2008-2013 1500 frames rusted through

[lintula]

went to trade my 2012 silverado in the dealer would not give full value because the frame was rusted through. this should of had a recall from the frame manfacture.

[davester]

...sure...10 year old truck...

[Bleepster]

my mechanic always does a full inspection when I take it in for oil changes.  he noticed on my 2011 Silverado that I had a rust out about 6" long.   I took it to a frame shop and they said it wasn't that bad - they cleaned it up and put an inhibitor on it to stop the rust.  we are going to revisit it again this coming fall.  and regardless of what they find I am going to have them weld in new metal and replace the rail support above the fuel tank.  while the tank is down, might as well replace fuel pump.  about $1500 worth of work.  I wash my truck 1x per week or more in the winter (includes bottom blast)   i have 130k on it currently.

[Never again]

I lost my 2010 sierra due to frame rot, it had 105 000 kilometres on it, I bought a different brand of truck, I will never by a chevy or gmc again for as long as I live, it should have lasted much longer than it did.

[CamGTP]

Lack of care and not washing the underside in the climate that sees tons of salt or brine is the problem.

 

It wouldn't matter if you owned a Ford F-150 from the same era, those trucks have tons of frame rot issues because of the same thing. I owned a 2012 with over 100k miles, frame was great and I live in Minnesota, my current 2016 looks great too with all our winters.

[Colossus]

The GMT-900s are more prone to this.  Sad to say.  See it all over the place here.   Rear wheel wells.  The GMT-800s were not as bad. 

[Egghaus]

Just found similar rust through on the frame of my 2011, about a 20 inch long area on the inside beside the gas tank. I would not have noticed if I wasn't going under there to spray penetrating oil on bolts before replacing the fuel pump. I checked the rest of the frame and this seems to be the only bad spot so I am going to try and patch it. The truck has 174k miles, but this seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I am the original owner and have oiled the truck in the past, after 14 Canadian winters, the underside has surface rust, but nothing else to this level. I was shocked to this level of rot in the frame.

[newdude]

On 6/25/2024 at 2:30 AM, Colossus said:

The GMT-900s are more prone to this.  Sad to say.  See it all over the place here.   Rear wheel wells.  The GMT-800s were not as bad. 

 

 

K2XX do it too as the frame is 98% identical to GMT-900.  We've already failed K2s for NY inspection for holes in the frames.  Newest truck was a 2017.  

[newdude]

2 hours ago, Egghaus said:

Just found similar rust through on the frame of my 2011, about a 20 inch long area on the inside beside the gas tank. I would not have noticed if I wasn't going under there to spray penetrating oil on bolts before replacing the fuel pump. I checked the rest of the frame and this seems to be the only bad spot so I am going to try and patch it. The truck has 174k miles, but this seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I am the original owner and have oiled the truck in the past, after 14 Canadian winters, the underside has surface rust, but nothing else to this level. I was shocked to this level of rot in the frame.

 

 

Starts from the inside out with the boxed frames.  Some of the good shops that do good undercoating like Waxoyl or Fluid Film, etc. (not Ziebart junk) will go as far as to spray inside the frame rails and cross rails.  

[tigers2007]

I live in the Rust Belt but I work in Colorado. They definitely get snow out here but they don't salt the crap out of the highways like in the Midwest. I recently picked up an '08 Sierra ext-cab 4x4 that was owned since new by the State of Colorado. This truck is 16-years old and has been through at least 15 winters. Frame and undercarriage are extremely clean. This was not a garage queen either. Cars can rust out here but I think that most people wash their cars frequently and the cities don't dump a million pounds of salt on the roads contributes to the lack of destroyed undercarriages.

My word of advice after living in the Midwest: if you're buying a used truck, buy it from the Southwest. Make a mini-vacation out of your trip to drive it Northeast. Then hammer that undercarriage with aggressive countermeasures such as Mud Guards (to prevent the sandblasting of your rockers and body panels) and Woolwax or Fluid Film. Make sure whoever does it that will coat the inside of the cab corners and fenders. Its amazing how Canadians in Northern Ontarior seem to not have issues with rust as many do exactly what I just discussed. They spend the $120-150 or so every year to have the undercarriages, frame rails, and body panel insides coated. That technique unequivocally works. 

 

Edited August 11, 2024 by tigers2007

[Rfcoz]

I have a 2010 94000 miles looks just like that, but my 2011 that has 195000 is clean no issue, so they were treated the same so explain one is and one isn't. I think frames were from two different manufacturers. One ****** metal other had good metal. Definitely should be a recall.

[64BAwagon]

If youre in the rust belt and you dont coat your frame and underbody with something like Krown or fluid film this is an inevitable outcome. The frame may have been built during a heat wave or cold spell, no way to tell but if youre not cleaning the underbody with some regularity and treating it then this is what you get. 

Before anyone says that they used to build them better back in the day. I had a 66 Chevy Belair that was my Grandfathers. I drove it maybe 6 months before the frame broke due to rust right behind the front wheels. The car was only 12 yrs old and had about 25,000 miles on it. It was garaged but only a couple times a week. He rarely had it washed so it sat with salt all over it for 5 or 6 months a year (salt is a religion for road crews up here) 

[TEERRENCE]

just junked my Silverado sold for little or nothing frame was ready to collapse was a great truck to bad cheverolet knew about the problem did not prep frame properly now my truck is gone no more Chevy trucks for  me 

[davester]

On 11/19/2024 at 4:50 PM, TEERRENCE said:

just junked my Silverado sold for little or nothing frame was ready to collapse was a great truck to bad cheverolet knew about the problem did not prep frame properly now my truck is gone no more Chevy trucks for  me 

Yes, it's terrible that your '73 1500 finally rusted out.

[swathdiver]

On 11/19/2024 at 6:50 PM, TEERRENCE said:

just junked my Silverado sold for little or nothing frame was ready to collapse was a great truck to bad cheverolet knew about the problem did not prep frame properly now my truck is gone no more Chevy trucks for  me 

 

Stop acting like a woman, take responsibility for your actions.  GM prepped the frame and you didn't maintain it.  You think you can drive it everyday for years without doing any maintenance, that's fantasyland man.

 

You fellas with rusted out frames can do frame swaps.  Some shops specialize in this and it doesn't break the bank.