Aluminum body Ford PU

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994


Also the repair cost on aluminum is awful.


What's really awful is driving a cancerized truck around with body panels flopping in the wind. How many times do people wreck a vehicle anyway.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Nick1994


Also the repair cost on aluminum is awful.


What's really awful is driving a cancerized truck around with body panels flopping in the wind. How many times do people wreck a vehicle anyway.
As if aluminum doesn't flake off in the same conditions that steel rusts.

Door dings happen, sometimes some A-hole smacks their door into yours (happened to my car last year) and when it's a $40k+ dollar truck, you want to get it fixed. A door ding should NOT cost $1500 to fix.

 

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Nick1994


Also the repair cost on aluminum is awful.


What's really awful is driving a cancerized truck around with body panels flopping in the wind. How many times do people wreck a vehicle anyway.


I guess you haven't looked at an Expedition or Navigator gate, a Mustang hood, or an Explorer hood lately...

(Aluminum corrodes.)

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994

Door dings happen, sometimes some A-hole smacks their door into yours (happened to my car last year) and when it's a $40k+ dollar truck, you want to get it fixed. A door ding should NOT cost $1500 to fix.


Pointless dent repair should still be able to work on it. When my G35 got stuck in a hail storm the ventless guys got a few out of the aluminum hood.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: RhondaHonda
It won't rust but I'd consider waiting a few years at minimum to see if any issues arise with the aluminum body. The frame is still steel but I don't think that has been too big an issue with rust. I'm considering one as a future purchase as they're the only maker with adaptive cruise and HID headlamps at this point.


Silverado and Sierra have adaptive cruise and hid plus more.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
As if aluminum doesn't flake off in the same conditions that steel rusts.


I've had a good sized (4" long by about 2" high) chunk of paint missing off the aluminum hood in the Expedition for a number of years now. The repair requires the removal, complete stripping, prepping and re-painting of the hood, which, on a 300,000Km vehicle with little value, doesn't really seem to be overly effective at swaying me to fix it.

I also have, despite the truck getting sprayed every year, developed rust in the drivers side rocker. These things happened about the same time. The rocker has now developed a hole about 24" long (that's not a typo) and about 3" wide where it has rusted out. This is on a vehicle that has been rust-proofed every year during our time owning it.

The spot on the hood looks the same as it did when the paint first decided it wasn't going to stick anymore. Hasn't gotten any worse, it just looks like bare aluminum. The rocker went from a rust spot to a 24" gash in the same period of time. It is incredibly obvious that while aluminum most certainly DOES corrode, that the result of that corrosion isn't even on the same planet nor does it manifest in any way that even remotely resembles the same method as that of steel body panels.

If I had aluminum rockers the paint might not have stuck to them but at least they'd still be there

LOL!

 

[meadows]

Realize that the "high strength steel" is a boron steel that can't be worked. In some states, if the frame is bent badly enough, the vehicle is totaled. In other states, the frame is replaced. A lot of these new cars are just not as easy to work on as the older ones.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I'm not understanding the hoopla. I had a nice dent in my Navigator's rear hatch (aluminum), and a nice scrape in the hood (aluminum), and my body guy fixed both for $350.

Friend of mine has a Chevy with an aluminum hood that got in a wreck. He fixed all of the damage, including the hood and bedside fenders for $1100.

I don't know where you guys have been getting your aluminum body work done, but mine hasn't cost me much at all, has lasted, and looks amazing.

 

[Nick1994]

Here ya go:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/...l/#2ba3d2fc4e9b

 

[itguy08]

Bodywork is expensive. You are paying for the art and skill of the guy doing the work. Get used to it as weight reduction will be a goal going forward for vehicles and that means more exotic materials like aluminum, carbon fiber, etc.

Then again I don't fret progress.

 

[dlayman]

I wonder if there is any galvanic process that can occur between the aluminum panels and steel frame that could actually accelerate corrosion. Not saying there is, just curious as to the possibility. The only aluminum panel I've had on a car was an aluminum hood on a Forester. Stones that would result in a paint chip on a steel hood resulted in dents as well as a chip on the hood. I wasn't impressed with it.

 

[Delta]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Bodywork is expensive. You are paying for the art and skill of the guy doing the work.


Really?

Besides frame work (actually I've seen cases of frames being replaced rather then straitened back), most bodymen are like today's mechanics; parts changers. Dent in the door? New door, dent in the fender? New Fender. Even quarter panels are cut out and replaced.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
As if aluminum doesn't flake off in the same conditions that steel rusts.


I've had a good sized (4" long by about 2" high) chunk of paint missing off the aluminum hood in the Expedition for a number of years now. The repair requires the removal, complete stripping, prepping and re-painting of the hood, which, on a 300,000Km vehicle with little value, doesn't really seem to be overly effective at swaying me to fix it.

