Ford aluminum body vs Ram steel - can the Ram do as well?

[Hay Dude]

My ram 5500 hood is ‘loomnum and the fender flares are plasteek.

 

[Rosher18]

I have a few aluminium Fords, Oldest is a 17 and has no signs of any body corrosion .. Its a plow/work truck with 15K miles on it V10 F450 Dump truck.. On its 4th set of manifolds, 2nd set of heads, 3rd set of rotors pads and callipers , 2nd set of trans lines, 2nd set od power steering lines...Im sure i forgot other stuff.. But the body is fine.

I'm sorry, tell me more about this. I'm a Ford fan and have a '19 F-150. It's a far cry from the F450 V10, but why so many sets of cylinder heads for only 15k miles?

 

[5030]

Ah yes, the V10 with the airborne spark plugs...

 

[Hay Dude]

I have a few aluminium Fords, Oldest is a 17 and has no signs of any body corrosion .. Its a plow/work truck with 15K miles on it V10 F450 Dump truck.. On its 4th set of manifolds, 2nd set of heads, 3rd set of rotors pads and callipers , 2nd set of trans lines, 2nd set od power steering lines...Im sure i forgot other stuff.. But the body is fine.

That’s insane, bro.
I’d trade that thing in and run away from it, while shooting over my shoulder backwards.

 

[5030]

Firds didn't tap the sparky holes deep enough on the V10's so it shot the plugs out which made it easier to change them...lol

I wasn't aware of exhaust manifold issues however, Only one I was aware of was their 300 straight six cracking exhaust manifolds and why Cummins and Cat went to multi piece manifolds on their diesel engines. Same deal, busted manifolds. one piece manifolds were too long and the heating expansion and cooling contraction was too much for them to bear. I believe Cummins called them 'Pulse Manifolds'. Not sure what Cat called them. E model Cats were notorious for breaking manifold studs as well. They were so bad that Cat supplied a jig tool so you could drill them out without damaging the block. They came with a tungsten carbide drill to drill them out. That was SOP at the dealer I retired from actually. If an E model was showing soot around the manifold gasket and the exhaust log was intact, it meant the stud or studs were broken off. Between that and compromised spacer plates, the shop always had work. Flat rate manual was 4 hours per stud and at 125 bucks an hour, they made a killing on them. Just before I retired, Cummins had a huge issue with their lift pumps. The ceramic roller followers that were actuated by the cam shaft were failing and putting ceramic bits in the engine oil which was instant death for the engines. Cummins had to replace a ton of engines (ISX C's) because of that. They got that sorted pretty quick. A remember one owner that didn't even make it out of the parking lot and the engine puked. Heck of a way to buy a new tractor and have it puke instantly. 100 grand plus for a rock. I wonder if Cummins is still casting their blocks in India. Haven't been following them since I retired.

I do know that Ingersoll Rand has their compressor's cast and assembled in India. That is proudly cast right in the compressor casting. Least the T30's are. One of the main reasons I own a Quincy. They are cast and assembled here and of course are more expensive because of the labor cost. Far as I know, only Quincy and Saylor Beal build their compressors domestically.

 

[Tomtint]

That’s insane, bro.
I’d trade that thing in and run away from it, while shooting over my shoulder backwards.

It's the chemicals they use on the roads up here.. Mag Chloride .. tons and tons of straight salt.. it's brutal. It's not the trucks fault.last year's when all the latest work was done and it has not plowed now for the past 2 winters.. and it won't again while I own it... a new dump truck is 90k or more.. it just dosent make financial sense to destroy it. This truck should last me decades given that it gets 3-4K miles a year.

 

[5030]

My ram 5500 hood is ‘loomnum and the fender flares are plasteek.

My fender flares are Rubba... Don't really need them because I'm not into tires that protrude from the wheel wells anyway, All tires sticking out do is sandblast the lower rockers with road grit. FYI, here in Michigan you can get a ticket for tires that protrude from the wheel wells anyway. Besides, big tires eat fuel, nit fuel efficient, Just 'macho' looking.

 

[Milo]

I pay attention to other vehicles when driving and I notice most pick ups exhibiting rust around here are Rams.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I pay attention to other vehicles when driving and I notice most pick ups exhibiting rust around here are Rams.

That might be true here too.

Not that I've noticed the rust, but GM and Ford pickups are about as common as 1/2-tons around here. In other words, few and far between.

 

[shooterdon]

I'm in Michigan, heart of the rust belt and I will never buy anther steel bodied truck after owning my 2015 aluminum body F-150 for several years. They don't dent as easy and with 10 years on Michigan winter roads the body is still in perfect condition. No corrosion, no dents, no nothing, still looks brand new. The Frame is still steel so it requires maintenance but after having several rusty trucks with less years on them than my 2015 I'm a fan for sure and for me worth the $$. Rust repair isn't cheap.

Another 2015 F150 owner in Michigan and I agree.