trucks what old is new again

dvx216

dvx216

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Feb 1, 2012
2,696
Catawaba Island/Orrville,Oh.
Boat Info
340 Sundancer 2001
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8.1s 370 v drv.
Just purchased 2012 Sierra 2500hd and after a car wash the paint around rear fenders had water bubbles under the paint to make a long story short the body man who is installing new wheel arch panels said this is a thing with all the truck manufacturers Ford included. Because of government mandates on auto builder's to reduce emission on the total fleet .One of the ways to do this is buy thinner body parts to lighten everything plus the truck looks good and cost less to build bigger profit. Body man said because of the thin steel they have gone to spray foam as a stiffener and sound deader. These 50 to 80 thousand dollar trucks don't last any longer the the trucks back in the 70's that cost about a 1/4 of the trucks today. Almost all the rust proofing shop have been closed but they are on the come back because of these over priced rot boxes. The new chevys have already got complaints of air getting under paint at a stone chip causing the paint to lift off. Not sure what Ford has done to prevent corrosion but I'm pretty sure salt will eat them also.
 
Fords have had the body panels made from aluminum for last few years. The frame is still steel. Truck is supposed to weigh 700 lbs. less.
 
I have a 2011 GMC Sierra. I've taken great care of this truck, owned it since 2 years old. Last year both rear fenders started rusting mid-flare on both sides at nearly exactly the same time. Super disappointing.

I don't know how much longer I can stay a die-hard GM guy. It's getting harder and harder. This rusted out 8 year old truck just might do the trick though.
 
I have spent a lot of time up in the Detroit and Sandusky OH area over the last 2 years. Being from Indianapolis I see a huge difference in rusted trucks up north compared to the Indy area where you rarely see one. The salt and chemicals take their toll on late model pickup trucks it seems
 
the new Ford trucks from 2015 are made with military grade aluminum bodies and steel frames and had major design changes to make it more efficient by lowering the coefficient of drag from the wind....i just bought a nice used 2015 F150 extended super cab and have to say they are VERY nice trucks....i have owned a few GM trucks over the years as well....i now see why the 'F Series' Ford trucks are the best selling vehicle (not just truck) in the US...

not looking to start a feud about what is the nicest truck.....i am not brand loyal and have owned all makes of vehicles over the years....i just appreciate good quality when i see it...

cliff
 
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Strange. Just asked a childhood friend about this. He’s a Chevy salesman. Here in New York it hasn’t been a problem.
Guess some problems are regional.
Long Island was notorious for rusted vehicles back in the day.
Years back when I lived in the city we knew that if you bought a used NYC car, unless you got a garaged one, it would have damaged bumpers.
If you bought a used Long Island car it was likely rusted and probably had dings along the sides.
Also have two other friends that have Chevy trucks of that vintage around here and no problems on theirs.
We must use weaker salt, or a lot less of it, on the roads around here.
 
Stee6043 said:
Nah, you guys probably outlawed the good stuff. :)
Click to expand...

More likely the corrupt guys buying it for the municipality are getting kickbacks and substituting salt for dust.
 
They all have their pluses and minuses.

You may not have to repair rust on the aluminum body F-150, but if your eco-boost V6 needs something simple like a water pump, you’re looking at a 12 hour labor charge. It’s driven by the timing chain and buried inside the timing cover.

The same repair on a GM 5.3 or 6.0 is less than 2 hours.

I’m not picking on any of them. The push for lower production costs can be seen on many vehicles in all kinds of ways.
 
Espos4 said:
They all have their pluses and minuses.

You may not have to repair rust on the aluminum body F-150, but if your eco-boost V6 needs something simple like a water pump, you’re looking at a 12 hour labor charge. It’s driven by the timing chain and buried inside the timing cover.

The same repair on a GM 5.3 or 6.0 is less than 2 hours.

I’m not picking on any of them. The push for lower production costs can be seen on many vehicles in all kinds of ways.
Click to expand...

yeah, i have read that replacing the water pump on a 3.5 ecoboost can take the time you mentioned....but i have the new 2.7 ecoboost which only requires a couple hours to replace the pump.....i LOVE the new 2.7 ecoboost engine....great on gas and plenty of power under normal driving conditions and will haul ass if/when needed....the perfect power plant for the new, lighter F150 for those (like me) that do not need to tow more than 8,000 lbs...

cliff
 
CliffA said:
the new Ford trucks from 2015 are made with military grade aluminum bodies and steel frames and had major design changes to make it more efficient by lowering the coefficient of drag from the wind....i just bought a nice used 2015 F150 extended super cab and have to say they are VERY nice trucks....i have owned a few GM trucks over the years as well....i now see why the 'F Series' Ford trucks are the best selling vehicle (not just truck) in the US...

not looking to start a feud about what is the nicest truck.....i am not brand loyal and have owned all makes of vehicles over the years....i just appreciate good quality when i see it...

cliff
Click to expand...

