CriticalVery commonBody & Rust

Ford Courier: PC/PD body and chassis rust — the thing that ends these utes

PC/PD body and chassis rust — the thing that ends these utes is a very common body & rust fault on the Ford Courier on the 1985–1998 cars, and we rate it critical. Putting it right costs $800 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 10 documented faults on the Ford Courier.

Vehicle: Ford Courier
Years: 1985–1998
System: Body & Rust

This page covers the Ford Courier as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Ford Courier faults10 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Chassis and structural rust yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

The PC/PD Courier and its Mazda B-series twin are now old enough that rust, not mechanical wear, is what takes them off the road — finding one that has not rusted somewhere is genuinely difficult. The places to look are the chassis rails, especially where mud packs in behind the rear wheels, the cab mounts, the bottoms of the doors, the rear guards above the wheels, and the tray or deck floor. A ute that has carried wet loads, been to the beach, or lived on a farm will be worse underneath than its paint suggests. Chassis or cab-mount rust is structural and fails a WOF; a rusty deck is annoying but survivable, so it is worth knowing which one you are looking at before you talk price.

What you would notice

Flaking or holed metal in the chassis rails behind the rear wheels
Bubbling along the bottom of the doors and the rear guards
Cab sitting unevenly, or doors that no longer line up
Rusted-through deck floor or tray supports
Fresh underseal on an otherwise tired underside

How to check it

Where to look. Chassis rails behind the rear wheels, cab mounts, door bottoms, rear guards, deck floor and supports

Crouch at each wheel with your phone torch and run your eye along the chassis rail, paying most attention to the section behind the rear wheels where mud collects. Press firmly with a thumb where the rail meets the spring hangers — sound metal does not give at all. Look at the rubber-mounted cab mounts and at the metal around them. Then walk the body: the bottom edges of both doors, the rear guards above the wheels, and the deck floor and its supports. Be suspicious of fresh underseal or paint on a truck that is tired everywhere else. Open and shut both doors and look at the gaps. Ask for the last two WOF sheets and read any structural note. If a workshop inspection is possible: get it on a hoist and have the chassis tapped along its length, with a written opinion on whether anything found is structural.

Parts involved: Chassis and structural rust.

What it costs to put right

$800 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Has the chassis ever been welded or repaired?”
“Has it ever failed a WOF on corrosion?”
“Has it been used on a farm, a beach or near the coast?”

Now check the Ford Courier you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

CarsGuide — 'Mazda B2600 Problems & Reliability Issues'
CarProblemGuru — 'Mazda B2600 Common Problems (Maintenance and Fixes)'

Ford Courier buyer questions

Is pc/pd body and chassis rust — the thing that ends these utes serious on a Ford Courier?

We rate it critical and very common on the Ford Courier. The PC/PD Courier and its Mazda B-series twin are now old enough that rust, not mechanical wear, is what takes them off the road — finding one that has not rusted somewhere is genuinely difficult. The places to look are the chassis rails, especially where mud packs in behind the rear wheels, the cab mounts, the bottoms of the doors, the rear guards above the wheels, and the tray or deck floor. A ute that has carried wet loads, been to the beach, or lived on a farm will be worse underneath than its paint suggests. Chassis or cab-mount rust is structural and fails a WOF; a rusty deck is annoying but survivable, so it is worth knowing which one you are looking at before you talk price.

How much does it cost to fix on a Ford Courier?

$800 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Ford Courier years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 1985–1998 Ford Courier. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.