If your thinking of buying a new Super Duty

The F150 came with an aluminum hood starting with 1997 model. Probably about 5 -10 million sold since then. If things were that bad I think we all would have heard about it by now? :h

A little over a year ago on this here very forum, the argument from the nay sayers about Ford trucks going with aluminum bodies was...

Remember...??

The insurance will be so expensive nobody will buy those trucks / be able to afford those trucks / want those trucks :W :W :W :W
Didn't happen.......
A non issue............

So now they're predicting they will rust faster / worse than steel?

When this ALSO proves to be a non issue, what will next years attacks focus on?

I must say, this forum will NEVER run out of stuff to discuss. :B

EDIT to apologize to OP.
I posted based on the last several posts and had lost track what the thread originally was started for..

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
I'm all for aluminum... Owned a galvanized boat trailer that was used in saltwater that lasted about 6 years and was toast during a time when most all boat trailers were fabricated out of galvanized steel. Today I currently own an aluminum boat trailer that's used in the salt that's 12 years old and the only parts ever replaced where the axles and leaf springs again galvanized parts. I would estimate that all saltwater boats sold today comes on a aluminum trailer simply because they last.

Also owned a 98 F150 that I sold after 7 years 150k miles with no issues on it's aluminum hood. I still see this truck ~1/year and it still has the original hood/paint with no issues after 17 years and over 350k miles.

Well mine is 15 years old and is still in great shape. Used in salt water only.

And I bet you rinsed it off after each use, I think most sensible people would when dealing with salt water. I certainly rinse all my scuba gear off after its been in salt water. Let that salt water sit on most things its going to ruin it.

FishOnOne wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
I'm all for aluminum... Owned a galvanized boat trailer that was used in saltwater that lasted about 6 years and was toast during a time when most all boat trailers were fabricated out of galvanized steel. Today I currently own an aluminum boat trailer that's used in the salt that's 12 years old and the only parts ever replaced where the axles and leaf springs again galvanized parts. I would estimate that all saltwater boats sold today comes on a aluminum trailer simply because they last.

Also owned a 98 F150 that I sold after 7 years 150k miles with no issues on it's aluminum hood. I still see this truck ~1/year and it still has the original hood/paint with no issues after 17 years and over 350k miles.

Well mine is 15 years old and is still in great shape. Used in salt water only.

Wow I haven't seen a galvanized boat trailer in years. There almost obsolete now and all saltwater boats here come only on aluminum trailers and for good reasons

We galvanized boat trailers by the hundreds, and was still doing so when I retired in 2010, still being done.

RAS43 wrote:
Totally agree! Commercial trucks and trailers have been made of aluminum, including frames, for 50+ years in all areas of our country without the 'sky is falling" problems brought up here. My belief is that in not too many years every vehicle will be aluminum or plastic to save weight.

I guess I do not understand it either. Ford has used AL for well over a decade. In fact I had a F150 that survived over 10 years in Michigan salt and winters with zero issues on the AL. That lawsuit sited earlier in this thread was a joke. Two guys trying to game the system is hardly an indictment. So we have some complaining Ford does not honor warranty then we get a citation where they made repairs beyond any warranty period and they still are the bad guy.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
I'm all for aluminum... Owned a galvanized boat trailer that was used in saltwater that lasted about 6 years and was toast during a time when most all boat trailers were fabricated out of galvanized steel. Today I currently own an aluminum boat trailer that's used in the salt that's 12 years old and the only parts ever replaced where the axles and leaf springs again galvanized parts. I would estimate that all saltwater boats sold today comes on a aluminum trailer simply because they last.

Also owned a 98 F150 that I sold after 7 years 150k miles with no issues on it's aluminum hood. I still see this truck ~1/year and it still has the original hood/paint with no issues after 17 years and over 350k miles.

Well mine is 15 years old and is still in great shape. Used in salt water only.

Wow I haven't seen a galvanized boat trailer in years. There almost obsolete now and all saltwater boats here come only on aluminum trailers and for good reasons

Totally agree! Commercial trucks and trailers have been made of aluminum, including frames, for 50+ years in all areas of our country without the 'sky is falling" problems brought up here. My belief is that in not too many years every vehicle will be aluminum or plastic to save weight.

The pure marketing 'military grade aluminum' and is marketing at it's best...

There might be a bit of difference in the hardening, but the alloy is
pretty much the same.

Other marketing stuff are the golf ball and hockey shot into the bed

Not a fan of pickup bodies, especially the bed made of ALU

Though material science continues to move forward....like the new alloy
and processed glass with High Elastic Moduli of a 54Al2O3-46Ta2O5. Think
the lighter metals might find some higher tensile strength alloys in
the future, but don't see any yet

Galvanic action is also of a concern for me and not many know that ALU
is scartificial to FE in some conditions and the potential thermite
issue is always there when FE (rust) and ALU are present

Just purchase what you like and forget about what the herd thinks...

Let's hold up an attempt at aluminum automotive bodies from 60 years ago and scream at the top of our lungs, "SEE? IT DIDN'T WORK! IT WILL NEVER BE ANY GOOD!" Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Nice and rational...

They tried pushbutton shifting in the 1950's too, as I recall. That didn't work out, but nowadays good luck finding a vehicle that doesn't have it in some shape or form.

FishOnOne wrote:
I'm all for aluminum... Owned a galvanized boat trailer that was used in saltwater that lasted about 6 years and was toast during a time when most all boat trailers were fabricated out of galvanized steel. Today I currently own an aluminum boat trailer that's used in the salt that's 12 years old and the only parts ever replaced where the axles and leaf springs again galvanized parts. I would estimate that all saltwater boats sold today comes on a aluminum trailer simply because they last.

Also owned a 98 F150 that I sold after 7 years 150k miles with no issues on it's aluminum hood. I still see this truck ~1/year and it still has the original hood/paint with no issues after 17 years and over 350k miles.

Well mine is 15 years old and is still in great shape. Used in salt water only.

I suspect that the aluminum used on vehicles are a different alloy than those uses on airplanes. May also be true with past aluminum that some claim to not have had trouble with. It may be all about the different alloys available. I suspect in time it will be all worked out but does not change the fact that there is considerable issues with the present materials.

With today's chemistry I don't under how a coating has not been found to solve the issue.