Question about that time my frame rail folded on a 2012 F-150

Had a 2012 F-150 roll in Wednesday with a rear quarter hit that looked simple enough. Got it on the rack and started pulling, then the whole frame rail just crumpled inward like wet cardboard. Salt belt truck from New York, frame was rotted through under the coating. Ended up having to cut out a 14 inch section and weld in a new piece from a donor truck. Anyone else run into hidden rust like that on older trucks?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubysingh27d ago

Jeez, did you find any way to spot that rot before you started pulling on it?

the_nathan27d ago

Hold on, but what about the smell? I mean, not like a regular musty basement smell, but a really sharp, almost sweet chemical smell, kinda like nail polish remover. I ran into some treated lumber from the 70s once and it had that weird odor. Before you even get a saw on it, that smell could be a dead giveaway because modern pressure treated wood doesn't have that same heavy, solvent-like stink. Plus, if the wood feels greasy or waxy to the touch before you cut into it, that's another red flag. It's like the old CCA treatment left a residue that you can actually feel before you see it.

terryw6727d agoProlific Poster

@the_nathan brings up a good point about the smell... reminds me of the time I was helping a buddy clear out an old shed and we found this stash of lumber from the late 70s. Soon as we opened the door, it hit us like a wave of chemicals mixed with old mothballs. We didn't even need to touch it, the smell was that strong. My buddy said it reminded him of his grandpa's workshop where he used to refinish old furniture with some nasty stuff. We ended up just leaving that pile right where it was and called a disposal service, didn't want to mess with it. It's wild how the old treated wood just has that distinct odor you can't miss, even if it's been sitting for decades.