Late 90's Fords - why do they rust so badly?
Discussion
Why do late 90's Fords rust so badly? I'm thinking specifically of the KA, Fiesta and Escort. It is rare that I see any of these cars of this vintage that doesn't have the dreaded tin worm. The Fiesta and Escort seem to suffer terribly around the rear arches. My brother owned a 51 plate KA and has just scrapped it due to severe corrosion on the sills, around the petrol filler cap and on the chassis. I mean 51 plate is not exactly old. No cars of this age should have any rust
Were Ford deliberately cost cutting in the late 90's? I know that these cars are over ten years old now but that is no excuse. Plenty of other manufacturers produced cars on a T - X plate that are not showing any signs of rot yet.
Even the Focus is not immune - a girl at work has a V plate Focus that has alot of rust on the front passenger door. I own a V plate Seat Toledo and it has absolutely no rust at all. I wonder if new Fords of today will be rusting away in ten years time?
Were Ford deliberately cost cutting in the late 90's? I know that these cars are over ten years old now but that is no excuse. Plenty of other manufacturers produced cars on a T - X plate that are not showing any signs of rot yet.
Even the Focus is not immune - a girl at work has a V plate Focus that has alot of rust on the front passenger door. I own a V plate Seat Toledo and it has absolutely no rust at all. I wonder if new Fords of today will be rusting away in ten years time?
My first car, a brand new Mk5 Fiesta, had rust within it's first year. Beneath the rear lights there's an ugly seam, which was about 5mm offset. 5 times they corrected it as the white paintwork slowly changed to brown. Built cheap, poor prep.
lots of vans are the same, Sprinters are just as guilty as Transits these days.
lots of vans are the same, Sprinters are just as guilty as Transits these days.
The bodies aren't galvanised. That's how they sell em so cheap.
Vans are terrible for this, especially in white. It think it's because they're only really designed for a five year lifespan. Generally they are knackered in every other area before the bodywork is too far gone. It doesn't matter which make you go for, they ALL rust.
Vans are terrible for this, especially in white. It think it's because they're only really designed for a five year lifespan. Generally they are knackered in every other area before the bodywork is too far gone. It doesn't matter which make you go for, they ALL rust.
Mk3 Mondeos before the 2005 facelift are bad for rusty doors. Mine's a very early facelift, and apart from some surface rust on the seams underneath the boot floor, it's spotless. I've dosed them with Vactan and Dinitrol, so it's now totally rust free. Even the exhaust is spotless after 6 years.
My folks had a Mk5 Fiesta written off by Ford at 4 years old due to terminal rust which was put down to the factory using too much seam sealer at the front of the car and running out before they got to the back axle, leading to the whole back end turning to dust. The later Mk5 they got as replacement was spotless.
They had Escorts back in the 80s and 90s and they were all rotten by 6 or 7 years old, usually the boot floor fell out, or the sills crumpled under the jack.
My folks had a Mk5 Fiesta written off by Ford at 4 years old due to terminal rust which was put down to the factory using too much seam sealer at the front of the car and running out before they got to the back axle, leading to the whole back end turning to dust. The later Mk5 they got as replacement was spotless.
They had Escorts back in the 80s and 90s and they were all rotten by 6 or 7 years old, usually the boot floor fell out, or the sills crumpled under the jack.
Crap body prep in the factory is the answer, so long as it looks good in the showroom thats fine.
Ford Ka's are truly shocking, a friend bought one new
its failed its first mot on structural rust & needed welding - at three years old FFS
04-06 Mondeos are terrible too, rustys seams everywhere
Ford Ka's are truly shocking, a friend bought one new
its failed its first mot on structural rust & needed welding - at three years old FFS04-06 Mondeos are terrible too, rustys seams everywhere
The tales above notwithstanding (which I entirely believe - Mk 3 Fiestas around the petrol cap, Ka sills etc) I still don't believe they trump the 1 (ONE!) year old lancia beta my uncle had - closed the door fairly hard one day and both headlights fell out - brackets had disappeared!
The OP posted about a 10 year old car - it wasn't that long ago that a 10 year old car would be a disappearing pile of iron oxide - no excuse for modernish fords compared to others, but 'you kids don't know how well you have it' (I'm only 39 BTW :-)
The OP posted about a 10 year old car - it wasn't that long ago that a 10 year old car would be a disappearing pile of iron oxide - no excuse for modernish fords compared to others, but 'you kids don't know how well you have it' (I'm only 39 BTW :-)
Steve in Stoke said:
I heard from a large Ford Transit dealer network that many car companies were using a lot of recycled steel (possibly to appease the lentil-munchers) but the impurities in it led to the rust issues.
It sounds feasible, but I'm not sure if it was rumour or fact.
This, sort of. There are quality grades in steel production (due to the base metal content and mixture) and Ford were using what was generally regarded as the poorest quality at the time.It sounds feasible, but I'm not sure if it was rumour or fact.
Mercedes switched from using steel made in Sweden to steel from South Africa around the time the cars they were producing went on to have the reputation of being rust buckets. In this case correlation equals causation!
cptsideways said:
04-06 Mondeos are terrible too, rustys seams everywhere
Ahh. That is an entirely different issue - caused by the 'clenched flange sealant' (ie. the goo they squeeze into the joins between the bodywork panels and their frames - sourced from Henkel) using a corrosive solvent. Again, Mercedes had the same problem as they were using the same sealant....Edited by r11co on Sunday 13th March 00:16
I think the carpet in the wheel arches has a lot to answer for. It seems to collect salty water and keep it there, moist and warm. Perfect for rust to set in. My brother's old mk5 Fiesta suffered terribly from the rust, my mk 5 Fiesta Zetec S, only a little younger, was spotless. Similarly, my '03 Focus Zetec Ebony was spotless, not a hint of rust or bubbling anywhere and I got the impression that the bodywork had been very well done on that particular car!
Some of them are shocking, and I really expect more from Ford.
Some of them are shocking, and I really expect more from Ford.
petrolsniffer said:
While we're on the topic of badly made fords are mondeo bumpers made out of paper? every other 90s mondeo I see seem's to have a taped up or cracked bumper?? 
They are fragile plastic held on with spindly little brackets. So many of my rental fleet Mondeos at the time were the same. It didn't take much a knock to dislodge them.The rust and the electrical problems are the real bugbears with Fords of that era. My Focus never really needed much money to keep it in tip top condition but it had the irritating habit of the airbag warning light and the engine management light coming on. I traced the engine management light problem to the wiring loom behind the instrument cluster. This cheap part eventually gets corrosion on the surfaces, which causes the light to trigger.
I could have went to Ford to get the wiring sorted but I drove the car for many months with those intermitted electrical problems. It never missed a beat, mind.
I could have went to Ford to get the wiring sorted but I drove the car for many months with those intermitted electrical problems. It never missed a beat, mind.
HellDiver said:
Mk3 Mondeos before the 2005 facelift are bad for rusty doors. Mine's a very early facelift, and apart from some surface rust on the seams underneath the boot floor, it's spotless. I've dosed them with Vactan and Dinitrol, so it's now totally rust free. Even the exhaust is spotless after 6 years.
Very common problem on Mondeos, we have an 02, which we bought in 04. Within a year the drivers door was bubbling. Ford sorted under their 10 year body warranty though. No other rust issues since, but I expect its being eaten from the insideGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff