Is my undercarriage rusting away, is the paint just chipping off, or is this just a lot of dirt?

I'd like to fix the appearance of it somehow, seeing as it's very apparent in the wheel wells of the condition of the undercarriage.

I don't like it!

 

Looks like just a greasy old truck. Hit it with some degreaser like purple power or something, let it soak and rinse it off with some pressure.

And just for good measure, degrease the engine bay to get an idea of where those oil leaks are coming from. Be sure to stay away from the distributor and air filter.

Btw, looks like a greasy underside would be kind of low on my priorities seeing that torn driver cv in photo #2...

 

looks to me like you have to learn how to wash your truck. There is SOOO much more than just the sheet metal you see in the parking lot. Heck, the sheet metal on the outside is the LEAST important part.

 

Guys in the rust belt would just laugh at that. Nothing but a little surface rust. Clean it up like said above and hit it with some flat black spray paint and forget about it.

All that built up oil is actually helping the undercarriage not rust.

 

Yours is nothing compared to what mine was. Clean it with some degreaser, then try to chip the rust away as much as possible with a wire wheel on the end of a drill or pneumatic cut-off tool, spray a coat of Rustoleum Rust Reformer, then put on a couple coats of black Rustoleum or Ace Rust Stop Satin Black (what I used). You'll be good to go

 

Thanks for the help guys. I guess there is a lot more to cleaning my truck than I originally thought...

I'm gonna be honest and say that I don't know what you're talking about.
Please elaborate for me..are you talking about the cv joint?

 

the boot on your Cv shaft is torn. The boot seals it from the elements and keeps the grease in. If you don't fix it the CV joint will fail.

 

After doing more research...this thing looks extremely important.

Thank you everyone for pointing it out. I really do appreciate it.