Who is rusting?
 

I'm trying to find a trend in trucks that are rusting. What year is your truck? how well is it kept clean? where is the rust? What is your location? Comments. . . 2000, kept clean and indoors, no rust. Northern Illinois
Timmy

No rust here. South Louisiana. Stays clean.

Absolutly no rust on the body 2002. 50000 miles put on it the first year, sat 1-2 years on a used truck center's lot, since 2005 it has been in a garage when it was not being driven and now up to 80,000miles. My uncle has a 2000 F-250 PSD it sits outside all the time like the rest of his vehicles 168,000 and no rust IIRC.

'99, outside, usually dirty, waxed perhaps twice. No rust!! :-drink

01, 90,XXX miles No visable signs of body rot outside, but frame, under cab, under bed, and most interesting, the oil pan, rust everywhere. Mid Mo. truck all its life where MoDot loves to spray liquid salt on the road 1 week before any predicted snow flurries.

Early 99 No Rust Anywhere Just Sold A 96 Powerstroke And No Rust

2000 Came out of Florida, very clean, very little rust

No rust... it's pretty hard to get any when it's 115 outside in the summer. During the winter it's pretty dry out here....

Lets try and get as much details here as we can. Lets also include the manufacturing plant of the truck. Me and Jim(five.slow) are noticing a lot of 01 and up trucks rusting when there is no excuse for it. Rear wheel wells, bubbling up through the paint. . . not starting on the inside of the body. . . but starting inbetween the pain and the body on the outside. Also on the lower door seam. They are rusting like crazy once again. . . appears to be between the body and the paint. Some rust noticed on the rear seam of a couple of doors. This is not something I've only noticed with trucks either. I have noticed it with all fords of the 01 and up years. Something is not right. I've had a chip about 2"x2" on my fender of my VW for about three months now. it sits outside and never gets washed. There isn't any sign of any rust whatsoever. so whats the deal with the fords? I've seen lots of newer fords with rust stains coming from the backside of the lower window seals on the doors. Even on an 05! So. . . details people!
Timmy

Where is this very little rust?
Timmy

early 99 raised in VA till 3 years ago...very!!! very !! little rust when i got it..now showing under the bed and surface rust on frame where paint flaked away...lots of road salt used up here..truck is mostly coverd in salt cause its used so much..i wash under carage as much as posable and she is parked in my non heated shop at night so slush and chunks of snow full of salt will fall off..heat will activate salt and rust out a rig faster..she is waxed twice a year (spring & fall)and polished once a month.even in winter,,,.she will be repared and repainted then parked for winters here soon..i want her to last a good long time....

2001. Washed only when the blue turns brown, and parked outside. No rust. Central Arkansas.

I have an 03, was made in kentucky. I have the rust starting under the doors, and I had made a chip on the tailgate (line x coated on the inside) and from the little chip there is a fair sized paint peeled area, that it starting to rust.
My truck stays outdoors, gets driven in the summer and the winter, and is kept clean. When washing I spray the bottom of the doors. The rust oddly seemed to start in the summer.
238,000 km's on it (147,000ish miles) I live in saskatchewan canada, where we do get some salt on the highways in the winter.



The stuff around the bottom of the doors looks like its starting the exact same way as my old 97 half ton had.

Went to a body shop and they told me how to fix it so it shouldnt come back, so when i get able to move around a little more Im gonna fix it.

A little disappointed since my truck isnt that old yet.

01 f-250, '02 excursion no rust in NC, But doesn't snow much here anymore. F-250 is a work truck, pretty beat up only tiny rust showing where paint has been chipped for a while.

2002 - built in Kentucky
Lived equal amounts of time in TX, SC, and CO.
Doesn't fit in the garage, stays outside all the time.
Usually kept clean, sometimes however I'll go a month without touching it.

Rust on the lower window seals and on the rear lip of the windows, rust on the lower inside of the tailgate. I keep fixing them, but they seem to want to pop up in nearby locations. So far it's only surface rust, nothing more.

03 born in Kentucky. Got some light rust in spots running under the outerside floor pans. Oil pan had some spots that i dremeled and sanded and treated with some hi-temp stove paint. Other than that, i,m on top of it constantly..

My late 99 is starting to show brown spots on the bottom of the doors on the inside.
Otherwise no rust even under the fender flairs that go from front to the rear.

00' here, born in KY, spent her whole life here in MI pushing a snow plow around. Waxed once a year, washed and garage kept. Rust on the bottom of the tail gate about 3 years ago, fixed now and coming back. (waiting on an 08 tailgate)....the doors are rusting real bad at the lower seam, starting to bubble through to the outside now.....I fear a repair is in the future......

'01 with 132k. Kept clean and under a shelter in TN now, but did some hard time in VT before I got it and it looks pretty rough underneath. Couple of bubles under the doors, bottom of the tail gate, But the oil pan and the brake line that crosses under it scare me the most.

I have a 2000 supercab. In the last year it has received 2 new cab corners and an oil pan due to rust. This spring I noticed paint bubbling on the rear wheel wells...yup the rust is coming through the paint there as well. Funny thing is all the 99 and up f250's and 350's are rusting out the cab corners and rear wheel wells. Mine has only 101,000 miles on it and it is not a plow truck. The rust drives me insane because I take good care of my vehicles. It is kinda funny that my 2 volvo's from the mid 90's which have in excess of 200,000 miles on them are totally rust free! These cars have lived their lives in Maine just the same as my truck has. I think ford went cheap on the steel for these trucks. Many up here speculate it the the recycled steel they use now??? By the way this is in Maine where we have snow on the roads from December to April. Maine towns all use a mix of salt and calcium chloride to treat the roads. This problem is not limited to the fords up here, chevys and dodges are getting eaten by the rust just as bad. Many chevys have extensive rocker panel rot and the dodges are just as bad but with the bottoms of the doors being eaten up as well. This is beyond frustrating!!! I have an engine capable of a half million miles, but a body capable of only 10 years to do it in. Thats enough of a rant for now!
DG

No rust on the body panels, only some slight surface rust on the front and rear diffs. Thankfully nothing on the oil pan. Truck born in Kentucky, lived in Nevada for 2 years, and Colorado for last 4. Always outside.

