Truck Delivered with Dirty Undercarriage and Rust

[Viper]

Picked my truck up last Friday, 60 miles on it and yes rust underneath, durn.....

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[‘22Powerboost]

That means it sat after it came off the assembly line, waiting for chips etc….that’s a shame. So disappointing.

 

[erixgix]

I picked mine up 3 weeks ago. It did not sit. Left on the train 2 days after the build date, hit the dealer 13 days later. Gave hope for a clean chassis, but didn’t go that way for me.

Unfortunately the entire underside was covered in a layer of muck. Not as bad as @Snakebitten though. Spent 4 hours cleaning most of it off, but the damage was already done. Some light rust on the diff and tubes, and all the galvanized parts / skid plates have the white oxide spots and pitting where the muck clumps were. The accelerated corrosion in the galavanixed parts was more surprising than rust on the blackened untreated rear axle (whatever that black coating is on the axle, it has zero protective property)

Time isn’t the killer as much as specific water and contaminate exposure. A factor of dumb luck for some whose trucks moved around when dry or weren’t run thru mud puddles to get the high alkaline / ph corrosive mud packs others were treated to.

On the upside. I don’t need to think about what it looks like under there, it’s already got a few years of corrosion even though it was built just 5 weeks ago.

 

[Snakebitten]

I like your attitude @erixgix

Hope you are really enjoying the new truck

 

[erixgix]

It’s great, I am loving it, Thanks! Your cleanup work was really impressive by the way. Did you use any kind of neutralizer, or just soap and water?

 

[Snakebitten]

It was really dry and flakey, so most came off with just a moist sacrificial microfiber rag.

Honestly, if I was OCD? The truck would go up on my lift and get a thorough going over. I might even address some surfaces with paint or coating of some kind.

Still might?

I did throw the previous truck up there to get a good look. But I knew I was only keeping it until my special order came in.

 

[erixgix]

Nice! That you did what you did without a lift is even more impressive. Took me 4 hours crawling under it and calling my result half-assed would be generous. Jealous!

Heck, if you have a lift, seems that’s 80% of the decision to treat the bare items right there. It’s almost cheating


.

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm 64

I do everything slow.......
Especially in the tropical summer temps.

 

[thebigdu]

It was really dry and flakey, so most came off with just a moist sacrificial microfiber rag.

Honestly, if I was OCD? The truck would go up on my lift and get a thorough going over. I might even address some surfaces with paint or coating of some kind.

Still might?

I did throw the previous truck up there to get a good look. But I knew I was only keeping it until my special order came in.

That garage... ?

 

[Stangman1990]

My new truck just arrived at the dealer and I am picking it up on Monday. One of the first things I looked for was the axle rust. It certainly looks like the paint was an afterthought on this one. The dealer hasn't even looked at the truck yet, so this was done at the factory.

 

[erixgix]

My new truck just arrived at the dealer and I am picking it up on Monday. One of the first things I looked for was the axle rust. It certainly looks like the paint was an afterthought on this one. The dealer hasn't even looked at the truck yet, so this was done at the factory.

To be fair, we can’t necessarily point the finger at Ford because the trucks get driven thru multiple holding lots during transport. Whether by Fords at a factory lot, or by a rail employee at various rail yards across the country. All we know for sure is you were one of the unlucky ones whose truck was off loaded and driven around in a wet puddled mess of a lot at some point in transport.

Its probably fair to blame them for cheaping out, saving an entire $3.12 by choosing to not paint/coating these axles with something to prevent the premature aging.

We all hoped we were one of those lucky bastards whose trucks never saw a drop of water or mud during, but it’s completely luck of the the draw. I just wish those guys would have the decency to keep their braggy pictures of spotless undercarriages to themselves!!! KIDDING

But if those lucky SOB’s hadn’t planned to spray the axles right away, they will all end up like this soon enough. I chose to see it having the upside of one less maintenance point to keep up on a cosmetic thing only I’d ever see.

 

[Pete6114]

Maybe this explains why my truck had 95 miles and was a muddy disaster at delivery. Probably got taken for a joy ride by some thieves.

Joking, but anything is possible I guess.


https://fordauthority.com/2022/07/ford-f-150-thefts-in-dearborn-take-toll-on-community-company/

Plant i worked in had plenty of security 24/7, especially when they were stored at the local airport, off plant property, which has it's own security. Maybe Ford decided to pinch pennies a little harder nowadays.

 

[kevdog0710]

I'm still at my dealer waiting on paperwork. Truck is spotless, inside, outside and underneath.
It does have 71 miles on it however

 

[JPNewIn22]

Took delivery at the end of March and recently had another issue that caused me to inspect underneath my truck. Unfortunately it was an unpleasant discovery of rust! The back side near the tailgate is painted (the part you can see easily) but the part under the cab was not good. The only good news is that the dealer said they would knock the surface rust off and hit it with some black primer paint. But still…

 

[erixgix]

Took delivery at the end of March and recently had another issue that caused me to inspect underneath my truck. Unfortunately it was an unpleasant discovery of rust! The back side near the tailgate is painted (the part you can see easily) but the part under the cab was not good. The only good news is that the dealer said they would knock the surface rust off and hit it with some black primer paint. But still…

Hate to tell you this, but there is nothing different on the backside vs the front side. If you look at the above pic, you can see the ‘black paint’ on the front facing side where the decal use to be. It’s just the road filth expose to the front side caused it to age quicker. Whatever the black color on the axles is, its not a paint or protectant, time and exposure will do both sides in unless its treated or painted with an an appropriate paint.

You should verify what type of primer they are using. Not all primers seal, they are intended as a substrate for paint/sealer
Primers absorb

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