NO LIMITS
Member
- First Name
- Fred
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2021
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 8
- Location
- Roseville, CA
- Vehicles
- 2021 F-150 Limited
- Occupation
- Self Employed
My dealer just finished power washing and removing the rust from the underside of mine and applied the same coating/paint used by the factory to all affected parts. They said Ford will be picking up the tab. Now, all that's left for them to do so I can get my truck back is repaint the tail gate and right side of bed ($3,000), replace passenger seat cushion ($2,300), replace steering wheel ($4,000), replace dashboard trim piece ($unknown), replace rear door weather seal ($unknown), replace warped tailgate step plastic top piece ($unknown), re-align right front fender ($unknown), polish scratch out of rear door glass ($unknown), and identify and fix rattle coming from exhaust system. Can't wait.Personally, I don’t think Ford will do anything about the rust issue. My assumption is that they will come up with a fix for trucks that have yet to be built but they won’t do anything for trucks that they already sold. I negotiated an additional $200.00 off when I picked up my truck to cover the cost of rustproofing / undercoating. None the less, I went ahead and cleaned up the rear axle and exhaust hangers myself. That way I know the rust is gone. It came out so well that I really don’t need to get the truck rust proofed but I plan on keeping it for a long time so I will still get it sprayed. Fortunately, my exhaust pipe and muffler are pretty much rust free. The ends of the axle where the rotors are wasn’t bad either.
Below are a few pictures of the process that I did. I’m not endorsing any products; I’m just showing you what I did and what worked for me.
I used Rust-Oleum Rust Dissolver spray. I chose this because they state it will remove light rust without removing paint. If the rust is heavier in some areas the paint will be gone and you will be left with bare metal after using the dissolver. I also used a dish / pot scrubbing brush and Rust-Oleum flat black paint. I purchased all three items at Lowes. I also used CRC Marine Corrosion Inhibitor which I bought on Amazon. This is awesome stuff in my opinion. Its not pictured but I used a little primer on a few bare spots on the axle where the paint was gone. While priming bare metal is the best practice you could still just paint the axle and seal it with CRC Marine. The CRC product will stop the rust from coming back. Just let the paint dry a full 24 hours before applying CRC Marine. I also used a small piece of cardboard to block overspray. You could tape off any areas that you are concerned about but I didn’t. CRC Marine has a slight brownish tint when it dries. If you spray it on axle nuts / bolts it will add a brownish color. Just be aware of that if you use it.
My axle is now rust free and I don’t have to be concerned about it. You could fight with Ford or your local dealer about it and wait a very long time only to potentially have nothing done. Meanwhile the rust will continue to get worse. I decided to fix the problem myself and move on. On a side note, if you question if you can do this yourself, I’m 54 years old and I’m a big guy (6’4”, 285lbs). I did this on a gravel driveway lying on pieces of cardboard. I was able to slide under the truck and do this without jacking the truck up (though it was a very tight fit). I have 20” wheels. It sucks doing this but once you’re done you don’t have to be concerned about rust anymore.
Just thought I’d pass this along in case anyone is considering doing this themselves...
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