03 paint bubbling on both rear wheel wells. Dad has 99 and his is doing the same thing

Don't know where it was made but I have an early '99 and it has a rusty cab corner only on the drivers side. I wash moderately. I use it for work and drive it 100 to 200 miles a day. It sits outside all the time. I live in Ohio.

O1 F250 4x4 Lariat, Lives in the Chicago area. Never been under a roof (too tall). No Body rust, but there is some rust starting on the front bumper under the chrome. AND everything under the body (axels, frame rails etc...) First 6 years kept very clean under carrage with pressure washing few weeks. But the rust still came. Rust is probably due to the pressure washings.

Dave..

Rust on the inside bottom lip of all 4 doors, bottom of tailgate looks like swiss cheese, some rust underneath cab....and of course my oil pan!!! And I got them little rust dots from the trainyard brake dust all over my truck bed and rear doors....muther$%@#$%@@$%@#$%@ers. :-X09

I know I kept it clean...and washed once a week on fridays but dunno about previous 2 owners.

She was born in kentucky...but lived all her life in WI.

02 born in kentucky, plow truck in chi area it's whole life stays outside but gets waxed monthly and frame and axles get touched up in the spring, has no rust except for the oil pan of course :-banghead.

2001, NW Wisconsin(1 1/2 years) Michigan before that. Born in Kentucky. Right rear wheel arch is about gone, rust bubbled up through paint, whole inner structure is gone. Also notice some rust starting on the bottom of all 4 doors. I also have paint chipping(flaking) off in a few areas. Front fenders where the mud flaps were, in the corners of the window moldings, a spot on the left rear box side.

The truck was washed weekly in the winter and once a month in the summer over the last 1 1/2 years, but the damage was already done.

99 F-450- No rust, washed a few times a year

00 F-450- No rust, washed a few times a year

01 F-350- No rust, washed a few times a year

01 F-350- No rust, Not washed often....detail spray is normally all that's needed. Garage kept.

02 F-350- No rust, washed a few times a year

02 F-550- No rust, washed a few times a year

04 F-450- No rust, washed a few times a year

06 F-450- No rust, washed a few times a year

07 F-350- No rust, washed every 4-8 weeks, garage kept.


All the trucks are stored indoors for the winter. And all but 3 of them are kept indoors every night during the work year (00 F-450, 01 F-350 and 02 F-550 are parked outside during the work season).


Location: northern IL.

Yeah I started this thread because i'm going to go ape ***** if my truck starts rusting. There is no rust on the body right now. . . yeah frame and some components have some but. . . the body is spotless. Inside and out. From what I have seen, I fully expect to see rust start beneath the paint and eat away at the truck. This being the possible case. . . Ford Sucks at painting! This has got to be the most aggravating problem because it makes the product look so cheap! I have heard little things here and there that Ford in attempts to cut cost made a change to their painting process. This is about the worst way an auto company could shoot themselves in the foot. Anyway, I want to get more evidence and more answers. . . and I want this problem to be known, and I want to make a stink about it. Its not like its a new thing where mistakes happen. . . paint has been going on for years and a lot of other companies are doing it right! Keep the information coming!
Timmy

Just some surface rust on the frame and driveshafts.

My truck has rusticles all over anything that's not coated in paint. It came from the salt belt!

Also, a few corners of my back windows are rusting out...?

Frame and components I'm not too worried about. . . although they should be treated too. Cab corners is something I havn't seen at all. In fact I don't think I've seen rust on the cabs yet.
Timmy

window corners, like where the 3/4" wide seal across the bottom meets the paint at the corners...

02 KTP always outside. Semi-clean to dirty, 262k miles. No rust.

I've got 99 - 07's at work I'll check, but I'm not aware of any rust on those either.

If you want to get a clearer picture, why don't you start this same thread up in the super duty section, so you can include the gasser trucks that may have been built at different plants, or at least get a broader sampling.

If you ever decide to make a stink, and through your info you find that there is problems with the paint/process/etc. you make sure you let me know.

This is the second ford in the newer styles that has rust starting under the doors. My 89 ford has rust now, but it lasted alot longer before rusting like this.

Lots of Rust!!! 2001. I don't know the build plant. The main reason for the rust is location. I live on the southern Oregon Coast and I drive on the beach from time to time. Anywhere the paint chips it rusts within a couple months. The whole underbody was sprayed with some kind of black liner before I bought it but that didn't seem to help. Everything underneath is starting to rust. I wash it twice a month or so. Im convinced its all about climate and location, because when I bought it with 140k miles it had very little rust. Almost none, because it was in eastern Washington. Then in the 9 months, 30k miles, its started rusting everywhere. I hate it.

Mine is rusting on the bottom ridge of the doors, a little.

The real problem is that i have chrome panels that will have to come off, to derust and repaint... then buy new panels to stick back on. SOB!!!!!:-banghead

I have some minor rust on the paint under the truck, but taking off the chrome panels tix me right the f off.

:eek:

Also, a friend of a frien has a 2005 chev 3/4 gasser with wheelwells rusting out.

they dont make anything like they used to...

I have those chrome strips at the bottom of my truck too. Also i have the black wheel well flares from the factory, i dont know If I wanna know whats going on under them.

If only they used checker plate aluminum for the 1/4 bottom and wheel wells on the truck.