To save or not to save (rust thread) - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - To save or not to save (rust thread)

Posted: 7/2/2015 3:37:49 PM EDT

2005 Ford Escape 130K miles. Lived its life in the rust belt. I am a DIY mechanic I have a MIG welder. The question is... is it worth saving?

Posted: 7/2/2015 3:42:20 PM EDT

[#1]

Damn! That looks like a lot of work! It all depends on the amount of work you think it will take vs what buying another vehicle means to you. You could prob get away with fixing the wheel well area and only things that really need it. As long as the rust hasnt compromised strength, dont mess with it.

Also if all you are doing is looking to repair damage and rebuild strength, the work and welding will be way less than trying to build show quality. Weld that bitch, primer, and some paint from a can = good to go.

Posted: 7/2/2015 3:46:22 PM EDT

[#2]

I REALLY hate buying cars because used cars are so expensive and you just end up with another problem. Brand new is out of the question, I would have it worn out before I paid it off. Most of its surface pitting rust, all the cancer is on the thin sheet metal.

Posted: 7/2/2015 4:42:48 PM EDT

[#3]

That is going to be a lot of fab work.. if the work is worth it to you...have fun. I wouldn't waste 5 minutes trying to fix it.

Posted: 7/2/2015 6:58:53 PM EDT

[#4]

Pass

Posted: 7/2/2015 9:02:42 PM EDT

[#5]

Strip it down to the good parts and build a cool FAV like the other guy on here.

Posted: 7/2/2015 11:25:09 PM EDT

[#6]

Too far gone... I would let it go. There's a lot of damage showing and there's always going to be hidden problems that you may not notice until -after- you dumped a lot of money and time into the job. Not worth it on a 10 year old vehicle.

Posted: 7/3/2015 1:25:13 PM EDT

[#7]

too far gone at this point.

Posted: 7/3/2015 9:57:21 PM EDT

[#8]

Definitely not.

Posted: 7/3/2015 9:59:54 PM EDT

[#9]

Fuuuukkkk no! Fix one area, another pops up. Put effort into a car that is collectable if you're in the mood to restore something.

Posted: 7/3/2015 10:08:01 PM EDT

[#10]

Scab something over the hole by the rear shock mount, fill the gaps with expando foam and run it to death.

It's not worth putting any effort into trying to mint it out.

Posted: 7/3/2015 10:31:28 PM EDT

[#11]

As much as I hate cracked windshields from the gravel they use here, it sure beats the shit out of salt. Tons of 20+ year old winter beaters around here, and dedicated FJ40 plow trucks.

Posted: 7/4/2015 3:44:58 AM EDT

[#12]

That right there is one good thing about Ca that even arfcom has to agree on..... All 6 of my cars - MY '79 - '00 - cumulativelyv have less rust than the OP.

Posted: 7/4/2015 11:42:54 AM EDT

[#13]

Fire up Craigslist in Arizona, find 2005 Escape for sale. Purchase a plane ticket and fly to the owner, have him pick you up at the airport and drive the damn thing home. You'll be money and time ahead from that rusty POS even if you have to drop a crate motor in the Arizona car.

Posted: 7/5/2015 6:38:47 AM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
Fire up Craigslist in Arizona, find 2005 Escape for sale. Purchase a plane ticket and fly to the owner, have him pick you up at the airport and drive the damn thing home. You'll be money and time ahead from that rusty POS even if you have to drop a crate motor in the Arizona car.

View Quote

...........go with something like this.

Posted: 7/5/2015 7:37:39 AM EDT

[#15]

Im going to investigate this rust a little more before I decide. If the worst of it is the fender I'm going to attempt to fix it. I have a mig welder and a couple other vehicles that I am driving in the mean time. Worst case will be fix it enough to get rid of it. I hate buying cars! Seems like the newer they are the flimsier the metal is.

I did look at craigslist and most of the escapes in pheonix are being sold at buy here/pay here type places and are more than I gave for this one.

Posted: 7/5/2015 8:25:01 AM EDT

[#16]

Normally you would pay less for a vehicle that has rusted out.

The one you have is bordering on unsafe, and probably not worth the time and effort to fix. Rust is like a cancer, if you don't cut it all out it will come back.

Posted: 7/5/2015 8:39:44 AM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
Im going to investigate this rust a little more before I decide. If the worst of it is the fender I'm going to attempt to fix it. I have a mig welder and a couple other vehicles that I am driving in the mean time. Worst case will be fix it enough to get rid of it. I hate buying cars! Seems like the newer they are the flimsier the metal is.

