How to address rear axle and exhaust rust

[Lippy]

I have relatively mild rust on my rear axle. It’s actually worse on the muffler and resonator. A couple of questions:

1-For those who painted it yourself, what exactly did you paint, what products did you use, how did you mask it, etc? Any details and photos would be great.

2- Assuming you also have some corrosion on the exhaust components, did you do anything about it besides steel wool?

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[Bryan Simon]

I’m 6’ tall and live in south Texas.
my method of dealing with this is cheap and easy.
I just don’t bother to bend over to look underneath.

The rust on mine is comparable to yours, and I did once actually crawl under for a look. I have items with rusty parts, but nothing I personally really care about.

I get the hoopla over this tho. Some are spending 60/70/80k on these things and they should present as such when delivered.

But, in the long run, I bought it and I’m pretty content with it as it is.
in 5 years, I won’t be giving this a second thought.
in 10 years it should still be a capable and comfortable mode of transport.
in 15 years, I MIGHT have the same appreciation for the Ford as I currently have for my 98 k1500.

 

[KBKEITH]

I’m 6’ tall and live in south Texas.
my method of dealing with this is cheap and easy.
I just don’t bother to bend over to look underneath.

 

[Jerry Can]

I have relatively mild rust on my rear axle. It’s actually worse on the muffler and resonator. A couple of questions:

1-For those who painted it yourself, what exactly did you paint, what products did you use, how did you mask it, etc? Any details and photos would be great.

2- Assuming you also have some corrosion on the exhaust components, did you do anything about it besides steel wool?

My dealer did a great job cleaning off the rust. Unfortunately I don’t have any details about what products or methods they used. I think they used a chemical rust remover rather than just steel wool. They applied 4 or 5 coatings of high temp black paint to the diff, axel, drive shaft, etc., and high temp clear coat to the exhaust components.

Before:

After:

 

[Asphaltman]

I'm planning to spray a rust converter, then some quick rattle can black.

 

[Lippy]

In Jerry Can’s photos above, they did a solid job. But I can tell you it must’ve taken some time. You need to mask off several parts and probably remove the wheels to do that. But I’m glad you got it done. I may hold off on doing it myself and see if I can get them to do it.

 

[Pedaldude]

As far as the rear axle, it’s not a huge problem to wire brush and paint it. Other than the fact it’s a brand new truck and you shouldn’t have to.

For the exhaust, it’s an alumized finish and something went wrong with the production or storage of it. That shouldn’t happen, especially in California. It’s defective and should be replaced on Ford’s dime.

As far as avoiding it altogether, purchase a Toyota Tundra, they arrive looking like a new truck should.

Ford’s response to the rust issues as well as other fit and finish problems are why my 2021 F-150 will be the last Ford product I purchase new. It’s really shameful behavior and there’s no excusing it after the fact.

 

[Jerry Can]

But I can tell you it must’ve taken some time

They told me it was about 5hrs of labour.

 

[Pinero]

A can of krylon matte black and a corsa cat back.

 

[NY Cowboy]

I have relatively mild rust on my rear axle. It’s actually worse on the muffler and resonator. A couple of questions:

1-For those who painted it yourself, what exactly did you paint, what products did you use, how did you mask it, etc? Any details and photos would be great.

2- Assuming you also have some corrosion on the exhaust components, did you do anything about it besides steel wool?

Mine looks even worse and am making them buy the truck back and get me new one! This type of lack of quality control is totally unacceptable on a 60k truck.

 

[UNIKRN150]

Mine looks even worse and am making them buy the truck back and get me new one! This type of lack of quality control is totally unacceptable on a 60k truck.

It's really shocking what people will put up with considering the money we're spending. I would have gladly saved several grand buying a 2020 or even a 2019 but there are NONE with the setup I want.
But since I am spending $50k+/- and waiting for months to get it, I'll be waiting more if my truck shows up rusted.

 

[KartRacer25]

I'm planning rustoleum and fluid film.

 

[gspete]

I too have a rusty rear diff. and the dealer says "it's just surface rust"; personally, that's BS in my eyes. however, the loaner truck they gave me today has a beautiful rear diff, I'm jealous.

 

[Bigal323]

So I picked up my truck 5 days ago (almost 3month wait, 1week before ETA, KC truck). I saw this thread yesterday and had a look at mine. It's really not that bad. So I went to the dealership and every single diff had some kind of rust on it. So I was looking into doing the repair.

But, this morning I decided to call them and see what they say. Looks like Ford wont do anything because it's cosmetic. But my dealership offered to wire wheel it paint or rubber undercoat it for me(my choice). It's my first time buying from these guys. I think I'm going to stick with them for good.

Now I need to decide if I want to paint or undercoat it....

 

[Lippy]

They looks really mild, much better than mine. I’d have them clean and paint it. Undercoat is not the right product for this application.

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