Aluminum body Ford PU

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: 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.


When Ford changed body styles in the early 90's on the GM and CV, the hood and trunk lid were aluminum. I had a 96 Merc GM and didn't have any problems with the aluminum body parts.

 

[TiredTrucker]

I guess I have not seen the all the negatives of an aluminum body pickup as others have. Semi truck tractors have been using aluminum extensively for a few decades. One can even spec full aluminum frames and drive axle housings. Cabs and sleepers are primarily aluminum. Many of them drop 120,000 miles a year running the rust belt of the country and hold up pretty well. Many of those are not even getting weekly truck washes. I suppose more expensive body work might be an issue if one has a propensity to bust their vehicle up on a regular basis, but insurance covers repairs and deductible is the same for the owner, so not sure it is all that big of a deal. Aluminum bodies are grommet mounted to steel frames. No interaction between metals.

I am just surprised it took so long for the auto/pickup OEM's to get on the aluminum band wagon.

 

[JetStar]

Various mainstream autos have used aluminum hoods and deck lids for at least 30 years, and I don't recall any real big issues. The GM G-Bodys come to mind.
Although, my best friend owns a body shop and he is seeing some trends in bubbled up and corroded aluminum body parts. It seemed like the aluminum body parts seemed to hold up better back in the early days of it's use. I have to wonder if it has something to do with changing EPA regs. and the primers that can be used.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Originally Posted By: 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.


I know they have available LED lamps now but no adaptive cruise on the pickups. Yukon and Tahoe have it but Sierra and Silverado still don't.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I guess I have not seen the all the negatives of an aluminum body pickup as others have. Semi truck tractors have been using aluminum extensively for a few decades. One can even spec full aluminum frames and drive axle housings. Cabs and sleepers are primarily aluminum. Many of them drop 120,000 miles a year running the rust belt of the country and hold up pretty well. Many of those are not even getting weekly truck washes. I suppose more expensive body work might be an issue if one has a propensity to bust their vehicle up on a regular basis, but insurance covers repairs and deductible is the same for the owner, so not sure it is all that big of a deal. Aluminum bodies are grommet mounted to steel frames. No interaction between metals.

I am just surprised it took so long for the auto/pickup OEM's to get on the aluminum band wagon.


I'd almost consider a semi being a different animal since it is just an aluminum cab riding high up on a frame. Plus it has huge wheel wells, some of which are fiberglass, keeping its own road spray down.

I dont think the salt that gets on the body would have anywhere to "hide" either. That is the issue with pickup trucks and other passenger cars. They have many cavities, nooks and crannies that allow salt to just sit there and not fully dry out. Mid 2000 Dodge trucks for example. Also the old boxy Cherokee XJ with their fender flares.

 

[Scum_Frog]

When GM and Ram switch to Aluminum bodies I wonder what they will spin be after a few years of trying to spin that it is a bad thing.

Aluminum use in the Auto industry is not a new thing as others have already said.

 

[hattaresguy]

Its simply different, steel these days is so thin I don't think the weight savings is really that large.

I mean if you scale a new GM and Ford truck the GM's run about the same weight. Ford was a porker before 15 so the aluminum let them get the weight down to where GM already was.

Now Ram is the porker.


On my Ram for example I don't really see where aluminum would gain them a whole lot. The hood is already aluminum, the motor and transmission are, as is the front suspension. Frankly I wouldn't want anymore weight taken out of the back... maybe just make the cab out of aluminum? The sheet metal is already pretty thin, the front fenders are fragile!

 

[SteveSRT8]

Our new RAM only weighs 200 pounds more than our 05 Silverado. Both were extremely comparable except for the huge mega cab on the RAM. V8, auto, power everything, trailering package, etc.

Ford is still the porker...

