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#61 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Sun City, North Australis
Posts: 4,274
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Back around 2005 when my XB was having some rust repairs, my panel beater told me to have a look at this AU sedan in for rust repairs.
The dogleg area was full of holes on both sides.... the wagons he was repairing were worse. They were stuffed full of insulation... which would act like a big sponge and hold the water in! So id imagine that if the AU when 5yrs old was having dramas with rust, 10yrs later would definately be a worry! And yes i have an AUII wagon and has rust in the dogleg....
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#62 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: South Bowenfels NSW
Posts: 687
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#63 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Perth, South
Posts: 3,064
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#64 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Mexico Vic
Posts: 356
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I had rust in the chassis of one of my AU2 utes.It was that bad i was expecting it to break in half on a hoist.
I traded it in for $3,000 and got a new FG ute. The other AU ute i have seems all good rust wise(fingers crossed). |
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#65 | ||
Fossil fuel consumer
![]() Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Mod For: Pub, Bar, Sales Yard, Show 'N Shine, Photoshop, AU to BF, FG to FGX, Territory & Sports Bar
Posts: 17,038
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this was not a good thread to read after just putting a deposit on an AU
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#66 | |||
Regular Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Warrnambool, Vic
Posts: 266
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Quote:
Check behind the tail lights& under the rear bar, along the side of the front windscreen under the door rubber and also in the boot, they are known for leaking and hence rusting! Up under where the boot strut mounts and in behind the moulded carpets on the sides of the boots. Its not all bad, I bought a $3 can of fisholene oil and gave it a real good drenching to seal it up, car smelt for weeks but i think its all worth it! Cheers Jason
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Stevo _____________________________________ 05/2000 AUII XR6 5sp|Pacemaker 4480 Competition Headers|Lukey catback|Tickford Azzuro's|Impco LPG Conversion |
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#67 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Posts: 683
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The only rust on my AU2 is on the rotors where the pads don't touch. Did have slight surface rust under the battery tray but it was fixed a long time ago.
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AU XLS. |
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#68 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: South Bowenfels NSW
Posts: 687
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Went to the pannel shop yeaterday and the fella said to me for a quick fix that would last a few years just sand the surface back really well then spray with a rust convertor then paint over the top. For a perment fix he said he would have to cut the rusty peices out and weld new bits in. I'm taking the quick fix for now but i'm going to keep a very close eye on it.
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#69 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 137
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I noticed some rust on my 99 au around the boot strut mount the other day.
Had the car since 2001 29k, now with 165k on the clock. Was parked in a garage for the 1st 5 or 6 years i had it. A bit disappointing, the cars been looked after pretty well. Havent yet checked any of the other known problem areas. I'm curious to know how other cars compare for rust, holdens of the same build date and the older falcons, ef's, ea's, xf's? |
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#70 | ||
2002 XR6 VCT Owner
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sydney
Posts: 51
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Well my AU3 had rust under the tail lights when I bought it as well.
The plates were rusting out just under tail light but not the main support beam. I just chipped it away and primed it up. Should check it again now a bit over a year later to make sure its still good. Might do it next weekend when I give the car a polish. As for other cars rusting of this era. Er, I havn't personally seen any this bad.
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SOLD: 2002 AU3 Falcon XR6 VCT on Impco Mixer Gas Factory Leather and Towbar Stock 17' rims Perfect After Fixing Myself Air Hog Air Filter + 2.5 Inch Sterling Mandrel Bent Exhaust + Supercheap Oval Tip. Carbon Fibre Style Vinyl Wrapped Roof and Boot |
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#71 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 139
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Crap you guys are scaring me.... my girlfriend has a '99 AU1 which was given to her by her mother, who lives two streets away from the beach. :(
As part of the original roadworthy the said there was structural rust under the driver's door sill, which we had repaird ($250), however now I'm wondering if there's rust hidden everywhere else too :( |
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#72 | ||
Last warning
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria HeadCount: 3
Posts: 11,194
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I had a near beach AU, with rusted plenum behind the front guard, and holes in the chassis rails, who knows what else.
only had 18,000km's on it, sold it so cheap :(
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#73 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 2,195
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I doubt there are many AU's around that are so rusty they're actually dangerous...
My AU2 has rust bubbling along the underside front edge of the bonnet - doesn't bother me one bit as it's on the inside "skin" and not usually visible so I just oil it or give it a spray with WD40 whenever I do a wash. Three years and it's not become any worse than when I first got the car. Also the boot strut mount had the beginnings of rust. Removed any flaking paint, cleaned with rust converter and painted with killrust black paint. Problem solved, not perfect but you wouldn't notice it and it still hasn't got any worse. Last bit of rust on my AU2 was under the spoiler. Same deal, clean, convert, paint (then spray with WD40 every now and then). My AU1 had a little rust too. Passenger side inner sill had a patch the size of a 10c coin. Had it plated and painted and then just WD40 on occasions. I noticed it had some surface rust on the A-pillar on the drivers side but hadn't penetrated so just put a smear of oil over it occasionally to keep it at bay. |
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#74 | |||
Regular Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 139
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Quote:
We've also got rust on the boot struts too, but that's all the visible rust I can see on the car. Will have to sneak a peak under the rear spoiler this weekend! |
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#75 | ||
2002 XR6 VCT Owner
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sydney
Posts: 51
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One of my boots struts was already rusted off when I bought mine, and the second was about to go.