I did look at craigslist and most of the escapes in pheonix are being sold at buy here/pay here type places and are more than I gave for this one.

View Quote

Well when you do, consider that some of that rust is around major support areas, like the shocks. Unless your getting it for about 2oo bux and gonna use parts off of it, its really not worth the time or effort. You need to look at cost and time. Your mig gas and wire isnt free (unless it is) and then the time. It is the true definition of trying to polish a turd.

Posted: 7/6/2015 1:01:47 PM EDT

[#18]

Just to clarify. I already own this vehicle and have been driving it for quite some time now. The rust on the wheel well was hidden by the crappy under coating the factory applied.

I would never buy a vehicle already in this condition.

Posted: 7/6/2015 5:12:26 PM EDT

[#19]

Unless you got a really cheap supply of sheet metal, MIG consumables, access to metal forming and bending tools, and an assload of free time I wouldn't waste my time. That SUV would be on CL either as a part out and/or sold for scrap metal.

Since you already own it you could continue to drive it as is till you fail a safety inspection, but I would probably let it go sooner than later.

Posted: 7/7/2015 1:00:18 PM EDT

[#20]

Keep your eyes on CL and Ebay for one in the deep south with a bad engine or transmission, two it home, swap engines, sell the rest for scrap to cover the cost of towing the new one home, and call it good.

Posted: 7/7/2015 3:06:01 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:

Since you already own it you could continue to drive it as is till you fail a safety inspection,

View Quote

no such thing here

Posted: 7/7/2015 3:49:39 PM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:

Fire up Craigslist in Arizona, find 2005 Escape for sale. Purchase a plane ticket and fly to the owner, have him pick you up at the airport and drive the damn thing home. You'll be money and time ahead from that rusty POS even if you have to drop a crate motor in the Arizona car.

View Quote

my brother recently did this..sort of. bought a 97 Suburban a local guy brought up from AZ..it looked 2 years old..

Posted: 7/7/2015 3:57:26 PM EDT

[#23]

Ditch it. I look at about three per year that are identical to that, I wont even write an estimate.

Posted: 7/7/2015 4:00:38 PM EDT

[#24]

You already have it... cut out what you can from that wheel well and MIG it up yourself.

Do you have a sandblaster? If so hit the other spots with it and cover with POR or something.

That is, if you like doing that type of thing, or want to do it as a learning project.

But I wouldn't spend any real money on fixing it.

Posted: 7/7/2015 4:10:48 PM EDT

[#25]

Take it from a ford dealer in the top of NY where they salt like its going out of style. Crush it. IF you have the time and IF you can find the parts you are going to spend a ton of time and effort to fix a car that is worth what, $3000 maybe. You are going to spend your time, mig supplies, and probably $1000 in ford parts to get it somewhere near back to whole. And after you fix that rust there is going to be more coming. Rust sucks, and it never stops. Spend the time you have allotted for fixing this one looking for a clean southern or western car. One you can put the key in and drive. You could probably pay for a plane ticket with the cats you can cut off the 05.

Posted: 7/7/2015 4:22:48 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:

no such thing here

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

Since you already own it you could continue to drive it as is till you fail a safety inspection,

no such thing here

Well that certainly explains how it's still on the road then

.

Frankly unless you have some crazy sentimental attachment to this vehicle, find a different one. The rust through near the rear shock mount is enough of a cause for concern for me to say to put this one out to pasture. Of course this decision is up to you, but I wouldn't put my family in that car. And frankly if you get into a wreck as a result of a catastrophic failure due to weakening of structural portions of a vehicle you can have fun with that lawsuit.

Posted: 7/7/2015 5:22:32 PM EDT

[#27]

I will say again, find one with a suldged up or blown motor down south, trailer it home, swap engines, sell the old one and engine as scrap to cover the cost of trailering.

Down here rust just isn't a think with cars built from the eighties on (the oddity being stuff like convertibles with bad tops being left in the rain for years) is very unlikely to have any kind of rust through at all. We don't use salt on the roads, most places don't even have the equipment to spread salt on the roads. We don't even bother having our cars undercoated here, it isn't uncommon to crawl under a 20 year old junk yard donor and see that the entire bottom of the car is pristine, all of the bar code tags still legible and everything.

Posted: 7/7/2015 5:44:38 PM EDT

[#28]

Either way I HAVE to do something. Either to be able to trade it in or drive it to doom. Stand by for severity report.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - To save or not to save (rust thread)

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