What is the final plan for this truck? Is all this work just to get it back on the road, or will it be for show quality?

Its a great thread; I see hits to it down the road when folks are searching the web looking for frame repair thread help.

 

I bet this truck was used part of its life putting a boat into salt water. That would explain the destroyed rear frame. The previous owner never drove though a car wash to clean off the salt.

 

It spent its life in the White Mountains of NH ...I think it was more salt on the roads ... And a lack of underbody washing .... Ford calls the North East a high corrosion area ....

 

Just trying to put it back in service ... Long story short : My Mom and Dad are elderly 86 and 77 , and they bought this truck in January in NH . There is no Lemon Law in NH on private sale of motor vehicles . Unfortunately I wasn't there and my Dad couldn't look under it very well . In other words , if I wasn't capable of fixing the truck Mom and Dad would be out 4000.00 . If I could find the guy that sold it to them I would ring his neck , no way he didn't know the extent of damage . Anyway , they live in Conway NH and I live in MA , so I get to drive 145 Mi one way to work on it ... BUT , its worth it cause Mom make really good Pancakes .

 

Its worth it because they are your mom and dad!

You should be able to run a registration or title check on the VIN to locate the trucks previous owners. Although at this point, it was sold "as is" so the law cannot help you. I sure hate to hear how folks take advantage of others, especially the elderly. I hope the person that sold it to your parents gwets their just rewards someday.
Your a great son for stepping in and fixing the truck up. Keep us informed of the progress.

For what its worth, I think my 2000 Ranger spent some time near there in its life (Conneticuit). The frame has some surface rust, the lower tailgate is pretty rusted out, the rear spring holders have been replaced due to rust I assume. The good news for this truck is that it will spend the remainder of its life in Florida.

 

Thanks bucko , going out now to do more work , finishing up the rear brakes this morning , then heading back home ... I would say one more weekends worth of work and it should be good to go ! I HOPE !

 

Hello men , A few quick pics , I installed a nice rear end I bought off 99offroadrngr , thanks again to you sir ! It was in great shape inside and out , the swap set me back a few hours but well worth it . Did the brakes and when I went to install the drums they wouldn't fit ! Old drums go right on ... Major set back but trying to remedy that now with the parts store . Need to hang exhaust and connect the drive shaft , make a couple brake lines up and it should be driving , hopefully this weekend coming , then install the bed .

 

oem shoes? I've heard from a friend that sometimes the OEM shoes are thicker than spec and they have to be shaved down a bit but I've personally never dealt with that.

Looks good so far!

 

No , all raybestos stuff ... I was fuming when the drums wouldn't go on . Old ones went right on . They fixing it today I hope , trying a different brand . Its getting there , I hope to drive it this weekend before putting the bed back on . My parents live on a private RD. so I can test it before buttoning it up .

 

Interesting. Hope it works out with a different brand!

 

Thanks man , me too . I brought the old drum with me that fits fine so they can measure it .... I should have just got the stuff from work ....

 

Stupid question to have to ask, but are the adjustments all the way in on those new drum brakes? I only ask because my son was doing drum service on his 4runner; he called me and asked me why it was so difficult to get his new drums over the new shoes he had installed. A quick ride over to his house to see had me identify what the problem was; the adjustment threads were a good half inch out from the wear of the old shoes. He did a great job of cleaning everything, but had not screwed the adjustment rod back in to compensate for the newer thick shoes. This was his first time in doing brakes on a drum/shoe setup; he's always had 4 wheel disc brake vehicles in the past.

I'm thinking though that you know this, as anyone that goes through a frame replacement is well versed and has much more experience than me for sure! My apologies if this was obvious to you.

And would like to see some pictures of the final, when the truck is on the road!

 

Yes , I have done drum brakes many times and was actually second guessing myself . I double checked everything 6 times and when I decided to try the old drum it went right on .... One of the guys at work are just going to turn them down a little to match the old drum diameter . Hopefully this cures the problem , and I can get this thing buttoned up ! I will keep the pictures coming too .

 

Good to know then if some drums are manufactured slightly smaller in diameter than others. I guess it's good then to buy all this "matched", meaning buy the same manufacturer drums and shoes so that it all fits. Kinda sucks to have to turn down a new set of drums to get them to fit new shoes. You are already adding wear to them.

 

I Could use everyones help with rear section frame replacement - are there just rivets holding the front and rear frame sections together? If so, did you bolt, weld, or re-rivit when joining back together? My truck got rear ended and is a repair facility - they may want to total it for very little rear frame rail issues - they say they have to replace entire frame because the cant straighten the six inches of damaged end rails.

 

Okay - now that I stopped rushing and took another couple minutes to re-read all the posts, I found my answers. Sorry I was in a rush before.

Thanks Lilmags500 for the write up - you have no idea how much you have helped me out

 

Thanks for posting this thread and all the pictures/info. Hopefully I won't have to do anything with my frame for a long time, but this is very good info and interesting to look through. Hopefully you're able to get'r on the road soon for your folks.

 

Glad I could help you guys , I'm just about done . Going to do the front brakes this weekend because it has been sitting so long during repair ,the rotors are rusted . I will blast up a bunch of pictures after this weekend . Looking into a replacement bed too , that I found for 400.00 , and is mint . This project is a lot of work but can be done , the only grunt work help I have had at all has been by my 80 year old Mother ! She helped me lift off the bed assembly and install the new frame assembly ! She is an *** kicker for her age ! She makes a great breakfast too !

 

Your grandma helping you lift off the old bed would have made a great picture!

 

Not Grandma , Mamma !

 

Lilmags,

Thanks for an outstanding post and information. I find myself in a similar situation with a 2001 XLT 4x4. Do you or any readers know if 2001 frames separated in a similar manner? Are frames from other years compatible?

How's the truck now?

 

Your welcome , as long as you have the 6' bed all the frames are the same in the rear from '96 to '2005 . You can separate them at the front of the rear leaf spring mounts . My project is done and the truck performs like new , I will post up a bunch more pictures I have in the next few days .

 

Are you sure about this?
I have one thats built in july 1997 and its a one piece frame.

 

Hi , its not one piece . You need to drill out the 16 rivets , 8 per side at the front leaf spring brackets . The frame will separate there .

 

Your frame is not one piece , you need to drill out the 16 rivets , 8 per side at the front leaf spring brackets . The frame will separate there . Hope this helps ...