Look, we get it – times are tough. Every dollar has to stretch further than ever, and maintaining a vehicle can be costly. But as this video of an old Chevy Silverado proves, there’s a limit to how many DIY repairs one truck can take before it should be retired.
The video is brief, but it doesn’t take long to figure out this Chevy Silverado is beyond dangerous. According to the video, mechanics received the worn-out pickup from a customer who only cared about one thing: passing an emissions inspection. While the pickup may have eventually succeeded in that mission, everything else about it is a complete disaster.
Among the many issues is the truck bed, which seems to be separating from the rest of the body and is sitting at a bizarre angle. Beneath the vehicle, things only get worse. The frame is rusted so badly that chunks of metal threaten to fall off as the mechanics inspect it. The decay is so severe that someone had attempted a crude repair with a set of L-shaped steel beams, clearly hoping to provide some stability. Unfortunately, those beams are no match for the rust eating away at the truck’s structure.
The list of problems doesn’t end there. The exhaust is hanging on by a literal thread, held together by a bundle of rusty wires. A rope has been tied around the torsion bar in a last-ditch effort to keep it in place. The step-ups, completely rusted through, are precariously attached to the truck with – you guessed it – more wire.
What makes this situation even more shocking is that the truck was initially brought in for an EVAP code issue, preventing it from passing an emissions test. As one of the mechanics humorously points out, “This thing’s got more wrong than an EVAP code.” And that’s putting it lightly.
Check out the full video right here:
Comments
Well. If ANYTHING, the truck needs a new frame that can be welded…but if the body too is rusting, that IS A BIG ISSUE. Given the rust, it SHOULD NOT have passed inspection in the first place.
Obviously, one thing says it all- IT WAS NOT taken care off properly. In Qatar, I still see these GMT800 trucks and rust does exist as well, but not to THIS extent.
This issue also happens in Toyota trucks that break in half as well…and Toyota ONLY COVERED until a certain point. Others that rusted out were not taken care of. Before ANYONE says “Toyota took care of their customers”- they did not do it out of good faith – you can check the lawsuit they got. And, 4runner and GX frames were not included either… No insults tolerated
As for the Aluminum bodied F 150s…rust is NOT an issue in Qatar, and if anything , aluminum is MORE expensive to fix in a crash and melts when on fire…the loyalists can blast me all they want, but that is that. And, MY21 F 150s DO GET rust as well…you can check TFL’s own that had it DESPITE being brand new.
Point is- UNDERCOAT your frames every year to prevent rust.
I have seen much worse than that.
Just got on YouTube to Just rolled in and see what is posted there.
I hope the mechanics pulled the plates off that scrap heap. that is a pretty impressive use of wire though,
The engine will still be running fine..
So in 15 – 20 yrs,this is what my ’24 will resemble without the rigging job ? Or will it be 10 yrs. # Disposable Thanks Mary
It is YOUR responsibility to undercoat them…
Had a truck on the lift at the local Sunoco station. Guys broke for lunch heard a loud noise the dam thing broke in half
That’s the problem with these newer trucks. The frames ar prone to rusting out way too soon. GM has ti fix this before someone gets killed.
They will not do it because it is cost prohibitive…that is something one must understand, even if you yell and shout insults it will not do anything….
Here’s the deal. Chevy trucks built in the last 25 years suck. I’ve had three different Silverados… a 1999 1/2 to 4×4, a 2005 2500 Hd 4×4, and a 2007 3500 Hd 4×4. Every single one had the frame rust out and break!!!! These new “Hydro-formed frames, are just plane junk!! GM has to fix this problem. My old square body has never rusted like the new frames do. It’s bad enough the boxes fall off in two years. But having frames rust out also, is very costly and dangerous. FIX THEM!!!!!
1. That sludge kinda-sealer, what GM has used on their frames for those past 25 years. For the cost of today’s trucks, the frames should be freaking powder coated!
2. The “fully boxed” frame. Yes marketing loves them, but so does salt and chemicals. How do you get any useful amount of protectant to the inside?
Yes, fix them. In a truck the frame should last literally forever and be the last of the owner’s worries.
Same problems exist with the Hilux . They rust out and often fail inspection (go to UK forums…). Most trucks do not even last in the Rust Belt, and I am pretty sure EVEN the 70 series will rust out as well…given that it is designed for the Middle East. And do not start with “Toyota replaced frames and took care of owners”. THEY DID NOT, which is why there is a lawsuit on it.
Or, you get an aluminum body that is expensive to fix in a crash and melts when on fire…in the Middle East, Aluminum bodies have NO advantage…..
I would spend extra to undercoat and protect the cab corners instead…complaints will NEVER solve anything.
Getting TIRED of replacing rusted out wheel wells, rocker panels, and cab corners on my Chevy and GMC full-size pickups. Why can’t the factory rust-proof these?
Yep they rust like crazy. Oddly I’ve owned 4 Jeep Cherokees over the many years. All had 200K+ miles on them. All sat outside and were driven in salty winter weather. None of them rusted, even the bodies were rust free. They just don’t treat the metal in trucks to prevent this at the factory, but they should.
I own a 1999 Silverado sport side regular cab pick up that currently has 441,000 miles on it with no rust anywhere, bought new and spent it’s entire life In North Carolina. Body and frame on truck are both perfect not a spec of rust anywhere! There is no need for any company to make a vehicle that would last 25 years In salty Rochester NY. The road Salt will ruin many other components of a vehicle bedsides sheet metal.
Built GMT 400 and 800 pickups in Oshawa. Supervisors would get pissed if the black wax was accidentally scraped or removed by careless activity.