 

[TiredTrucker]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I guess I have not seen the all the negatives of an aluminum body pickup as others have. Semi truck tractors have been using aluminum extensively for a few decades. One can even spec full aluminum frames and drive axle housings. Cabs and sleepers are primarily aluminum. Many of them drop 120,000 miles a year running the rust belt of the country and hold up pretty well. Many of those are not even getting weekly truck washes. I suppose more expensive body work might be an issue if one has a propensity to bust their vehicle up on a regular basis, but insurance covers repairs and deductible is the same for the owner, so not sure it is all that big of a deal. Aluminum bodies are grommet mounted to steel frames. No interaction between metals.

I am just surprised it took so long for the auto/pickup OEM's to get on the aluminum band wagon.


I'd almost consider a semi being a different animal since it is just an aluminum cab riding high up on a frame. Plus it has huge wheel wells, some of which are fiberglass, keeping its own road spray down.

I dont think the salt that gets on the body would have anywhere to "hide" either. That is the issue with pickup trucks and other passenger cars. They have many cavities, nooks and crannies that allow salt to just sit there and not fully dry out. Mid 2000 Dodge trucks for example. Also the old boxy Cherokee XJ with their fender flares.


Talk to a commercial truck shop. Corrosion from salt and such is a major problem with wiring and other components. A semi has more nooks and crannies than many realize. And they get as much or more road spray up in them, and on top of them, as any other vehicle. I go thru several jugs of windshield washer a week in the winter months. But, I also make sure and do a complete truck wash and undercarriage wash after a major snow.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I guess I have not seen the all the negatives of an aluminum body pickup as others have. Semi truck tractors have been using aluminum extensively for a few decades. One can even spec full aluminum frames and drive axle housings. Cabs and sleepers are primarily aluminum. Many of them drop 120,000 miles a year running the rust belt of the country and hold up pretty well. Many of those are not even getting weekly truck washes. I suppose more expensive body work might be an issue if one has a propensity to bust their vehicle up on a regular basis, but insurance covers repairs and deductible is the same for the owner, so not sure it is all that big of a deal. Aluminum bodies are grommet mounted to steel frames. No interaction between metals.

I am just surprised it took so long for the auto/pickup OEM's to get on the aluminum band wagon.


I'd almost consider a semi being a different animal since it is just an aluminum cab riding high up on a frame. Plus it has huge wheel wells, some of which are fiberglass, keeping its own road spray down.

I dont think the salt that gets on the body would have anywhere to "hide" either. That is the issue with pickup trucks and other passenger cars. They have many cavities, nooks and crannies that allow salt to just sit there and not fully dry out. Mid 2000 Dodge trucks for example. Also the old boxy Cherokee XJ with their fender flares.


Talk to a commercial truck shop. Corrosion from salt and such is a major problem with wiring and other components. A semi has more nooks and crannies than many realize. And they get as much or more road spray up in them, and on top of them, as any other vehicle. I go thru several jugs of windshield washer a week in the winter months. But, I also make sure and do a complete truck wash and undercarriage wash after a major snow.


Something is definitely different about them though because as you said, they don't corrode. Panel trucks don't seem to have this issue either.

Do a quick google on aluminum corrosion on cars and Im sure you'll see plenty of it.

 

[Trav]

Just like sheet metal there are many grades of aluminum. When i do body repairs i get my sheet metal from a custom fabrication shop, no oil, cosmoline or any rust preventative and it stays clean for a long time, even outside the scrap pieces only have minor surface rust after 5 or 6 mo.
The same gauge stuff from the auto supply store begins rusting overnight, the stuff from the fab shop cost me less.

The other thing is the semi truck is individually painted, this can make all the difference in the world. When you clean aluminum for paint you need to etch it (vinegar works super) but you have only approx 15 min to get an etching primer on the panel before a layer of corrosion appears that will prevent good adhesion.

I guarantee you the semi has high end materials used on it, the best epoxy primers and high end very durable paint, not the thinly applied cheap stuff used on mass produced pickups.
Years ago they used Imron on big trucks which is similar to what is used in aviation. I don't know what they use today, they may still use it.