I also have, despite the truck getting sprayed every year, developed rust in the drivers side rocker. These things happened about the same time. The rocker has now developed a hole about 24" long (that's not a typo) and about 3" wide where it has rusted out. This is on a vehicle that has been rust-proofed every year during our time owning it.

The spot on the hood looks the same as it did when the paint first decided it wasn't going to stick anymore. Hasn't gotten any worse, it just looks like bare aluminum. The rocker went from a rust spot to a 24" gash in the same period of time. It is incredibly obvious that while aluminum most certainly DOES corrode, that the result of that corrosion isn't even on the same planet nor does it manifest in any way that even remotely resembles the same method as that of steel body panels.

If I had aluminum rockers the paint might not have stuck to them but at least they'd still be there

LOL!


I have a 2002 F-150 Supercab that is rapidly succumbing to the ravages of northern NJ salt infested roads. The rust got serious at 10 years. First in the door and tailgate bottom seams. Then it rapidly spread to the truck bed side mounting areas. The frame has rusted real nice and the side bed mounting to the frame has rotted away nicely. I've slowed the rust somewhat but it's winning. Too bad because mechanically it's real good. My hood is aluminum but I've had no problems with paint peeling. Up until recently I've always waxed the truck, but no more, it's not worth it with the rust. It's a real crime to pay $50,000+ for a truck and have it rust out in 10 +/- years. Where I live all brands of pick up trucks seem to rust faster than non pick up trucks, cheaper metal quality used on them

?

Whimsey

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Delta
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Bodywork is expensive. You are paying for the art and skill of the guy doing the work.


Really?

Besides frame work (actually I've seen cases of frames being replaced rather then straitened back), most bodymen are like today's mechanics; parts changers. Dent in the door? New door, dent in the fender? New Fender. Even quarter panels are cut out and replaced.
The insurance company makes those decisions, not the body man

 

[hattaresguy]

No the frame will still rot out, modern truck bodies don't really rust that badly anymore.

A typical plow truck up north will have a sweet looking body after 3-5 years with the frame looking like its been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for that long.

In a few years you will have a lot of pretty Ford bodies with nothing underneath, the flip side is lots of good used body parts!

The real question is has GM figured out how to build a rear bumper that doesn't rot off. The 14's are still to new to tell...

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
I'm not understanding the hoopla. I had a nice dent in my Navigator's rear hatch (aluminum), and a nice scrape in the hood (aluminum), and my body guy fixed both for $350.

Friend of mine has a Chevy with an aluminum hood that got in a wreck. He fixed all of the damage, including the hood and bedside fenders for $1100.

I don't know where you guys have been getting your aluminum body work done, but mine hasn't cost me much at all, has lasted, and looks amazing.


I don't get it either, I dented my Ram and it cost a bundle to fix.

All body work is expensive.

The big thing with all these new trucks I don't care who makes it is the paper thin sheet metal. My Ram's bed sides are fragile, I have to be very, very careful about touching them. The hood is thin as well, very fragile. Over in GM world its the same.

The weight loss program has its costs.

 

[wtd]

Ford hasn't figured out how to keep the aluminum hoods on the Mustangs from corroding so I don't know how they are going to prevent it on an entire body.

You should see the underside of my fiancee's 2007 Mustang GT that only has about 17,900 miles on it and it's always been under a carport. It's corroding pretty bad and the paint is bubbling up. This is on a car that never gets driven hardly at all and never in bad weather or on salted roads. There are cases of the 2014's like mine doing the same thing so for about 10 years, Ford still can't figure it out or even admits its a problem.

Wayne

 

[OVERKILL]

10 years? Longer than that wtd

The Expedition, F-150 and F-250 (and perhaps others) had aluminum hoods with adhesion issues dating back to the late 90's.

 

[dlundblad]

Either the hood or the trunk on her Volvo S60 is aluminum. Seems to be holding up great like the rest of the car.

My parents had previous generation Tahoes with aluminum hatches that had that nice bubbly corrosion issue going on along the bottom at the weld seam.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Delta

Really?

Besides frame work (actually I've seen cases of frames being replaced rather then straitened back), most bodymen are like today's mechanics; parts changers. Dent in the door? New door, dent in the fender? New Fender. Even quarter panels are cut out and replaced.


The guy that fixed up my Taurus' hood when it got hit with flying debris from a pickup (only found a week later by my wife) did an excellent job. Fixed and painted the aluminum hood. Has held up for 5 years now and to my eyes the paint matches perfect.

The dent guys that did the PDR on my G35 did an awesome job too.

The few times I've needed body work the results have been great.