Wheelwell Rust
Hook it, I'll pull it.
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 15,037
Likes: 4
From: Grand Lake, La.
If you live where they put salt on the roads in the winter, that is part of where you live. My under carage looks like brand new because of where I live. Salt will rust anything on the road.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 436
Likes: 1
From: Mass
i have it also, on both sides now. my truck is perfect-great condition-except for this, it kills me to look at it. on a past truck i had this an instead of doing something exstensive to repair i just got a real good touchup paint that really matched-popped out the bubble of paint-lite sand and filled it up with the paint. and it looked pretty good considering not having to change fenders or pay an autobody shop for repairs. had the truck for another year or so and it was good when i sold it.
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 189
Likes: 2
Keep the accumulated mud/debris cleaned out of the inside lip of your wheel well. Rust almost always forms from the inside out. When dirt accumulates in there it is very corrosive, especially when it gets wet repeatedly. It is much more important to wash the underside of your vehicle than it is the outside. I have a 94 F-250 that looks new underneath and all I've done is lay on the ground and rinse the underside nooks and crannies with a garden hose after I drive in mud or snow.
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
From: Slippery Rock, PA
My 01 has done the same thing, ridiculous in my opinion. Truck is mint except for this, garage kept nightly, washed at least once a week. Started as a small bubble last fall, now both sides are all rust. Call Ford and complain, if enought of us do, maybe we can get something done about this.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
From: MA
The rust warranty for these trucks is 5yr./100K miles. My 2000 is doing the same thing on my driver's side rear (2 '0 clock). The moisture dirt and/or salt get between the pinched seams of steel and you'll NEVER get it out. I've seen as new as 2003 trucks with this problem. If you guys hate rust as much as I do, check under the weatherstrip of your lower doors (all 2 or 4 of them). This is also a very common place for these trucks to accumulate serious rust. Road debris gets in the curiously untight pinch seams and rusts the door from the inside out. It happens in the tailgates as well, so check it all!! Also, if you plan on getting the rear quarter panels fixed, your best bet is to have the wheel wells cut out, and rivet new panels on, or to replace the entire rear quarter, because the rust will continue to come back. No body shop will ever be able to get all of it. The same goes for the pinch seams in the lower doors and the tailgate pinch seam where the drainage holes are located. Rustproofing the truck won't help because the rust proof material cannot go where dirt, salt and water can. Hope this helps fellas.