I was under my Ranger today.

And...well...(gawd this is hard to type)...she might be getting to where it's not worth fixing any more. Frame crossmembers are starting to rot, radiator support is shot. There's rust bubbles on just about every steel body panel.

Add in the miles on the engine and rear end (258k)...and it's hard to justify fixing anything, without fixing it all. And it's hard to justify fixing it all on a 2wd truck this old, that's this slow. (Not to mention I don't have anywhere to tear it apart...)

On the other hand...this is the only truck I've ever owned, and it's been one hell of a reliable rig. Pretty sure if I ever junk it, I'll kick myself 'til the day I die for doing that.

Aww...hell. It still runs and drives, anyway. Don't need to worry about it just yet.

Damn I thought you were going to say the recession!!!

Sorry about your truck man!!!

Nobody likes to see that happen!!!

Yeah...it's kinda pissing me off, even though I knew the day was coming.

Mechanical stuff, I'd be quite content to deal with as it broke, over time. My friends all joke about it, but I really would use this thing as a DD for the rest of my life if I could. But looking at the rust on this thing...it's hard to justify putting much time or money into any of the mechanical stuff anymore, unless I really wanna tear it all apart and fix it right. (Which I still may do. I know if I ever get rid of this truck I'll always regret it, but I may not have anywhere to store it until I have time to fix it up. )

say it isn't so. you can try and hang on to it as long as you can and maybe you'll find a place to store it.

Man...that sucks to hear. It's never easy coming to the realization a rig you have a bond with isn't what she used to be. But no one said you had to get rid of it...just park it til you can redo it if it means that much to you. Really, how much could you honestly expect in a private sale, trade in or scrapping it?

UTfball68 said:

Really, how much could you honestly expect in a private sale, trade in or scrapping it?

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It's not that I think I can get much anything for it...but if it costs me money to hold onto it, that runs into trouble. I have nowhere to put it, and if I park it on grass/dirt (if, for instance, I could con Dad into letting me leave it behind his house), it'll be needing a frame swap and a whole lotta new body panels within a couple of years.

Yeah...I understand 100%. I wasn't saying, yes, you should definitely keep it, I was more saying now is the time you decide is this a rig you really wanna keep for the rest of your life...or if it doesn't mean that much to you. And if it does mean that much to you...then yeah, it'll make you broke. If it doesn't, well it's definitely a sad day.

Well, Ian. Time to start contemplating.

I'm in the same boat as you. My truck has a big spot in my heart too. You just have to commit, or move on. I choose to commit, and it'll constantly need something over the years. I've accepted that. If you commit, pull the tags, cut the insurance, and park it until you have your own place.

Ryan

O'Rattlecan said:

Well, Ian. Time to start contemplating.

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No.

Don't wanna.

My friend Evan Williams said I can wait until tomorrow

Ian thats really sad to hear.

i made the decision to keep my truck, although my trucks frame is in mint condition(just surface rust). im honestly not sure how too being this truck has been in New Hampshire weather for its whole life. but the cab is rotting away. i made the decision to keep the truck and fix ALL the rust on the truck, the cab will be done this weekend and im hoping to find a bed for it in the next year. i love my truck way to much to let it go and its one hell of a beast. it goes everywhere i want/need it to go and it gets there without a problem. you definitely have some decisions to make. but you ar the only one that can make the decision

Pee on it, that all ways helps

unless its an electric fence.....

89frankenford said:

i made the decision to keep my truck, although my trucks frame is in mint condition(just surface rust). im honestly not sure how too being this truck has been in New Hampshire weather for its whole life. but the cab is rotting away.

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Mine's weird. I was under the front greasing up the suspension, the frame still looks good. Needs springs and some stuff replaced, and a good sanding/painting on all of it, and the radiator support is totally shot, but nothing to get all bent out of shape about. Then I crawled under the back...

I peeled this off one of the spring hangers:







Yeah, I know spring hangers aren't so bad to replace, but the two crossmembers behind the transmission one aren't a whole lot better.


It's still technically fixable...but I'm fussy and it's worn out all over, so it would take a LOT of work to get where I want it.

I sympathize.

Ryan

Sorry to hear about this. You can move out here where we don't have those corrosion problems .

Feel your pain

I've built several trucks from beaters over the years . I un em till thy r done .

Then use the left overs to start agian .
My current ride has the drivtrain out of the old rust bucket andstill kicking.

Its up to u I'd run it till u can't any more then give it away (with price of scrap)

Lost said:

Its up to u I'd run it till u can't any more then give it away (with price of scrap)

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Define "can't"...that's where the problem comes in.

Right now...it runs and drives. I know there's a lot of stuff wrong with it, though, and some of it is a real pain to fix.

As an example...I think the p/s pump is on it's way out. Since that's run on the same belt as the water pump, when it goes, I'll have to fix it to keep driving the truck. But while I've got that out, it seems silly not to replace the worn-out steering box (right underneath) at the same time....and so it goes on and on- fixing one thing leads to fixing more while I'm working on it, and it all comes back to the rotting frame (and the fact that it's a 2wd and I live in Maine). If the truck had no rust, I wouldn't think twice about all the mechanical work it needs.

And, the more I think about it...the more I'm convinced I'll always regret it if I ever get rid of this truck. Still, though...I think it may be time to pick up another daily driver, at least until I can get this one back into better shape.