Rusty engine bay - any saving the truck?

Wondering if there is any way to maintain/save this 2013 (4cyl, 4x4, access cab). I live in Canada where they pour layers of salt on the roads. The rust is now becoming flaky and all over the engine bay as you can see in the pics. Starting to get more serious with car maintenance and I fear I may have waited too long. Is the truck a lost cause and should I look into selling it, or is there any way to save it? I don't mind putting a bit of money into it to avoid a new car payment but I'm just wondering what the consensus is here... is it worth it?

 

How is your frame though?

 

What’s the frame look like that is the ut-most important question

 

Well, I'd consider selling and looking for something else. In addition to rust, I see a leak that needs addressed, that looks like a bolt could snap in the process of looking at it. Not having a car payment is nice, but so is having a vehicle that works.

 

I want to say the frame is actually in decent shape. There is definitely some rust but from all I can tell it is mostly surface and it's nothing like what you see here. I would have taken pictures of the frame too but I had Krown applied to it last year as the rust was only in certain spots (you can tell me this was a stupid idea all good lol) and it's still mostly all black so you can't get a great idea from pics.

 

Most of that can be redeemed with patient work.

The condition of the frame is much more critical to assess.

 

The thing is these frames rust from the inside out. It looks ok one day, but it perforates the next. You need to have it assessed properly to decide if you should try to save it. For reference, it would be an anomaly if the body is going south before the frame.

 

And it would be really unusual too.

 

I guess I just don't get it... We have snow and we sand the roads, and I have a '78 Chevy truck that I'm doing a body swap on and the frame only has surface rust. My Taco will probably never rust out. Why do the people in the rust belt allow salt to be used on their roads?

The amount of cumulative damage to the number of vehicles people own must be a huge economic burden.

 

I will take it in this week to get assessed. Thank you

 

Completely agree. It is crazy how much salt they put on the roads here.

 

Looks like a NY vehicle after 3-5 years i would power wash it and fluid film the crap out of it. Some flakes but nothing eye popping, like others have said the inside of the frame would be more of a concern. Wrenching on cars up north i would see 17's and 18's worse than that

 

I’ll give that a try on the frame. I’m assuming you shouldn’t power wash anything under the hood though?

 

if the frame checks out and the engine bay is surface rust...try scrapping it off and hit with with rust reformer from rustoleum and black spray enamel on top of that when it dries

 

OMG my eyes hurt after looking at that. There are quite a few used car dealers around me selling trucks from canada. Every single one I have looked at had a massive amount of corrosion. I passed on every single one. Your issue should have been taken care of years ago. I have a feeling its just going to get worse and the next owner will be buying a head ache.

 

I would under the hood, just being cautious around rubber lines, connectors, wiring and alternator. A few cans of degreaser wouldn’t hurt. I would just fluid film not paint. You’re not going to get all the rust off, I wouldn’t paint over just get off some with little brushes and a power washer let dry and fluid film all the rust.

 

"Allow" Now that is a funny word when dealing with DOT's...

As a Vermonter, we also deal with heavy salt and its effects like nothing I dealt with in PA. It is definitely region dependent. I also agree with wash and FF to prevent further degrading. But - if you get into the habit of regularly trying to wash out under the hood (or elsewhere I guess) don't use the car wash businesses during winter. They most likely recycle the water and you would be spraying with some amount of salt-laden water from previous vehicle washes.

 

I live in central Va and don’t usually drive after the “brine” the roads when calling for bad weather. What makes me mad is the rust I have on the sheet metal under the hood and the hood itself. My truck is a 2015 access cab and I believe the metal they used for a period of time was pretty low quality.

 

Will do. Really appreciate the input thanks!