why do dodges rust so bad
 

just bought an 03 Dakota truck with 110k on it.
you open the hood and every bolt, bracket, valve cover, even metal hoses are rusting.
there is a bad quarter size rust spot on the hood, some rust on the inside bottom of the drivers door. looking down at the suspension it looks pretty rusty.
thing is I see a LOT of dodge trucks that look like the body could fall off any minute due to rust.
I just took one valve cover off. the rust holes are almost all the way thru on them.

I have a 90 mazda b2200 that I bought in 1995. it has some rust under it but no signs of it on the outside and nothing like it on the engine.

I would like to keep the truck as long as I have had the mazda but I don't see it happening with the way these things rust.

happy with the price, 3500

Maybe it is because it was under water.

That is simple. Because they are built cheaply. How many rusty Porsches do you see? Very few coz they are better built.

I thought about the water thing. but I see so many others rusting away.
that's what it looks like, underwater
friends with the PO, so I know and trust him.,

my mazda sits outside all the time.

I read it as "Dodgers"... 4-6

At least in the Northeast USA, garaged vehicles rust more than those parked outside. If left outside, the salted cars stay below freezing. In a garage, you end up with salty water.

Maybe money savings? Cadmium or nickle plated bolting is more expensive. Thinner metal with less galvanization?

Sounds like an ocean surge (flood car-brine water) or salty ocean air car to me.

If it were just the body I'd look into percent of foreign steel used on the car. Many countries have a higher percent of recycled steel in their final product than American made steel, so it is said to rust out quicker. I heard this like 40 years ago, so maybe things are different now.

F.I.A.T. invented rust then licensed it to karman [old car guy saying]

guess who owns Chrysler/dodge now ?

I'm curious to know, and I'm asking with all due respect to you, why did you buy a rust bucket, if you knew it was a rust bucket?

How many more miles do you think it has left in it? What will you use it for mainly? Is there anything you like about it, and what else was out there when you were making the decision to buy this particular truck?

I really like the looks of the '03 Dakota.. Is yours 4WD?

they must have sold the patent to the toyota truck frame branch.

For sure, and it's not just the frame. A long list of parts on my 2003 Tundra rusted out. The most surprising to me was the steering rack rusted through. I was a great truck and ran flawlessly but it was falling apart under me.

I think it has to do with the untreated metal they use, like the cars from the 70's. I have a friend with the same truck and same problem, no plating and then super thin layer of primer and paint.

Check the nuts holding the rear u joints, his rattled loose and his drive shaft came flying out.

I think they get metal from the same place gm got rocker material.

I think it has a lot to do with how well they are taken care of. This is a 2000 that lives in the upper midwest and garaged and has 195k miles on it. It does have a rust bubble starting on the passenger side but that is a replacement fender due to a suicidal deer. YMMV

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1523462855.jpg

its not that its a rust bucket, its just that I am surprised to see things like fuel line rust and bolts rust.

I was not looking for dodge, only reason I bought it is the price, it is a good looking truck and I new the owner. its also very clean inside,

maybe it sat, 110k is not a lot for a 15yr old truck. the aluminum on the intake did look like it had sat at one time

My wife wanted a brand new Dakota 4x4 in '98. We bought it and then unfortunately had it into the dealer for 8 different issues in the nearly 3 years we owned it. The Dodge trucks of that era had very thin brittle paint. Our front bumper had rust forming all over the place from tiny stone chips in the black paint. The rear end which is visible from behind on the 4 x 4 was bare steel and rusted when brand new.

I have been driving Toyotas ever since after dumping that POS Dodge.... My first Toyota ('99 Tacoma 4x4) had no visible rust issues, but Toyota bought it back due to a Dana US built frame rust recall for 1.5 times KBB excellent Retail value. My next Toyota (2002 Tundra) also got a recall and they coated the frame with rust preventer. I now drive a 2011 Tundra Limited 4 x 4 and I absolutely love it. I will never own another Dodge.

I may just hang on to this one for few years.
my daughter has a 99 f250 7.3. she is always looking for a bigger one so I may drive this until she finds what she wants and buy her 7.3.

Parked in the grass for a while?

They always have. A long time ago Dodges were almost bullet proof vehicles. There suffered from conservative styling. That changed in the 50's when Virgil Exner became the head of styling. His designs looked fresh but the cars suffered from quality problems and rust. Chrysler was the first car company to offer a 50,000 mile warranty - it was intended to deflect their quality issues.

The Audis and Dubs the same age as T77's Dakota are not rusted much even in Ohio.

Pal's 02 Dakota has one of those electronic rust gizmos on it and we still put wheel well sheet metal inserts in and will replace front fenders.

Here is his engine compartment. Comparable to yours? Plus a fender pic for fun.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1523476512.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1523476512.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1523476512.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1523476512.jpg

MOPAR - Mostly Old Parts and Rust.

Everyday is Monday morning at Chrysler...

Like Tim I used to be a Dodge guy. A few pickups a couple of Ramchargers. The last one i bought was a V8 Dakota. Don't remember the year of it but i think it was the first year for the V8.
Didn't keep it long enough to rust.....bought a new Toyota 4 runner in 1995 and have stayed with Toyota since.

My 03 Tacoma is rusted out (frame mostly). Haven't had an inspection sticker on it for 2 years now.
Just drive it 1 mile to work and back. Still runs like a top.

They have or had a program to replace the frames on certain Tacomas fo' free. Have you checked into this?

Yup....they inspected it once and said it was fine. Then they had the recall were they wanted to spray the frame and i never got it done. After i found the first crack in the frame i called Toyota and they said.... sorry you didn't get the frame sprayed ........to bad.

Yep. Buddy has a 99 Windstar. Engine cradle rusted and broke. He was at my shop. I called Ford on speaker phone with VIN number and they asked "Did he get the notices?" I looked over at him and he nodded yes.

Too bad. So sad.

My 18 2500 is already rusting on the corner of the tail gate. 5 month old truck.

I'm gonna say the lack of quality of the Mexican plants

The right indy weld shop can work wonders for a few hundred bucks.

it really makes me wonder how dodge stays in business.

Creative commercials :confused: Everyone wants a RAM :D

I'd say it is the quality of the design and has nothing to do with where the vehicle is bolted together. IMHO the engineering team behind the product know perfectly well what corrosion protection (or not) is on each metal part. Somewhere along the way they decided to save 3 cents per bolt.

They sell cheaper than GMC or Ford new, and they would like you to buy another new one.

Can you post a picture? You've got me curious now. :cool:

Had a 93' Audi S4. Sold it two years ago. Not a rust spot on it. Hot dip galvanization made sure it would not rust. Lot's of other things leaked and broke, but rust was not the issue.

For sure, some vehicles rust-out worse than others but how you care for it is a large factor. Salt spray needs to be washed off constantly in the winter w a warm power washer.

Minnesota, especially in the large cities where all the freeways and major thoroughfares are, is salt damage central. The coin car washes have closing roll-up doors and spray hot water, (how else would they work there), they are awesome. The time you need to worry about it is when the weather is relatively warm, (near freezing or above), when it's below zero, the salt is inert.

The real problem is governments using sodium chlorine on roads but they say that there is no other cost-effective solution and the cost of lives lost or maimed on icy roads vs. cost of property damage to vehicles and steel bridges, etc., etc...

It's a nightmare.

That's great but there is a big difference between a car w no visible body rust and an actual dry car. 50 y.o. car w completely unprotected metal can be dry as a bone underneath in the American southwest and a 3 y.o. state-of-the-art vehicle in Minnesota will have rusted fasteners and parts under the hood galore. :cool: