Frame rust - when to walk away from a purchase?

West Texas / Colorado truck its whole life. 220k miles. Lots of extras included, but the frame rust is riiiiiiiihht on the edge of what concerns me.
I see no perforations and only moderate delaminating but… I’d love some opinions from the community.
What do you think?

 

to my untrained eye, it doesn't look too bad

 

Here is the replacement frame data that shows how to inspect.

 

Most of these older trucks had the frame replaced. I like to lightly tap on it with a wrench and use my ear to see if the sound gets different. Go down the frame Ping Ping Thud is bad. Obviously flaking and holes are the worst but this doesn't look bad at all. Its slightly worse than my 06 cali bought but no where near my Michigan bought 06. The Michigan truck looks worse but it's more the body that's rusting and frame thou rusty still has that ping to it. That said I'm no mechanic, Good luck.

 

It’s not horrible.
There is still some life left in it from what I see.
The last picture is starting to show signs of delamination.

You really need to check the inside frame rail next to the converters.
The drivers side is the worst. As well as the rear section of the frame above the rear wheels.

 

What year is the truck, what is the asking price?

 

Thanks much everyone. It’s a 2006 with 220k miles asking $16,500 but that’s because it comes with a roof rack and topper installed, full second set of wheels with studded snow tires, all shocks replaced a few months ago along worth tranny flush and serpentine belt. Price May be a skosh high but not too high considering all that. IMO anyway.

 

This here appears to be the worst of it, where the driver side leaf spring mounts to the frame

 

That is not bad

 

It’s bulging. Walk away. Unless they want like 3k for it.

 

Price seems high, imho I would walk away and keep looking for a rust free truck.

 

This. Most of you have never seen a vehicle from the rust belt and it shows.

 

Price definitely high if considered without all the extras. I’d consider the truck itself for like $8-10k but the rest of the stuff is certainly worth probably $15k total

 

At the end of the day if this thing is gonna last me 5 years I’m gonna be happy with that. I can hit the exposed portions with a wire wheel and then treat it, but that won’t touch the flaky biscuits trapped between the frame pieces. That’s my concern. If I can get 5 years I’ll take it.

 

treat it and move to AZ

 

Early 2006 models suffered from a bad head gasket design.
General consensus is, any built after 10/05 has the updated head gaskets.
But it’s not definitive, the later the build date, the better off you are.
Build date is on the door sticker.

 

Frame looks OK as far as pictures go. You haven't posted the worst areas which are around the catalytic converters and cab mounts.

There are caveats against high-time and high-mileage 2nd/3rd gens in general, such as timing cover leak, steering rack leak, and bad rear wheel bearing, each one a 4-figure fix at a shop, so check for those.

The current tires have barely legal tread depth, so factor that into your maintenance budget.

 

This right here. In my opinion, the worst case scenario on this truck isn’t the frame, it’s the head gaskets if they haven’t already been done.

 

The frames rust from the inside out.My 2009 had the frame replaced because of the frame rails separating and a small hole near the catalytic converters.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies and wisdom. I’ve attached pics here of the frame rails in the areas mentioned (final couple pics are from around the cat - haven’t yet snagged any from around the cab mounts)

manufactured January 2006!

haven’t been able to spot a leak anywhere at all.