Cliff, I guess the Ford marketing team did a good job with you. 6000/7000 series Aluminum is common place in the auto industry.
 
CliffA said:
yeah, i have read that replacing the water pump on a 3.5 ecoboost can take the time you mentioned....but i have the new 2.7 ecoboost which only requires a couple hours to replace the pump.....i LOVE the new 2.7 ecoboost engine....great on gas and plenty of power under normal driving conditions and will haul ass if/when needed....the perfect power plant for the new, lighter F150 for those (like me) that do not need to tow more than 8,000 lbs...

cliff
Click to expand...
I’ve heard that the 2.7 has surprising power!
 
Great lakes pirate said:
Cliff, I guess the Ford marketing team did a good job with you. 6000/7000 series Aluminum is common place in the auto industry.
Click to expand...

not really....i am not gullible enough to fall for fancy marketing tactics....i am one that does homework before all major purchases which includes significant research and hands on testing if/when possible before making a purchase decision...

cliff
 
I know I'm getting old, but nothing new in automotive excites me... I drive (primarily) an older Jeep Grand Cherokee....before they started screwing things up...I would buy another one today before I'd think about getting what I perceive as crap these days...I don't want a car that talks to me; decides what lane I want; listens in to my conversations; has 20 speeds;.... I want a dependable, rugged, good visibility (yes, I look back before turning) vehicle I can depend on....And not for $60k...More electronics and sensors the more things can go wrong....

The industry is turning me "crouchity" (Is that a word?)
 
Boat Guy said:
I know I'm getting old, but nothing new in automotive excites me... I drive (primarily) an older Jeep Grand Cherokee....before they started screwing things up...I would buy another one today before I'd think about getting what I perceive as crap these days...I don't want a car that talks to me; decides what lane I want; listens in to my conversations; has 20 speeds;.... I want a dependable, rugged, good visibility (yes, I look back before turning) vehicle I can depend on....And not for $60k...More electronics and sensors the more things can go wrong....

The industry is turning me "crouchity" (Is that a word?)
Click to expand...


even if it is not an official word i know what you mean....;)...

i agree with the simplicity of the older stuff....like my boat...it is old enough to not have a lot of electronic stuff and i can enjoy working on the things that i have reasonable access to....i used to have a 1988 jeep wrangler that was about as plain of a vehicle as you can get...i just sold a 2005 Silverado that had a V6 engine and manual windows and manual door locks...:)....enjoyed both of those vehicles very much...

i mainly wanted the 'new' truck as a reliable retirement vehicle....i am retiring at the end of June and needed a nicer vehicle...but i will still have 'projects' of some older stuff to tinker with...

cliff
 
Still lovin' my 6.8 V10 F250. It's not my "every day" vehicle, but comes in handy when I need it.
 
Espos4 said:
They all have their pluses and minuses.

You may not have to repair rust on the aluminum body F-150, but if your eco-boost V6 needs something simple like a water pump, you’re looking at a 12 hour labor charge. It’s driven by the timing chain and buried inside the timing cover.

The same repair on a GM 5.3 or 6.0 is less than 2 hours.

I’m not picking on any of them. The push for lower production costs can be seen on many vehicles in all kinds of ways.
Click to expand...

You’re not kidding.

All recent F150 power plants have significant issues. The 5.0 many have catastrophic failures due to cylinder distortion. If yours sounds like a diesel you got it.

As for their EcoBoost. Sure, let’s put s tiny 3.5 or now 2.7 v6 and place two tiny turbos in front to inject air to make up power and torque. Problems everywhere.

Quite frankly any overhead variable valve train v8 is a bad idea.

Ford went down hill since their 1st gen 5.4 Tritons which were rock solid.

My next truck will have a conventional pushrod engine.

See Ford cam phasers, chain guides, etc for reference.
 
I'm ready to buy my 'last truck', been looking at new but don't like the $$$$ and all the stuff the packages force me to buy.

As far as new trucks not being better than the '60's-70's....that's not the way I remember it. I remember vehicles with holes through fenders in 2-3 years, plugs, points, sparkplugs, valve jobs, and shitty tires...getting 100,000 reliable miles we dreamed of.

My 2006 Siverado has 240,000 miles on it. Just in the last 2 years the rust has come through on the drivers side, the passenger side still looks pretty good. Had to get new tailgate from the junk yard and the rear bumper is ready to go too but no problems with engine or trans of any kind.

The salt finally got my '06 but I ain't complaining, it done good for 14 years.:)
 
Rust is obviously a huge issue here in MN with our winters and all of the chemicals they use on the roads.

Wash, wash, wash!!! Sadly, washing in the driveway doesn’t cut it anymore because you can’t get in the nooks and crannies.

My wife and I both do the unlimited car wash membership at Mister Car Wash... $60/mo for each vehicle and it includes interior and exterior, under carriage, etc. We wash our trucks 3-4 times a week, especially in the winter and we’ve never had an issue with rust.
 
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