Ford and Corrosion Control?

[Plati]

Just to add my two cents: I have a 2000 Expedition, which was driven as an emergency vehicle for its first 100K miles. It now has 235K miles, just about no rust and has been on Long Island with road salt and off road driving all its years. The cast parts, like the control arms have never been painted and have surface rust.

There's a quarter sized bubble in the paint on the aluminum hood.

I don't see any 20 year old BMW's around here on the road.

Do you attribute the no rust to anything in particular? My 2003 is a Rustbucket. I bet we use more salt up here in Rainchester area. I also rarely washed it in winter (bought new). Its never been parked in a garage, always outdoors. 180K smiles

 

[LRNAD90]

First, let me say that unpainted parts on the undercarriage has been common in most US vehicles for years. Most of these parts are heavy enough that some rust will not hurt them.


The one thing that US automakers have not gotten a "good hold of" is corrosion of brake lines. The good news is this usually takes well over 10 years to become an issue, even in rust belt states. (GM trucks are MUCH worse !)

That is pretty much confirms what I had speculated in the beginning of this thread. Seems like a calculated risk to choose not to paint or otherwise coat these items, with the assumption that corrosion will not cause any issues during the vehicle’s projected lifetime, or at least the length of the factory warranties. However you slice it, I can’t assume it was a choice that would have even been considered for anything other than cutting costs. Hopefully the gamble is good, and owners won’t have to worry about it. I remember reading an article at least a decade ago in a car magazine about how Ford had decided to stop painting ashtrays in their cars, to save $.01 per car. I’m sure skipping some undercarriage components saves them (And GM, and other manufactures that do the same) even more than that..

OLD INFORMATION !


First, starting with 2016MY Ford DOES cover paint bubbling on aluminum body panels.


Second, when Ford started building the aluminum body F150 a few years ago, they completely changed the whole aluminum body panel process. The aluminum alloy is different (from the old one), the "pickling" (chemical applied after the aluminum is rolled out) is different, the primer is different. Most importantly, the process of stamping and finishing the panels is different (segregated from any similar operations done on steel panels).

Do the 2016 and 2017 Expeditions benefit from the newer alloy as well? Is it safe to assume (hate assuming) that MY2016 and newer Expeditions have benefited from these manufacturing changes, and the widespread issues reported on earlier hatches and hoods shouldn’t be an issue as a result?

 

[Plati]

I wish this had a factory coating that kept it from rusting through into the cabin area. This is right where passenger sets foot in front seat. Truck owes me nothing, has been a great friend many years.