Rust repair

[NC Tom]

I just noticed this today.

 

I have the same rusty spot of each side of the cab just behind the front fender wells. Is this a pro repair or can a layperson do it?

[rokinn]

I suspect that depends on the skill level of the lay person.  I suggest you pull the carpet and see how much damage actually is there.  

[NC Tom]

2 minutes ago, rokinn said:

I suspect that depends on the skill level of the lay person.  I suggest you pull the carpet and see how much damage actually is there.  

Yeah. Been meaning to do that.

[Smokeyyank]

Doable with the right tools and time. Plus its "unseen" so even if your welds look like Hellen Keller got to them no one will really see it. 

[89 MJ]

I concur with the other two said. 
 

There was a seam right there where the firewall overlapped the floor pans. More than likely, moisture got in there causing the rust you see. I would also bet that the rust is going to be much worse than you're seeing by the time that you pull the carpet up. When I got my truck, there was only a quarter sized hole visible from the bottom on the driver side. After pulling the vinyl floor covering, I needed the front half of the driver floor pan and a decently sized patch on the passenger side. That said, the trucks that had the vinyl floor covering instead of the carpet always seem to rust worse.

 

I think your best bet is to pull the carpet and then we will be able to come up with a better plan how to proceed. It might just be a minor patch that needs to be made, it might end up needing a full floor plan replacement where you'll need the floor braces too. Thankfully, Key Parts makes both the floor patches and the full floor pans for each side and it seems that the fit is excellent. 

 

I think the biggest question is, how confident are you with your cutting and welding skills? Floors are a pretty important thing to have and they're not always the most comfortable thing to weld in. If you can weld them in and make them strong, its probably something that you can tackle. If you haven't welded sheetmetal before, I would probably find someone who has done it before.