Truck rusting factors

[Retiredguy2]

I live in mid-Michigan which obviously gets a lot of road salting in the winter months but my Y2K GMC still has perfectly sound body panels. It was Ziebarted when new and I keep it clean and waxed, but while at a local store today I observed a pair of GM pickups about the same age as my truck that were severely rotted out in the lower bodysides and rear quarters. One of them had a rear bumper that was rusted through from the back side..it was a chrome bumper but you could practically stick your fist through the holes. It never fails to amaze me at the disparity between vehicles of the same year and I wonder what is the major factor that leads to severe rusting: Is it the miles driven, or the neglect of the owners to keep their vehicles clean and waxed, or not touching up chipped paint and keeping body drain holes clean, etc. that makes a vehicle rust prematurely? Would appreciate any input on this issue, thank you.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Keep it clean, in a garage but driven regularly to air out, and your climate are the biggest factors.

My 2006 F350 doesn't have a drop of rust but I see them all the time rusting out.

Chris

 

[Retiredguy2]

Keep it clean, in a garage but driven regularly to air out, and your climate are the biggest factors.

My 2006 F350 doesn't have a drop of rust but I see them all the time rusting out.

Chris

Chris, thanks for your input but I always wonder about the owners who keep their vehicles clean YET have rusting issues. Perhaps they do not keep the body drain holes clear?

 

[Tomtint]

Ahhhh, rust. ... Well, just last week I brought my 3000 mile 2016 F450 dump truck that I bought in January 2016, to the dealer because of a break "surging" feel. As I came to a stop, the last 6 mph down to full stop, it felt like the tires were egg shaped. Dealer test drove it and confirmed my thought. Mechanic did something under the truck and drove it again. .. When he pulled back in the bay, he noticed a trail of oil drops into / out of his bay. Back under the truck and the oil filter was rotted to the point that it had a hole and it was leaking ...wtf. The break issue ended up being 4 rotors that had rusted and all 4 were replaced.

 

[Rustyiron]

Try to keep all your snow plowing to the months of May, June, July & August. Then park the truck, it will last forever this way! (I feel your pain, I hate salt!)

 

[4570Man]

Around here rusting isn't a problem. Personally I like to buy rusty vehicles with a solid frame. It keeps the price way down that way.

 

[sld]

A couple of days ago I took my spare down on my 10 year old 2007 F250 (just to clean and grease the cable and mechanism).

I noticed some rust on the bed cross members. I spent quite a bit of time wire brushing followed by primer and paint. You can't stop rust but you can slow it down. I hope I did that at least.

My body panels have zero rust. Galvanized metal is pretty good but if you live on a gravel road and get lots of nicks it will start to rust. From there it all depends on how you address it to slow it down. Some people do nothing.

It boils down to how you take care of it. Even in winter in sub freezing weather I will go to the car wash and spray the underside off. And I try to never leave mud caked in the fender wells.

 

[dfkrug]

It was Ziebarted when new and I keep it clean and waxed, but while at a local
store today I observed a pair of GM pickups about the same age as my truck that were severely rotted out in
the lower bodysides and rear quarters.

I don't miss my years in MI fighting rust. That said, don't some makers now say that using Ziebart or Tuffcoat will
void the vehicle's warranty? I guess they are concerned about plugging up drain holes.

Also, regarding pickups, some use C-channel frames that collect salty road gunk. I gather that could be a factor.
For the frame, anyway, not the body.

Why have not environmentalists in the midwest fought to stop road salting?

 

[ultrarunner]

My 85 Chevrolet is just showing it's first spot... it been outside 31 years and the spot is at the windshield gasket.

My cousin is a mechanic in snow country and he would have stories about brake systems being totally frozen or only have one wheel with brakes...

Amazing how climate/exposure varies.

 

[davepg1]

For the past few years, in the fall I wash the underside of my 98 GMC dually, let dry and spray the underside with Fluid Film. I now use it on anything around the farm that might rust. It seems to be the only thing that works well. It seems to last about one winter, then spray it down again the next fall. The GMC doesn't have a spot of rust anywhere.

 

[Btown]

Keep it clean, in a garage but driven regularly to air out, and your climate are the biggest factors. My 2006 F350 doesn't have a drop of rust but I see them all the time rusting out. Chris

Not sure they changed the bed design in 2006, my 2001 has white foam pads in the wheel wells on the bed. They hold moisture and rot it from the inside out. Only way to stop it is to remove these pads. My paint was starting to bubble in 2008 and the truck at that time had about 35K on it. Bad bad design.

