While starting to work on my slide out trunk rack I had to cut out two of the six screws holding the stock tiedown rails. I initially tried cutting a new slot in one of the bolts to use a flat head on but the metal had become so soft with rust that the whole top of the screw fell apart. I ended up having to drill the bolts out while being careful to try and not damage the threads as much as possible. Once all the screws were out I ran a M6 tap back through them to try and get any metal shards out that might have been left. My plan is to use the threaded holes for the stock rails to mount a couple pieces of extrusion that I will build my pull out rack on.
![Brown Wood Automotive tire Rim Natural material]()
![Automotive tire Water Road surface Asphalt Wood]()
![Automotive tire Road surface Motor vehicle Asphalt Automotive lighting]()
After I got the stock rails out I noticed a bunch of debris under the plastic molding that made me start pulling stuff out to clean. As I starting taking things apart I noticed more and more rusted bolts as well as surface rust under the storage compartment. Particularly I noticed a good amount of rust on the metal seam that the hatch seal sits on. I had noticed the rust on the latch striker before but I had hoped it hadn't spread. I'm guessing the hatch seal was bad and water was collecting and sitting behind the seal for a long time...
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Gas Funeral]()
The back of the truck is completely gutted now and I vacuumed up the years of dirt under the carpet and plastic molding. This week I will be removing the easier surface rust and prepping for paint. It would be nice if I could get some spray paint in the same color as the truck but I will probably settle for something close. At the end of the day no one will know about it other than me.
![Hood Automotive tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive lighting]()
I will post an update later in the week. The bottom hatch seam may not be salvageable. If it's bad enough I may have to fabricate a new metal flange for the seal to sit on.
![Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior]()
After I got the stock rails out I noticed a bunch of debris under the plastic molding that made me start pulling stuff out to clean. As I starting taking things apart I noticed more and more rusted bolts as well as surface rust under the storage compartment. Particularly I noticed a good amount of rust on the metal seam that the hatch seal sits on. I had noticed the rust on the latch striker before but I had hoped it hadn't spread. I'm guessing the hatch seal was bad and water was collecting and sitting behind the seal for a long time...
The back of the truck is completely gutted now and I vacuumed up the years of dirt under the carpet and plastic molding. This week I will be removing the easier surface rust and prepping for paint. It would be nice if I could get some spray paint in the same color as the truck but I will probably settle for something close. At the end of the day no one will know about it other than me.
I will post an update later in the week. The bottom hatch seam may not be salvageable. If it's bad enough I may have to fabricate a new metal flange for the seal to sit on.
