the quality of flooded lead acid batteries has gotten really bad ever since the gov't cracked down on lead in the US. Most are not made here anymore.
I've been in the desert for 28 years, if a flooded battery in a car makes it past 3 years I consider it a gift and replace them. I've given up on them, agm will go 5 or more.
I doubt it's your ford's fault. Buy a $10 elm and download forscan so you have some empirical data on your alternator, testing with a dvm on startup doesn't tell you everything.
