Truck is a 2006, going on 10yrs old. Yes I live in NJ and get salty winters.

Noticed that under my bed there are cross members that run horizontally(from side to side), and where they weld to the bed are just COVERED in rust. Most notably the one right above the rear axle. Great, now I am going to have to POR15 this thing. I can't get the POR15 in the channel though, so I probably only get 75% of the rust.

Is this the beginning of the end? Love the truck, runs great mechanically. Hate to have this thing rust apart on me.

Anyone have rust issues? 2004 guys maybe?

 

I don't personally have issues with heavy rust on my 08 since they don't salt the roads in CO but most of our driveshafts are steel so eventually you would see surface rust and same with the rotors. From just watching old car shows unless its heavy amounts of rust that builds up and sits around for decades it shouldn't start eating away at anything. Most of the stuff that get's destroyed first is the thinner sheet metal so body work basically. I've never seen a driveshaft or frame completely destroyed from rust on a 10yr old vehicle and I would like to think a 2005+ model or newer is a little more rust prone than the vehicles from the 80's or older.

 

My 08 has a bit of rust in the bumpers and a bit on the fenders. I'm replacing them all cuz grinding it out and painting will only be a band aid.
The undercarriage is very clean considering it was winter driven. Doors, rockers, and cab corners are in great shape also.

Some of the frame welds have rust and a bit on the cross members. One secret that many don't do is pressure washing the hell out of the undercarriage after the salt is off the roads. Get the truck on a hoist and get into every nook possible.

Its not the beginning of the end, clean it up and drive it.

 

I keep mine mostly painted and coated in fluid film. I'm picky so where there is surface rust it bugs me but I worked over full time and was full time in school so I did the best I can. Wire wheeling the rest this summer priming and painting since the truck will no longer be a daily. Most trucks I see are bronze with rust. Mines just a little surface rust on the floor pan seams.

 

Yes, I need to address this and I will this summer and do what I can.

I just question sometimes improving my truck at this point how old it is, it's been paid off for a few years and it's been good and reliable. I've been doing some appearance stuff to keep me interested and going to get a new bed liner, new brakes soon, new tires, etc. so there will be a few thousand dropped into the truck in the next year or so. Also keeping on top of the aesthetics of it and buying some new faded trim and things like that.

If this thing is going to start falling apart, I would rather get a new truck and cut my losses..............

But looks like I can get 5-10 more years, that is what I want.

I had a 1998 F150 years ago that I bought second hand, after a few years of ownership there was a RUST HOLE on the driver side floor(I could see the friggin road), I think that truck must have been on the beach though. Another friend of mine had a suburban(early 90's?) that rust ate away his whole tailgate door mounting assembly(the big beam that goes side to side) and the tailgate just fell off and he had to trash the truck because it was just falling to pieces!

Maybe I live in the rust prone area, because NJ gets cold winters with tons of salt all over the place(trucks go crazy over here), and NJ also has warm springs and I hear salt and warm water increase corrosion.............

Thanks.

 

Hawkz28, I live in NJ at the shore. 2004 F150 STX 4.6 V8 4X4 has the same rust you have. I'm second owner and this was always in NJ. When ever I want to slow down the rust ,I spray it w/ rustoleum. Seems to help. My truck has 200K on it and runs great. Hope to keep it a long time. But like you, she starting to show her age. My question, if we go newer, what year is the best? I never buy new, only 2nd hand.

 

I live in MA and my 2004 has surface rust over lots of the under carriage, but no rust through yet. I have had the driveshaft center bearing bracket rust through and fail and have replaced most of the hard piping under my truck due to leaks from corrosion. This is pretty typical around here because of the nasty chemicals and salt used in the winters.

I won't be doing anything about the rust because I intend to trade it in sometime this summer.

 

Chalk-up salt on the roads and rusty vehicles as a couple of the reasons I am happy to no longer be living back in the Midwest! From what you describe, I wouldn't worry too much about getting another 5 years out of the truck while doing absolutely nothing. If you want another 10 years, then I would say you need to take some steps to mitigate the rust damage you have already incurred -- POR, paint, etc.

