wanna keep it?
Those two questions should point you in the right direction
If you aren't attatched, cut and run

Shut it! It's "cut and weld", lol

 

[FordTechOne]

Rockers look fine, but that corner rust is pretty bad. You consider selling it and using it as a down payment on a Gen 3? It doesn’t make much sense to buy used with the prices as high as they currently are.

 

[MFNG]

Rockers look fine, but that corner rust is pretty bad. You consider selling it and using it as a down payment on a Gen 3? It doesn’t make much sense to buy used with the prices as high as they currently are.

Thanks for the inspection. If I did sell I would probably get a used Gen 2 down the line when the prices level off. I bought this one used w 93k on the clock.

Wish I had Gen 3 money! Damn kids…

 

[matrix243]

Repaired that spot on mine. Not quite as bad as yours.

Rusting Raptor Rocker panels

Before After Still have to wet sand edges after full cure. Damn, that looks decent enough, do you have any inbetween pictures of the process?

www.fordraptorforum.com

 

[matrix243]

If you look in the wheel well I noticed there's a hole that seems to lead to that back corner so the wheel kick up forward basically blasts the hole and runs down into the corner. I sealed them all.