Rusted inner panel behind front wheels / panel directly above mud flaps

[Jim]

I have a 2001 Sport Trac with ~130,000 miles and am the original owner. It was rust proofed but is beyond the 10 year warranty period. My mechanic recently noticed the inner panels are starting to deteriorate behind the front wheels on both sides. I'd like to know if this is something that can be repaired? It appears it could be the lower cowl panel or inner side panel (but I am no expert - just a guess). Attached is a scanned photo from my mechanic. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks.

Jim D.

 

[EddieS'04]

Ouch. If it is not rust thru. I would try some of the gels or rust removing chemicals. Use a motor driven wire brush. Then seal it with some type of rubberized under coating.
You might consider a larger mud flap. That will cover more area. Whet I see is that flap is not tall enough.

 

[PRA4SNW]

I live in NH and was under my '02 ST a couple of weeks ago looking at an exhaust leak, and the rocker panels (hidden behind the plastic cladding) are toast. Mine has about the same mileage as yours, too.
My biggest concern is that some sort of support that runs from the body mount to the rocker panel area is rusted through. I should take a picture and post it here on the forum - I'm afraid of bad news, though.
I wire brushed off as much rust as I could and then sprayed a few coats of this on it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NUABUO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
No way is it a long term solution, but just hope to hold off the progress a little bit.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately, it is rusted through in this area and I am concerned with the long term safety of driving it like this, not knowing the full extent of the rust damage. Have stopped at a few body shops but no one really wants to do the repair or it would cost in the thousands of dollars. I might have to part with the truck if it doesn't make sense to repair it.

 

[DILLARD000]

If vehicle is otherwise in good condition & you enjoy driving it,
I'd try to clean out the rust to bare shiny metal myself to get a better evaluation of the damage,
have a local welder patch\rebuild the steel as needed,
then finish with a double primer coat & rustproofer finish coat.

PS:
Removed the side steps several years ago on my 2001 ExST;
they were just a rust magnet, & always got my pants dirty getting out of the truck.