And yes -- warm air and salt increases the voracity of the corrosion process. Back in Minnesota, the worst vehicles for rust were always the ones owned by folks with a heated garage! I remember the mid-70's GM pick-ups as being the worst -- after 10 years it was common to see those trucks running around with their sheet metal completely gone (as in it's no longer even there!) halfway up the sides of the vehicle.....

 

I assume the newest you can afford, the manufacturers always are improving corrosion properties of the metals/paints. Our trucks do last a ton longer then 80/90's trucks for sure.

I bought my 2006 brand new(one owner and still have it), because I own my vehicles and drive them until they turn into a pile of orange powder I like to buy new.................. And sometimes, dealer incentives make them better value then a 1-2 year old vehicle, have to keep eyes open for deals. Also depends on what you can afford.

 

The bed supports are thin and will rust out on just about any make of truck that drives in salt. You could clean them every day and they'll still rust out.

They need to be fully coated. Por 15 outside and try some Eastwood internal frame coating for the inside. Comes with a long tube so you can get it places you could never paint. In the winter, I keep a heavy coating of white litheum grease on those supports.

 

I'll just offer my 2 cents here. First, in answer to the OP's question, yes, this is the beginning of the end for your truck - or at least the box / bed. I hate to be so blunt, but without rather heroic measures - like a new bed - you might be able to slow the rust down, but you won't stop it. And that includes POR15 and every other supposed "corrosion cure" available out there to consumers.

Here's another personal observation. I think Ford made some pretty great strides in increasing the corrosion resistance of their vehicles in the late 1980's - early 1990's. They improved the materials by going to double sided galvanized steel in many places. They improved the finishing / painting processes with more even applications of more corrosion resistant coatings. I saw this happening in my Ford trucks from my 1987 to my 2002.

When I bought my 2005 though, something had changed. The frame and under body on that truck and then my 2010 definitely started to rust earlier / faster than my previous trucks. Sure, we use a hell of a lot of road salt up here, but no more that my previous trucks saw. I can honestly say that the increased rate of corrosion on my last two trucks was both startling and quite disappointing. I don't know what they cut back on, but it's showing up with increased corrosion levels.

On the bright side, take off beds are actually quite plentiful. Although Super Duty boxes are the easiest to find. 1/2 tons beds are out there. If you really want to keep your truck for a lot longer, consider one of those.

 

To add to what 2stroked said, maybe they starting putting something else down on the roads that speed up the corrosion process?

Also, while the bed supports do rust easily, it doesn't mean the whole bed is bad. It could be as simple as just replacing the supports.

I agree though, por 15 is supposed to be a fix, but it's more of a prolong. The only real fix is fresh metal and having it coated with something all the time.

 

POR15 and frame coating spray it is, prolong it as much as I can.

I actually plan to keep my truck until IF/WHEN they release a new F150 lightning. If they come out with one, as soon as they do I'm selling my truck and buying one. If for some miracle a 2016 Lightning is offered, My FX4 is gone!

 

what about rear fender well rust. Both sides of my 05 is bubbling and peeling paint. Looks awful but the quotes I have are at least $1000 per side. I absolutely hate it but I'm not going to sink $2k+ into a 10 year old truck over cosmetic issues. It's a shame cause the rest of the truck looks very good for it's age. I'm might buy some fender flares to cover the rust, I figure it might buy me a couple years before the rust starts to creep past the flares.

I wounder how many have this issue but just don't know it yet because the factory fender flares are still covering up the issue. I did notice that it is rusting because the put a foam strip between the inner wheel well and the outer sheet metal and this foam holds moisture which is causing it to rust from the inside out.

 

There was a recall for your truck that's no longer open. A butyl pad was placed on certain models, it ends up holding moisture, salt, etc and will rust through in no time.

Edit: after re reading, it sounds like this is not a butyl pad issue. I know the foam strip you're speaking of. I keep the entire when wells coated with bed liner. Also, when looking up from under the rear bumper, there's a little gap that I constantly spray out with the high pressure hose. It runs over the top of the inside of the wheel well and the water pores out the other side. I think that's an important trick.

When the recall was open, it involved the removal of that pad and the area was treated or the bedside was replaced.

If kept clean, the wheel wells on our generation will generally hold up for a long time. Excessive rust is usually caused by that pad, or never cleaning out the wheel wells.

I don't have a spec of rust anywhere inside or outside of mine and I drive in heavy salt and brine 6 months out of the year.