How to Inspect a Vehicle's Frame for Rust

How to inspect a frame for rust, this can be used on your vehicles or if you’re purchasing a vehicle. As some of you know, I live in Canada, specifically the rust belt where salt is used and this can do quite a bit of damage over the years. While this example is being done on a full-frame vehicle, the same process can also be used to inspect unibody vehicles too as they do have enclosed structural components and subframes. #oemtools #frame #rust

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Tools/Supplies Needed:
-hammer
-flash light
-borescope

Procedure:
Frame rust is an even bigger problem with enclosed frames now as they can trap in road debris which keeps a damp environment making an ideal environment for rust. Going from the outside, we can do a visual inspection. This frame has had an oil spray applied at some point in its life as shown by the build-up. A plastic scraper can be used to expose the paint in behind if you wish or it can sometimes be removed with your finger. This would expose the base and it’s sometimes good to do this to see what’s hiding in behind.

The factory paint should have a smooth, clean finish. If you are noticing paint over what appears to be pitting metal, someone has painted over what was a rusty frame. Painting is fine, as long as someone did a good job. With the small amount of rust on this frame, I’ll probably go around with a wire wheel to spot clean and paint those areas to prevent them from getting worse.

Areas that can be exposed to more road debris, basically sandblasting the paint from the frame would be the fender wells. This is especially an issue with vehicles that have been driven on gravel roads, once that paint has been removed, the metal is bare and this will result in rusting. Other issues can be areas that allow dirt to become trapped such as flat brackets or ones which create a pocket. An example of this would be the rear leaf spring brackets on the frame.

Moving to the inside face of the frame, this is where you’ll have to climb under the vehicle. Again inspect for any rust, a common area can be next to the exhaust where the heat can melt any snow with a salt mixture, accelerating any rust. Open the hood, depending on the vehicle, you may be able to get a good view from here. I would recommend having a good high powered flashlight to get good views so you don’t miss anything.

The next thing which can also be done is using a hammer. If you’re inspecting a vehicle to purchase, be sure to ask the owner’s permission first. A chipping hammer such as what I have here is excellent for poking at rust, with the pointed end, you’ll find a soft spot right away. Another option would be a ball-peen hammer such as this. I’d only recommend using this on rusty areas where you may see scaling and bubbling. Don’t use this on painted areas as you can chip away the paint, removing that layer of protection.

As for other parts of the frame, use a dead blower hammer instead. This will provide a solid hit, demonstrating a consistent sound. With the rubber exterior, this helps prevent any damage to the paint which would be hard to prevent with a metal hammer. Irregularities in the sound would show up where the frame may change its shape, there’s a bracket, or a repair has been made. If a solid plate was welded in, you would hear a more solid tone. This may even show areas where someone used a filler to do a quick cover up on a frame, I have seen this in the past.

I would highly recommend investing in a borescope. You may have noticed those factory holes when inspecting the frame, this is a great way for viewing inside the frame. Here we can see the interior condition. The tube frames do tend to trap road debris as mentioned earlier and not all frames were equipped with large enough drain holes. Even if the frame looks perfect from the outside, inspecting from the inside can show any previous repairs, bubbling, excessive scale, or any other damage which may jeopardize the structural integrity.

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