Potential Rust (Doors/Tailgate)
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Potential Rust (Doors/Tailgate)
I just purchased a 2004 SuperCrew. After a thorough inspection I discovered that the bottom of each door and the tailgate are potential rust areas due to poor design. If you look, you will see that the door and tailgate drains lead into a seam that will allow the water (wintertime salt) to sit in the seam. This could lead to trouble years down the road. I purchased some rustproof epoxy and applied it to the seams. Since I live in the north where they still salt the road in the winter this hopefully will protect my investment. Just an FYI...Love my truck!!
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I noticed the same thing a few days after I bought my truck. Thought it was a mistake at the time and stopped by the dealer. Sure enough, all of the new F150's are like that. I don't know what they were thinking by not welding the lower seams of the doors.
Posted it here in March or April and the consenses was to not worry about it. I've since realized a large number of posters here are from Texas where they don't salt the roads and I'll bet they rarely see the bottom of their doors rot out.
I've been meaning to get around to sealing the seams with silicone or something but haven't done it yet. Now I just have to find a way to clean the gap before I seal it up. I may use the rustproof epoxy that you mentioned. I hadn't thought of that. The silicone will evenutally shrink and/or separate.
Still love the truck!
Posted it here in March or April and the consenses was to not worry about it. I've since realized a large number of posters here are from Texas where they don't salt the roads and I'll bet they rarely see the bottom of their doors rot out.
I've been meaning to get around to sealing the seams with silicone or something but haven't done it yet. Now I just have to find a way to clean the gap before I seal it up. I may use the rustproof epoxy that you mentioned. I hadn't thought of that. The silicone will evenutally shrink and/or separate.
Still love the truck!
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Prince George,BC
I think the design is a good one.It allows water to drain as you move forward.The previous design actually traps water and thus you have rusting from the inside out.I think that by sealing this area you may be causing a bigger problem that will manifest itself in the next couple of years.My 2
cents worth.
cents worth.
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From: Arkansas
I live in Arkansas, so I don't know if I'll ever see enough salt to make a difference, but I would think that a quick blast of water down the seams each time you washed the truck would clear it out enough to keep it from rusting.
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The epoxy paint I applied did not fill the seam in. It mearly added another layer of paint to the door/tailgate seam to prevent rusting. I looked at my brothers 97 F-150 and his doors/tailgate are rusting due to the water/salt getting stuck in the seam. I would recommend this to anyone living in the northern frontier.
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DerekShiekhi
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Dec 4, 2015 05:51 PM
