Rust

[brownbagg]

I am in south alabama, away from the coast, no snow, no salt, This truck has never been up north and alway been here in the south since new.

I notice rust on frame, under area, back of bumpers, I had a brake line rust in half. body good , and I notice all the aluminum is chaulky

Is this normal with Fords, its a 96

 

[LMedina]

Aloha, I live in Hawaii and with the extreme salt air and humidity, the underside has a paper-thin coating of (I guess you could call it) rust, but no bubbling or flaking. Automakers purposely design the underbody components to be highly rust-resistant because of their unique exposure to the elements (being on the underside of course, subject to engine/tranny/exhaust heat, road debris, anything else that splashes up, etc). Four times a year I'll spray some WD-40 on the underside to keep even this thin amount of corrosion at bay.

However...OTHER areas of my 2000 X are rusting! The stock running boards are rusting BADLY (the step bars have suffered various nicks which immediately start to redden with rust; around where the plastic step pieces fit into the metal steps there is major bubbling). On the inside engine bay sidewall, around a nut, there is also a large amount of bubbling which I think a good push with a pencil will prolly perforate what's left of the sheetmetal. The two bolts that fasten the rear liftgate window are rusting, with stains running down the glass.