years worth of rust on day 6... what a bummer

[CapH]

I saw this video a while back and just pulled it up for reference. It is an Australian raptor, but you can see in the video that the drive shaft, differential, and half shafts all seem to be coated with minimal to no rust. (fast fwd video to 2:43 mark)

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[SCFast]

This is not years with of rust more like a day, My bronco driveshaft has looked the same from day one and has not gotten worse over several years of abuse. It does not effect drivability, longevity etc and is only cosmetic. Much ado about nothing

 

[Mhutch1212]

I saw someone else post about the rusty drive shafts and i went and took a look at mine and i'm in the same boat... i'll be talking to the dealer tomorrow about my map/dome light issues and i'll also ask them what they plan to do about all the rust on my 6 day old truck. i'll keep you posted for sure.

Is anyone that ordered early surprised? We all have heard these trucks have been sitting in lots for a long time now. Going to have issues. Maybe water in the tanks, rusty brakes..etc. It’s a bummer.

 

[TVRangerSTX]

Is anyone that ordered early surprised? We all have heard these trucks have been sitting in lots for a long time now. Going to have issues. Maybe water in the tanks, rusty brakes..etc. It’s a bummer.

Actually the earliest were probably like mine, ordered Day 1 back on 5/26/2023 and produced this year, Jan 08. I don't think any production trucks were made last year. It was probably on hold outside but at most, 2 months or so. The drive shaft is rusty but I doubt it's a real problem, just not something Ford should be proud of. That said, I would like to take pre-emptive action in the unikely event it becomes a future problem. The rest of the underside is very nice, from the exhaust which is probably aluminized steel, to the body panels, bed underside and hydroformed frame parts. The paint, primer and sealers look like new.

 

[cc1999]

This is not years with of rust more like a day, My bronco driveshaft has looked the same from day one and has not gotten worse over several years of abuse. It does not affect drivability, longevity etc and is only cosmetic. Much ado about nothing

100% agree, very common on many trucks built with steel unpainted drive shafts.
My Bronco is the same as with many other trucks I have owned, not worth loosing any sleep over, it is perfectly normal. Like you said that can happen in a days time with a decent amount of humidity in the air.

I would add that I am little curious if all the AUS ranger raptors got painted drive shafts or just the one they were making that video about that they knew was going to be seen.

If you're looking at that side of my truck on a regular ole given day and not on lift for maintenance or the like, I am thinking that something must have gone terribly wrong. LOL.
Meaning I did something that meant the shiny side was no longer up. LOL

 

[LFRR13]

I would add that I am little curious if all the AUS ranger raptors got painted drive shafts or just the one they were making that video about that they knew was going to be seen.

All of the AUS Raptor videos i have watched show a painted driveshaft & half-shafts...here's a screenshot from Fabulous Fabrication:

 

[jrRaptor]

Well, it's obvious Ford cut costs where they could for the US version.

Curious what the real cost difference between AUS and US version is.

 

[cc1999]

Very interesting that they paint the drive shafts in other markets, but not here in the US market.
‘Maybe they figure we are use seeing surface rust on stuff like that here, where it might be a big complaint in other markets. I am glad the OP had the dealer send pics and his concerns to ford today. Maybe Ford will take note of it and paint them for US trucks as well at some point.

Still not worth worrying about, no way it ever rust to point it would ever be a problem , just a little unsightly when looking under the truck. Still would agree it would be nice if Ford painted ours here in the US market as well.

 

[Craneop1972]

Very interesting that they paint the drive shafts in other markets, but not here in the US market.
‘Maybe they figure we are use seeing surface rust on stuff like that here, where it might be a big complaint in other markets. I am glad the OP had the dealer send pics and his concerns to ford today. Maybe Ford will take note of it and paint them for US trucks as well at some point.

Still not worth worrying about, no way it ever rust to point it would ever be a problem , just a little unsightly when looking under the truck. Still would agree it would be nice if Ford painted ours here in the US market as well.

Oh well, he comes another QA Quality Assurance hold. Great now more delays

 

[cc1999]

Oh well, he comes another QA Quality Assurance hold. Great now more delays

Better not be, I for one don’t care that much about it one way or the other. lol

 

[bill_AUS]

Well, it's obvious Ford cut costs where they could for the US version.

Curious what the real cost difference between AUS and US version is.

Here in AUS, the Raptor is AU$86,790 RRP before taxes etc, excluding the AU$700 for premium paint. At todays exchange rate that's US$56,526.

 

[Velociraptor]

Is anyone that ordered early surprised? We all have heard these trucks have been sitting in lots for a long time now. Going to have issues. Maybe water in the tanks, rusty brakes..etc. It’s a bummer.

I guess you’ve never looked under a Toyota… tons of rust, never an issue.

 

[Velociraptor]

Very interesting that they paint the drive shafts in other markets, but not here in the US market.
‘Maybe they figure we are use seeing surface rust on stuff like that here, where it might be a big complaint in other markets. I am glad the OP had the dealer send pics and his concerns to ford today. Maybe Ford will take note of it and paint them for US trucks as well at some point.

Still not worth worrying about, no way it ever rust to point it would ever be a problem , just a little unsightly when looking under the truck. Still would agree it would be nice if Ford painted ours here in the US market as well.

The build quality across the board on the international models is way above the US ones. Just look at the seat problems we have that they don’t. They get usb ports in the mirror housing, we don’t.

 

[rocsteady]

Would it be feasible to sand down the driveshaft and "Steel It"? That stuff seems to be pretty great from what little I know about it. Whether or not it will rust enough to have an effect down the road is less of why I'd want to do something than it just looking awful. As much as i take care of vehicles, even ones I off-road occasionally, it would bother me to have it be so rusty. That's pretty sad looking.

 

[rocsteady]

Was there ever a resolution to this for you?

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