 

[oosik]

I have a 2005 Ford F-150 & 2006 Jeep TJ. Neither have a spot of rust anywhere. IMHO its because the county DOES NOT use any type salt product on the roads out this way AND our weather is very dry(they call it semi-arid).

Now, my son lives in Spokane where they liberally apply that liquid deicer product. The underside of his 2002 Toyota PU is a mass of rust. Its so bad that one of the side running boards completely rusted through and fell off.

Its been years & years since I've waxed either of my vehicles but I do routinely hose off the mud/dirt/dust and also wash out the wheel wells.

 

[blackdog2086]

In my area they use liquid chloride to keep the dust down on the local dirt/gravel roads. IMO this is much worse than the salt used in the winter. On the occasions when I've had to drive the roads shortly after a chloride application (actual puddles of the stuff on the road), I promptly went straight home and pressure washed the entire underside of my vehicle. Being in a liquid state, it gets into pretty much every little nook and crevice.

 

[dodge man]

I've formed the opinion that every vehicle is rusting out. Its a matter of when it shows, next week or in a hundred years. I've also seen people that care for the trucks and wash them in winter yet they still rust. Some times its the vehicles, sometimes all the salt, it just varies.

 

[drizler]

Whatever those idiots at GM were using for undercoating back in the early 2000 era was a disaster when combined with that "hardened TIN " frame they used under the box. Absolute GARBAGE and guaranteed to just disappear if used in any sort of salt location. I have heard they went to crap in as little as 10 years and I believe it.

 

[Retiredguy2]

I've formed the opinion that every vehicle is rusting out. Its a matter of when it shows, next week or in a hundred years. I've also seen people that care for the trucks and wash them in winter yet they still rust. Some times its the vehicles, sometimes all the salt, it just varies.

Very well said. My former dad in law was a shift supervisor at Fisher Body for about 35 years until he retired back in 1986. He told me one time there are so many variables involved in vehicle rust BUT he thought the major factor of rust was the was road salt and deicing crap and second was the lighter thickness of steel to reduce weight. My wife has a small unibody 1999 model car, my GMC is a body on frame Y2K model. Both are low mileage for the year...they get comparable care and it should be interesting to see which one rusts out sooner.

 

[dfkrug]

....it should be interesting to see which one rusts out sooner.

Both are more than 15 yo so that's not bad. I bought my first truck in Lansing, MI back in the mid 70s. It
was 6 yo when I bought it and it already had rusted-thru floorboards.

So they ARE getting better.

 

[drizler]

I wouldn't say they are getting better, just finding ways to manage their way around things. That series of GM suffered from very thin hardened steel. I swear it was the worst junk I ever welded. That is what the rear frame rails is made of. Up front gas tank forward they had the same old stuff and it was thick and welded just like you would expect. It also wasn't deteriorated. Rusty yes just like my last 2 GM's but it had some meat in its bones so it didn't just thin away.
Now strangely even the unit body sheet metal tin on even my 95 Honda civic never did that and to this day only has a bit of surface rust. Go figure. Now GM had a real winner with those plastic panels on their cars back in the 90's. You couldn't kill those and often would just pop back from a big shallow dent and were easy to fix with Fusor plastic glues. I remember the Canadians went nuts for those things. They had a real cult following because they didn't rust away. Of course they went away and right back to the ultra thin cheap hardened tin that rots right out and using galvanized coatings to try to hold it back. Lighter sure, better gas mileage sure but better I think not. More like just different:thumbdown:

 

[Btown]

Ya I remember those plastic panels. They were great except when you got into an accident in the winter. They would just shatter.

 

[buickanddeere]

I don't miss my years in MI fighting rust. That said, don't some makers now say that using Ziebart or Tuffcoat will
void the vehicle's warranty? I guess they are concerned about plugging up drain holes.

Also, regarding pickups, some use C-channel frames that collect salty road gunk. I gather that could be a factor.
For the frame, anyway, not the body.

Why have not environmentalists in the midwest fought to stop road salting?

That would be the one and only time that I would support an environmentalist would be to ban road salt. Use sand and drive sensible for the road conditions .