My 2004 hemi 4x4

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04.4x4

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Ram Year
2004
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Hi everyone, I am a new member. About a year and a half ago I got my dodge. I had been looking on craigslist for a while. This one popped up, and I immediately called and went to check it out. By the time I got there, he had 41 calls on it. It was a 2004 quad cab 5.7 hemi, 4x4. It had 170,000 miles and he was asking 3500. He was asking so little because of what he believed to be a bad lifter tick, and some bubbling above the rear wheel wells. I decided to buy it because it drove fine. When I got home I crawled under it and saw a header bolt was missing, replaced this and the tick was gone. The truck runs and drives great, however the rust has now gotten a good bit worse. I would like some suggestions on what to do. My dad is a machinist and is a great welder. We could cut it out and put in patch panels but I understand this is only temporary. I have thought about my best option being to cover them for now with fender flares, and look in the mean time for another bed off a wrecked truck, but not a 2004 because of the rust issues. Would like to know if there are some junkyards in my area (NC) that are dodge only or something of the sort. Also, if I put the fender flares on, what should I do with the rusted areas before installing them? Thanks guys
 

bhonshell37

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There are some rust inhibitors that can be sprayed on.

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ramportin1

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You can buy just bedsides, I believe steel's are actually pretty.fair priced (of course then you have prepping and painting $ to think of.) But seeing your dad's line of expertise you two could probably install yourselves (never actually done it so don't quote me, but a idea.) Also you can swap over to fiberwerx fiberglass bedsides and fenders and do the full ram runner look [emoji41]

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ramportin1

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Or yes as stated above lol a rust inhibitor or pending on how much rust were talking a simple grind and prime

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04.4x4

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2004
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Hemi 5.7
Ramportin1 never thought of the fiberglass, but is an idea. For now I think I would like to keep it pretty stock, in case I end up wanting to sell it lol. What exactly causes the bad rust on the 04's?
 

Jerseystyle

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Why do you believe patch panels are only temporary? If done right it would outlast the truck. The expensive part would be prep and paint.

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04.4x4

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2004
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Hemi 5.7
Why do you believe patch panels are only temporary? If done right it would outlast the truck. The expensive part would be prep and paint.

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I figured that because there is no good way for the wheel wells to drain on these years, and the water gets trapped, that the patches would rust after a few years, but I might be wrong.


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Jerseystyle

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I figured that because there is no good way for the wheel wells to drain on these years, and the water gets trapped, that the patches would rust after a few years, but I might be wrong.


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If done right, it'll last a long time.

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Tomslick

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2007
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Patches are $50 on Ebay per side. They will last 10 years if done decent. If you can't weld them you can even pop rivet then putty over.
 
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