Anyone else have this in the 03-06 trucks?

My 04 has very little rust at all, BUT up front, where the core/radiator support sits on the rubber pads between it and the frame -- the core support is flakeing off, with deep rust and damage. Only real rust on the vehicle...

I was under the vehicle getting ready for winter and it really bothered me. I knew about it when I bought it, but its progressed in a year quite a bit.

The core support has not yet sagged or collapsed, but it worries me how long that will take.

Anyone else notice this?

Getting it appart to blast it and repaint would essentially entail taking the whole front clip off the truck. A nightmare.....

Whole chunks of rust and paint falling off. Strange.....

 

I discoverd a similar problem on my 98 Expy about three years ago. I ended up spraying it with an aeosol oil and wil continue to do so on an annual basis.

 

It seems to be fairly common as my Navigator has some traces of it beginning and my Expedition has a little. I'm going to use some Ospho and see if that stops it for a while and then paint or undercoat the whole area. It seems to start where the radiator cushions are as it will get water in there and there's not enough heat in that area to evaporate it. If you are in an area that uses a lot of salt in the winter the rust out will be even faster.

 

I got the same problem with my '05 Nav. Big chunks flaking off and I've actually got a hole about the size of a quarter on the drivers side. No rust anywhere else. I live in central PA where there is salt on the roads but not like up north.

Dealer said they would replace the whole thing for about $800-$1200 and have done it before. So it sounds like it is somewhat common.

 

Depending on how much it bothers you, you could just remove the radiator and use some of that stuff that is advertized on T.V. for repair of roof and gutters. First clean it with "Ospho", dry it with a hair dryer and spray that stuff all around and on the area that has the rust problem. If the area is not overly weak you should have no further problem with it.
The dealer will cut the entire support out and replace it with new but, an independent body shop would only cut out the part that needs to go and weld in a bit of metal for the repair and that would likely last longer than the truck. And for a lot less money.

 

How much trouble is it to get the radiator out of a 2004 Expy? Are you sure that you can see the "topside" of the problem then?

Man, compared to a 65, when I look at the insides of the front of the 2004, I just want to run..... Can't imagine I'd ever get it all apart and back together in the same order.....

 

It is a pretty basic job.
Remove the plastic cover at the front, disconnect the hoses and transmission lines from the radiator, unbolt the fan shroud and lift it about 3/4" and slide it back over the fan. Then lift and remove the radiator from the truck. The rusted area(s) should be visible once you remove the rubber insulators at the bottom. I'm pretty sure that is about it but I may have overlooked something. This might be a good time to get rid of that giant clutch fan and convert to an electric fan setup if you are so inclined.
Good luck with it.

 

is your rusted on both sides? Mine is only rusted on passenger side, beneath the battery.

 

Mine is directly under the radiator right corner mount. Yor problem is probaly due to overfilling the battery or???

 

Must be coming from battery and running down the fender. Not an easy area to get to either.

 

Mine is both sides, though passenger side does seem to be worse...

 

One year update:

Rust continues to progress. Whole chunks of metal/rust are falling off. The core support in this area seems to be made up of several overlapping layers of metal. Some of the layers are gone at this point, but no evidence of sagging of the overall support.

The rest of the vehicle seems quite sound. Some corrossion of the aluminum rear lift gate, but amazingly quite stable. Not getting worse much, so it gets left alone for sure.

Seems to me this is some sort of design defect -- not that I am saying that Ford is somehow supposed to fix it. Just saying -- the life of the rest of the truck seems on a good path, but that core support is going to be toast long before the rest of the truck is junk.

Anyone new care to chime in about core support woes?

 

Same thing is happening to me right now. I have an 06 Limited and currently in the cross roads of deciding whether to fix it or not (keep the truck or not)...

I was side swiped while the car was parked, so I took it to the body shop to get it fixed. When they pulled the front bumper off to have it replaced, they noticed the lower portion of the radiator support, where the radiator sits, is almost completely deteriorated from framerail to framerail. Just like you, with the exception of the corrosion bubbles on the tailgate, the rest of the truck is in a good path.

Such a shame that a 6 year old truck is at risk of loosing a radiator. Unbelievable.

Waiting for a quote from the body shop on what it will cost to replace the entire radiator support. I'll keep you posted. But this is really unfortunate.

For most owners, they may not even realize that this is happening. I had noticed some rust woes from underneath the car before the visit to the bodyshop, but had no idea that it was this bad. With the bumper off, you see the extent of the rust/deterioration - and it's significant!

 

Yes, please do post up what the body shop wants to repair the core support up front.

For that matter, if anyone else has repair/replace experience in this area, I'd be all ears.

My 2004 is a picture of reliable beater at this point, except for the core support up front worrying me...

And the driver front seat is stuck too, but that I can live with....

 

I'm from N.E. and just replaced mine a few months ago.My support broke on both sides and the radiator dropped (I think towing a trailer across the Cross Bronk's Exp.did it in).The dropping didn't cause any other damage or problems, fortunately. I got 2 estimates from body shops, between $700 & $900. By the time it was repaired it was approximately $1675.Apparently I have a notch Expy,because of my vehicle's date of mfg. I could not get an aftermarket radiator mount for approx. $225, I had to get an OEM for $950.Check online at places like Parts Geek and you will have some idea what the cost could be. Good luck.