 

[CT8]

Alodine treating before painting most grades of aluminum insures long term paint adhesion.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
I guess I have not seen the all the negatives of an aluminum body pickup as others have. Semi truck tractors have been using aluminum extensively for a few decades. One can even spec full aluminum frames and drive axle housings. Cabs and sleepers are primarily aluminum. Many of them drop 120,000 miles a year running the rust belt of the country and hold up pretty well. Many of those are not even getting weekly truck washes. I suppose more expensive body work might be an issue if one has a propensity to bust their vehicle up on a regular basis, but insurance covers repairs and deductible is the same for the owner, so not sure it is all that big of a deal. Aluminum bodies are grommet mounted to steel frames. No interaction between metals.

I am just surprised it took so long for the auto/pickup OEM's to get on the aluminum band wagon.


I'd almost consider a semi being a different animal since it is just an aluminum cab riding high up on a frame. Plus it has huge wheel wells, some of which are fiberglass, keeping its own road spray down.

I dont think the salt that gets on the body would have anywhere to "hide" either. That is the issue with pickup trucks and other passenger cars. They have many cavities, nooks and crannies that allow salt to just sit there and not fully dry out. Mid 2000 Dodge trucks for example. Also the old boxy Cherokee XJ with their fender flares.


Talk to a commercial truck shop. Corrosion from salt and such is a major problem with wiring and other components. A semi has more nooks and crannies than many realize. And they get as much or more road spray up in them, and on top of them, as any other vehicle. I go thru several jugs of windshield washer a week in the winter months. But, I also make sure and do a complete truck wash and undercarriage wash after a major snow.


Something is definitely different about them though because as you said, they don't corrode. Panel trucks don't seem to have this issue either.

Do a quick google on aluminum corrosion on cars and Im sure you'll see plenty of it.


OTR trucks corrode like crazy, just not the panels themselves because they are aluminum or fiberglass. Everything under the hood is still steel and it rots.

 

[Silverado12]

^^^Not from my experience. Rust on the frame rails is just cosmetic. The biggest issue is the "green wire disease".

 

[hattaresguy]

Well I was having coffee with the guy who does my site work this morning and he was [censored] about his rust bucket freightliner out of MA.

The pre treat they spray on the roads is really cool, that poor Cat diesel has all sorts of rust. He replaced the cab brackets those rotted off, and just about any bracket that holds anything. Now he is working on replacing the arms that hold the mud flaps they are about to fall off. Lots of rust. Surface rust on the frame doesn't count, he had it blasted and painted a long time ago. His last trucks frame actually developed a crack from real rust.

Trailers rot out nicely as well, as do dump truck bodies if you don't paint them. The cities plow trucks are pretty much totaled after 5 years since they never clean them, $100k throw away trucks.

Trucks stay nice in VA.

 

[JetStar]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Alodine treating before painting most grades of aluminum insures long term paint adhesion.


Yes Sir, That's what we do in Aerospace! The alodine alone will pass most corrosion tests.

 

[CT8]

Ford uses military grade aluminum!![What ever that grade is]

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Ford uses military grade aluminum!![What ever that grade is]


I laughed when I first heard that. Everyone knows the mil-spec means lowest bidder.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
^^^Not from my experience. Rust on the frame rails is just cosmetic. The biggest issue is the "green wire disease".


Yeah, I treat the semi frame and other steel components with metal protector a few times a year to keep any steel corrosion to a minimum. But you are right, wiring is the major casualty for semi trucks and trailers.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: CT8
Ford uses military grade aluminum!![What ever that grade is]


I laughed when I first heard that. Everyone knows the mil-spec means lowest bidder.


Yeah! We used to joke half heartedly when we were in the bush that our weapons and equipment were made by the lowest bidder. I just shake my head when folks use the mil-spec thing like it is the highest standard. Only those with no actual combat experience buy into that. How times have changed. 45 years ago no one wanted anything to do with military or mil-spec and we didn't even dare wear uniforms off base. Just a short haircut would give it away and one could suffer ridicule. Now, everyone seems enamored with anything that even looks like it has something to do with the military, and "mil-spec" is the latest fad du jour.