Rusty Truck

[GCecchetto]

I have an 04. 5. The truck was ordered and I took delivery 5 or 6 weeks ago. I have had significant problems with the truck already and I'm beginning to think something is up with this truck. It looks like someone took it for a joy ride in saltwater before it was shipped to the dealer. The trans is solid rust as are the front knuckles drive shafts and many of the fasteners under the truck. The engine block has a significant amount of rust on it as well. Even the aluminum parts such as the bell housing and transfer case have large areas of corrosion on them. I've looked at the undercarriage of several other trucks that are older than mine and they have no where near the same level of corrosion. Now I'm starting to hear a squealing noise from the front end when I'm cornering, sounds just like bad wheel bearings. The truck has been in the shop for nine days total since I took delivery. Eight of them having a leaky transmission input shaft seal replaced. Dodge even treated me to a dent in the truck right from the factory. I have tried to talk to Dodge about it but they tell me it's up to the dealer that sold it to me to put me in touch with the local Dodge rep. Of course the dealer is ignoring me and Dodge isn't returning calls either. I even had to finish the job for the mechanic. He forgot to reinstall the bracket that holds the wiring harness along the top of the trans. They put so many scratches on my dash taking it apart the first time I decided to fix it myself. So out came the center console, shift levers and rubber boot on the floor so I could reinstall the bracket.



Well I got carried away here. The question I wanted to ask was if anyone else got a truck delivered to them rusty like mine?



Thanks



Gino

 

[ttreibel]

The first time I looked at about 600 miles mine looked pretty rusty just as you discribed. Still looks the same today not much changed, If it makes you feel better you can spray on some corrosion inhibitor and also the exauast pipe looks sweet after a little SOS pad is aplied.

 

[GCecchetto]

I plan on painting the rusty surfaces with POR 15.



Gino

 

[JRihani]

This might be an ignorant question, but will applying POR-15 to the driveshaft cause any unwanted "out of balance" vibration? I have used POR-15 with great success on non-driveline components of my vehicles, but have always wondered about its effect on rotating parts. It does not seem to dry as evenly and smoothly as other paint products.



Thanks.

 

[BDuffy]

used por 15 on both drive shafts , when the paint was still tacky drove it up to 70 mph and the centrifugal force balanced things out . no vibs

 

[jchapin]

BDuffy: about how long after application did you take it for a drive? Did you get any splatter in areas you'd rather not?



POR-15's been on my list of ToDo's for a while now, I had the same concerns about the driveshaft.

 

[JRihani]

Also, was this brush application or spray? I've always brushed mine on (don't have spray equipment) but have access to a gentleman that could spray it for me.



Would it even make a difference? Even with quality brushes I've always had brush marks. Maybe my technique just stinks!

 

[JRihani]

Also, did you brush or spray? I've always brushed mine but, even with quality brushes, I've always had brush marks. Maybe my technique just stinks!



Thanks for the input.

 

[GCecchetto]

Are you guys using the semi gloss or gloss black? I have heard the gloss black gives a much nicer finish. Por 15 even mentions the issue of inconsistent finish with the semi gloss product on their web page. I have spoken to people that have brush applied the gloss black and said it looked like they sprayed it on. I have never used it before myself so I don't know. They worst part of the job will be prepping the areas for painting. Does anyone know how Por 15 works if you apply it over the rust?



Gino

 

[surfbeetle]

Getting back to the original concern about the truck, rust is normal as long as it is not excessive, but when you say that a six week old truck has "been in the shop for nine days total since I took delivery. " That starts to give you grounds for lemon law stuff. In california, there is a certain amount if time that a vehicle has to be out of service or number of times that it needs to be worked on to solve a problem. You only hurt your own rights if you work on it yourself, cause as far as dodge is concerned, it isn't a problem and is not documented if they didn't touch it. Hell, I had a chevrolet that was 6 days old when I took it in for a problem, after three weeks in the shop, I made them buy it back and give me another one. Good Luck with your truck.

 

[BDuffy]

used a brush with semi gloss and drove off in two hours . you will get some paint that lifts off and looks like spikes on the shafts but once it driers it flakes away. It has been a year and still looks good

 

[TSchuetz]

have you spoke to an attorney that specializes in lemon law cases? while you have to have reoccuring problems with the truck, im sure that would be the thing to wake up your delaer & zone rep!!

 

[GCecchetto]

Ya, I have thought about all these things. I'm frustrated because I bought an 03 Chevrolet with a Duramax out of frustration not being able to get an HO in CA. Then three month later Dodge releases the T600. I sold my Chevy and took a 12K loss on it and ordered my Dodge. So for my loyalty to the brand this is what I get. When I bought my 95 Dodge the fuel tank fell out on the road at 300 miles. Dodge really took care of me and the truck was problem free after that. I think they where a lot more motivated to keep customers happy back then. I don't want to end up feeling angry with Dodge over this deal and I don't have the money to get a lawyer involved. I don't think I would have much luck with a buy back until they have to start fixing the same thing twice. So far the transmission input shaft seal has'nt started leaking again so it appears to be fixed. It hurts when your truck only 1200 miles on it and the drive is sitting on the floor of the shop!



Gino

 

[rbattelle]

Getting people to phone you back (particularly the jerks at dealerships) is, for the most part, impossible. But I have some suggestions that have worked for me in the past. Even though you don't ever get a return phone call, saturate their voicemail (and email) with messages to phone you back. At first, just call once per day. After a few days, start calling twice a day. After a few more days, start calling 3 times a day. And so on, until you get a return.



Now, let's say that when you get to the 3-calls-per-day level you actually get a return phone call. Then, whenever you need to talk to the person again, go right to that level: call them 3 times a day until they call you back.



I've learned that people can ignore a few phone calls, but after you become an absolute thorn in their side they'll start returning calls.



Gino, take the truck back for the squealing, and talk to them about the rust. Make them document it in your service record.

 

[crobertson1]

Wasn't there a thread about some new trucks being exposed to salt water somehow somewhere, during transit? You might want to do a search. It sure sounds weird to me that you have that much rust. Good luck.

http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=100607&highlight=rust

 

[Wayne M.]

I have a friend who is about to take delivery of a 04. 5 and has been tracking it via the phone service. We both thought it was odd that these trucks (from mexico) actually take a boat ride. I wonder if this is something to think about. I think it's rail from the plant, then boat, then rail/ truck to, in my case a depot at port Newark, then hauler to dealer. I don't know if they're containerized the whole trip or how often they're moved but I did check out 2 trucks myself and both had 10 miles on them. I wonder if during the boat trip these things are taking baths in sea water???????

 

[GCecchetto]

A friend of mine told me about some trucks that were being shipped to Florida by boat that got exposed to salt water during a storm. He told me all the trucks were called back. I have already thought I might have gotten a truck built with parts from the trucks that were called back. I thought about it, and then told myself I was being paranoid. My truck looks like that is what happened. The rust in many areas looks like water was being blown across the part. It's very strange. I think at the least dodge should offer me an extended warranty.



Gino

 

[ThomasLawrence]

Does anyone know how Por 15 works if you apply it over the rust?

Given that POR stands for "Paint Over Rust", I'd say it works pretty well



-Tom

 

[Wayne M.]

Gino. Why not try this? Go crawl all over the truck. You will find dates on everything and they all should jive. If your truck was built 05/04, then everything should be within a month or 2 prior at most. Most major parts might have a VIN on it too.

 

[bombero]

I dont know if this is true or not but I read somewhere that the dealers east of the Missisippi get their trucks off a ship in New Jersey. West of the Miss they came out of Mex on a train??