Ford F-150 Aluminum Body Issues

Anyone have issues with the new aluminum alloy body? Paint, body repairs, etc.? Whole bunch of hoopla re: steel vs aluminum a couple years ago, but haven’t heard much recently.

Sorry if this was discusse

Thanks.

Pete

I don’t know what possible issues there could be. The aluminum can’t be any thinner then the metal bodies the builders are using these days. Paint is paint. If properly prepped it will stick to anything.
Only thing I ever see (and laugh at) is the Chevy commercial.

wait you don’t throw cinder blocks in your truck bed on the weekends

Check out YouTube for some videos that address the durability of the aluminum. You’ll also find the Chevy commercials that Dutchboy referred to.

In general, the aluminum body is super strong. I haven’t heard any issues regarding paint.

The downside is that it costs twice as much to repair. Maybe that’ll change but that’s what I’m hering on the internets.

I think the general consensus is that the only downside is cost to repair.

The only reason that ford went with the aluminum body is to reduce weight so they can increase payload and add more weight in other areas. Not for gas mileage as some may think.

I own a steel body Ford, but my brother has the Aluminum. First thing the dealer out near Milwaukee said when he got it was that if he were to use the bed for anything rigid, to get a spray-in bed liner. I guess they have seen lots of cases of holes punched through the bottom of the bed, like the Chevy commercial I also laughed at when I first saw.

Aluminum just doesn’t have the same properties as steel does in regards to springing or bending back. Many manufacturers have used Aluminum for hoods on vehicles in the past. Ask any auto body shop, they’re a nightmare and costly to fix. Don’t believe me about aluminum hoods on many cars? Go to a salvage yard with a magnet, you will be surprised.

At the end of the day, Aluminum is the future for Ford and I don’t necessarily agree, but I would still probably buy one when my current truck dies.

Body shops don’t do much actual fab work anymore anyways so the repair costs of aluminum bodies is baloney. There’s no welding, no shaping, maybe a little filler. Most all body shop work these days are glued together pieces and full piece replacement if it’s damaged as the cost is just less than actual body work.

Troy Feeken wrote:

Body shops don’t do much actual fab work anymore anyways so the repair costs of aluminum bodies is baloney. There’s no welding, no shaping, maybe a little filler. Most all body shop work these days are glued together pieces and full piece replacement if it’s damaged as the cost is just less than actual body work.

While I agree we don’t do much fab work anymore but there is more to body work than just slapping on some filler or replacing the panel. When it comes to aluminum the reason why there is a higher cost is because we need to get a whole new set of metal work tools so there is no cross contamination between the steel bodies we work on and aluminum. The manufacturers even want us to build special clean rooms for aluminum repair at a cost of about 60-80 grand. Aluminum also corrodes just like steel so there isn’t a real advantage there. I just saw a 14 and 15 dodge caravan with aluminum hoods that were corroded already on the outside. I am no expert on the whole aluminum vs steel but I have been doing bodywork for 15yrs and can tell you Troy it is not as easy as you seem to think.

I have a friend who is an insurance adjuster and he said the damage to aluminum due to hail is much worse than the steel. Although the aluminum is thicker than the steel it is softer and the hail dents are much deeper than the steel. They have been totaling a lot of the aluminum whereas the steel are repairable.

I live in the Salt Belt and after owning a 300 with the aluminum decks and seeing what happens to the paint over it I would NEVER own another aluminum panel or bodied auto. Coat to repair is prohibitive and it doesn’t last any longer.

Steve Zamzow wrote:

I have a friend who is an insurance adjuster and he said the damage to aluminum due to hail is much worse than the steel. Although the aluminum is thicker than the steel it is softer and the hail dents are much deeper than the steel. They have been totaling a lot of the aluminum whereas the steel are repairable.

Has anybody noticed if insurance rates are higher with the aluminum bodies?

My wife’s 2015 Edge costs more to insure than my 2015 F150. Not sure if that means anything though.

You guys that have seen the aluminum corrosion. Do you happen to have any pictures? I’m curious if the corrosion acts the same as steel with the bubbling and flaking.

I suspect it would come in the form of pits.

biggill wrote:

You guys that have seen the aluminum corrosion. Do you happen to have any pictures? I’m curious if the corrosion acts the same as steel with the bubbling and flaking.

I suspect it would come in the form of pits.

I don’t have any pictures but the paint starts to bubble like rust on steel except when you scrape the paint off there is a white powder underneath instead of scale like steel, and you can’t sand blast it because it will warp and stretch from the heat. Most aluminum hoods that we have dealt with are usually twice as much for the part compared to steel hoods. Aluminum is good in theory but there are still drawbacks to it.

Gill, look up 2011 Ford Mustang hood corrosion. You will find more than enough pictures of aluminum body corrosion. Same problem with many other manufacturers.

The one question to still be answered is that with technology evolving every year, did they finally find a process that works? Of course aluminum body vehicles from 5-10-15-30 years ago will have inferior technology, it’s just the way it works.

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Aluminum Chrysler minivan hood… poor prep and this happens. Repair is to replace whole hood… we do a few here.

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according to trade magazines Chevrolet and Gmc are going to Aluminum in 2019 . Will the commercials come back to haunt them who knows

Mwal

That seems strange to me. In general, does this seem to happen to people that never wash their vehicles or maintain them properly?

Seems to be a common theme in my opinion for people who don’t maintain their vehicles.

Chevrolet is using a blended metal in the box, somewhat tougher, so I read anyways. The aluminum hood’s that I see on our products that are corroding, are from poor prep work and I suspect, oils from people handling them or something. They are typically along the leading edge of the hoods.

biggill wrote:

That seems strange to me. In general, does this seem to happen to people that never wash their vehicles or maintain them properly?

Seems to be a common theme in my opinion for people who don’t maintain their vehicles.

Nope. I’ve read of people who garage keep their Mustangs and only take them out when it’s sunny, yet it still happens. It is poor prep work, like Big_G said. You could wash and wax the car daily, keep it under a cover indoors and it will still happen on some vehicles. To my knowledge, Ford has fixed the prepping stage…but I’m wrong all the time.

I just picked up a 2014 F150 and was planning on upgrading in a few years to get the aluminum body (and 10-sp trans). My main rationale for this is that I could keep the truck a long time without the worry for rust.

Hopefully they have this figured out now and it’s not much of an issue on new cars.

big_g wrote:

Chevrolet is using a blended metal in the box, somewhat tougher, so I read anyways. The aluminum hood’s that I see on our products that are corroding, are from poor prep work and I suspect, oils from people handling them or something. They are typically along the leading edge of the hoods.

I agree with Big G it is most often a paint prep, paint compound or aluminum composition/blend issue.

Aluminum often takes a different prep process (etching, etc…), different chemical composition of primers and paints, and also specific blending of the actual aluminum composition to take paint well. I know Ford expeditions and Chevy Tahoe’s had some issue with the paint pealing off of the rear lift gates because they went aluminum to save weight and i was told that the ford issue was the actual aluminum compound had to much iron ore in it and it was popping the paint, and the the GM product was a primer issue. and Big G’s examples of poor prep work. Audi and, BMW and a few other euro manufactures have been using aluminum for some time and they have different finish processes, but it takes time and equipment to change over and get it right. I remember a string of aluminum boats that got re-painted in the early 2000’s and that was a primer issue relating to the adhesion to the aluminum and prep process.

311hemi wrote:

I just picked up a 2014 F150 and was planning on upgrading in a few years to get the aluminum body (and 10-sp trans). My main rationale for this is that I could keep the truck a long time without the worry for rust.

Hopefully they have this figured out now and it’s not much of an issue on new cars.

I don’t think anyone has claimed that the F150s have had any issues with corrosion. Mine certainly hasn’t.

In fact…

404 ERROR wrote:

To my knowledge, Ford has fixed the prepping stage…but I’m wrong all the time.

The reason ford is making aluminum bodies and the others will most likely soon follow is less weight plain and simple. Less weight = better MPG. Thats the same reason all auto manufacturers have all these new engines with all the plastic parts.

catnip wrote:

The reason ford is making aluminum bodies and the others will most likely soon follow is less weight plain and simple. Less weight = better MPG. Thats the same reason all auto manufacturers have all these new engines with all the plastic parts.

The only reason auto makers do anything is to get your money, the more of it the better. So to say the reason they switched to aluminum is to save on gas mileage isn’t entirely accurate. They switched to aluminum because they thought they could make more money selling you an aluminum truck. It’s a subtle distinction but an important one to recognize.

catnip wrote:

The reason ford is making aluminum bodies and the others will most likely soon follow is less weight plain and simple. Less weight = better MPG. Thats the same reason all auto manufacturers have all these new engines with all the plastic parts.

Wrong. Their mileage didn’t get any better.

crappie55369 wrote:

The only reason auto makers do anything is to get your money, the more of it the better. So to say the reason they switched to aluminum is to save on gas mileage isn’t entirely accurate. They switched to aluminum because they thought they could make more money selling you an aluminum truck. It’s a subtle distinction but an important one to recognize.

This is correct. They increased payload by up to 700 lbs which is 700 more than their competitors. Big selling point. Watch the commercials. They only claim to have made the truck lighter, not make the mileage better.

They’ve decreased the gvwr which also allows them to put more gadgets in the trucks. Every class of vehicle has to stay under a certain gvwr. Another big selling point.

My Aluminum F-150 gets way better MPG then my Steel F-150 did. Not even close. Maybe because of the ECOBOOST V6 Vs the V8. However, it still pulls 12k.

Rick Z wrote:

My Aluminum F-150 gets way better MPG then my Steel F-150 did. Not even close. Maybe because of the ECOBOOST V6 Vs the V8. However, it still pulls 12k.

Which transmission and rear end gears in each for proper comparison?

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rick_ziesmer wrote:</div>
My Aluminum F-150 gets way better MPG then my Steel F-150 did. Not even close. Maybe because of the ECOBOOST V6 Vs the V8. However, it still pulls 12k.

Which transmission and rear end gears in each for proper comparison?

That’s way above my Paygrade!

No problem. There’s a lot of people that don’t have any real need to know.

But do be aware that engine, transmission and rear end gear can all affect your mileage equally. It also affects your towing efficiency as well.

If you have a ’16 or ’17 f150 you have the 10 speed transmission which should help your gas mileage. If you didn’t specify which rear end gear you wanted, then you likely have the 3.31 gear wich will also improve your mileage.

A lighter truck will get better mileage period. Put 700 pounds in the back of one and I guarantee you will lose efficiency. It’s physics. They did it for several reasons, one is $$$. One is the corrosion above the rear wheels… they all do it, so it will be interesting to see these aluminum bodies in 10 years.