What the hell is going on?!?? Rust covered suspension part

[dlyons25]

Need some advise before I go to the dealer please. So I got my New 2024 AWD maverick a little over 2 weeks ago and my left front wheel feels loose to me. When I pull into my driveway it almost feels like it clicks or something so I took it to Ford and of course they see nothing wrong with the truck so the next day I had my dad come over and while me and him where looking under the truck I noticed this joint connector part (not sure the actual name of the part) is completely rusted to shit and I asked my dad who has worked on cars for a long time told me normally that’s coated with something. Is this correct or is this something ford does to cut back on cost? Also does anyone think that’s causing the loose feel of my front left tire? Just trying to figure out what to do it’s bothering the shit out of me. Also found another maverick and this is what there’s looks like. Sorry it’s dark.

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[Techcar]

That is normal for any metal that isn't protected . I went to Walmart and got a can of Fluid Film and sprayed any thing that looked like that on my truck. Works great .And pretty cheap too.

 

[RedRider]

Calm down. That's a heavy cast part with trivial surface rust, and not going to rust out for at least 50 years. The nice thing about surface rust like that is that it tends to lock things in place, so its actually an improvement.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

My annoying sound under front right is supposedly a strut. Still waiting for (warranty) replacement to see if it is fixed.

 

[Fcnrwy]

Calm down. That's a heavy cast part with trivial surface rust, and not going to rust out for at least 50 years. The nice thing about surface rust like that is that it tends to lock things in place, so its actually an improvement.

This has been a trend in/on outdoor structures (bridges, power line towers, etc...) Cheap, natural coating...

Jerry

 

[Maverickman74]

Hotrodders call that patina. Its customized now!

 

[commadorebob]

You live in Florida. Salt in the air will do that.

But as others have said, the surface rust on cast iron isn't an issue.

 

[Sharksforarms]

Mine looked the same a week after I took delivery. I soaked the underside in Fluid Film and will refresh it yearly.

Some people are taking their trucks to LineX and having their undercarriages professionally treated, may be worth looking into if you live in the rust belt. I used sprays cans which are fine for one-off or small jobs. It came with a long thin hose attachment that you could feed into holes and gaps and mist inaccessible internal parts. Messy as hell though.

I am very rust shy. My last truck was a first Gen Tacoma that had huge frame rust issues. I was the second owner and completely unaware of the recall for it until after it expired. I bought the Maverick because the Tacoma is no longer safe to drive. I was actually pretty pleased to see how little bare metal I could find under the Maverick when I looked. I think it will hold up fine, just check it every season and don't neglect undercarriage washes after driving on salt.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

This has been a trend in/on outdoor structures (bridges, power line towers, etc...) Cheap, natural coating...

Exactly. The rust acts as a protective coating.
Here's a modern bridge in New Orleans with similar rust coating:

 

[Optimus]

I brought up this same topic a while back, and I also found other Mavericks had painted spindles. I “solved” it for now by Fluid -Filming the spindles to stop any further rust.

The official term for bridges and other outdoor structures the are seemingly “left to rust” is “weathering steel.” It indeed is meant to act as a coating of sorts. Having said that, this is the first vehicle I’ve owned that had unpainted spindles, and the bright orange on something brand-spanking new is quite unsightly.

Would Ford decide to have replaced standard steel painted parts with weathered steel? Who knows. But I sure as heck won’t trust rust to be structural or to “lock things together.” I’ll take a proper coating. For starters, a vehicle in Arizona is subjected to far less moisture and corrosion acceleration (road salt) vs. my home state of Minnesota, so corrosion happens at far different rates. Things like ball joints and tie rod ends often use cotter pins to secure the nuts. Justifying that something “should” rust to make it better is…. well… I can see it now—someone’s tie rod falls off because it did NOT rust properly!

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