And forget original ford parts for the nipple, as you have to cut the car open to do it. Ended up getting new nipples threaded next to the old rusted ones, stainless steel though so these should last longer than the factory ones. No idea where the guy got stainless ones from. By bonnet also has the rust bubling on the lower edges at the grill. I also have rust in every stone chip on the bonnet which I havn't seen on any of our other cars in the family. Did Ford really Galvanize the AU? Prety poor effort at it if you ask me.
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SOLD: 2002 AU3 Falcon XR6 VCT on Impco Mixer Gas Factory Leather and Towbar Stock 17' rims Perfect After Fixing Myself Air Hog Air Filter + 2.5 Inch Sterling Mandrel Bent Exhaust + Supercheap Oval Tip. Carbon Fibre Style Vinyl Wrapped Roof and Boot |
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#76 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,316
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Rusty boot strut mounts and rear bumper reaos is pretty standard fair on AU's, also seen quite rusty doglegs as well. The only time you'd be concerned about the rusty reo, is while you watch somone about to rear end you.
Have yet to see a Magna or Commodore of the same vintage with rust.
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#77 | ||
Brad
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 5,827
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sooooo put my AU up on hoist to give it a warrent today. Cool i have rust bubbles down the sill where the jacking points are. . . only other place visible rust is on the boot struts. Good work ford.
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#78 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 2,195
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They'd be fools to make a car that lasts forever. Were they really made to last 10+ years?? Was Ford, back in 1998, concerned about used car owners in 2011?? Of course not.
Metal rusts. Rust caused be weathering and the environment. Can't expect much else. Personally, my AU has been looked after and I continue to look after it, hence the overall reasonable condition and realistic lack of rust. |
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#79 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,316
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Are you kidding? Why can so many other manufacturers build cars without rust issues ten years on? Why should we accept Fraud Australias crappy effort?
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2015 FG-X XR6 Turbo Ute Silhouette. ZF. Single hump hard lid. XR8 Bonnet Colour coded mirrors. Tint. Reverse camera. K&N. More down the track... |
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#80 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 2,195
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I'm sure if you decided to take the bumper off a 1998 Camry or a 1998 Magna, you'd find the exact same thing. Not 100% of the time, because there will be cars which will have been better looked after or subjected to less weathering.
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#81 | ||
2002 XR6 VCT Owner
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sydney
Posts: 51
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Disagree macman, our 95 Tarago doesn't have a spot of rust under any bumpers or trim. The fact is Ford's rust proofing and paint quality is simply subpar on AU's. If you search for articles from papers and magazines when the AU's were out, they did comment on uneven painting when they were new.
There are AU's around that have been garaged and have rust in all the same spots mine has, less of course, but if a car has been garaged all its life, why should it have rust at all? Part of the problem would be design flaws where water can pool so people who just wash their AU are causing rust lol. One of the AU's I looked at when searching had rust through the entire bootlid and in the parcel tray and the boot floor. I'd never seen any thing like that in a post 1990 car. Because I just wanted a cheap car to get to work in, and I like how the AU drove with IRS, I got one with the least rust per $ ratio I could.
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SOLD: 2002 AU3 Falcon XR6 VCT on Impco Mixer Gas Factory Leather and Towbar Stock 17' rims Perfect After Fixing Myself Air Hog Air Filter + 2.5 Inch Sterling Mandrel Bent Exhaust + Supercheap Oval Tip. Carbon Fibre Style Vinyl Wrapped Roof and Boot |
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#82 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,316
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Quote:
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2015 FG-X XR6 Turbo Ute Silhouette. ZF. Single hump hard lid. XR8 Bonnet Colour coded mirrors. Tint. Reverse camera. K&N. More down the track... |
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#83 | ||
Brad
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 5,827
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I work at a garage and see under many old and new vehicles. Allot are better than my beloved AU in terms of rust and some are allot older especially looking at a 1966 mustang out back in fully original condition with Minimal rust. This isn't any hating on ford just trying to say that seriously they could have done better on the au than actually coating parts with proper paint.
So my car got striped out today and will have all bits of rust removed most are all small but I just want it gone! |
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#84 | ||
Mercury Silver T3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,203
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I'm going back a few years now. The rust issue in au/ba was discovered in 2004 when a show car in a Brisbane car club was getting some paint work done. It was a 250 pursuit ute from memory, anyway when they unbolted the tub from the cab the rust had eaten its way completely through the cab on one side.
Surface rust issues were found when they unbolted the door hinges and front guards showing bare unpainted steel. Anyway the car owner had some pull with ford and had it repaired and painted through Brisbane dealer. Then the flood gates opened with a fair few club cars having similar repairs done, from memory it was costing Ford roughly 3k per car. The panel shop entrusted by ford to do the repairs was flat out with its workload alone. I was going to have my first t3 done but I couldn't handle the thought of my brand spanking new car stripped to pieces and the interior filled with panel shop dust. They were removing all four doors, boot, bonnet and front guards on some cars. So that was Ford hq paying for fairly substantial repairs on au/ba xr's and fpv stuff to. Some were brand new. Ford did eventually turned the tap off. I'm sure some ff members who were in the club had their cars repaired. I have two au's ATM, and I'm going to get both checked out. I saw these issues along time ago but it didn't stop me buying two more au's. Probably the most reliable car I have ever owned, with good power and a great chassis.(rusting)
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#85 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Melb north
Posts: 12,025
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it`s not always the manufacturers fault, yes in some cases it is, but often cars will get a smack in the back and because of the rubber plastic bumpers you won`t even know that the metal has actually been deformed slightly under the skin damaging the paint protection, on the other hand compared to the old days paint quality does seem to be less good these days on many brands not just the local cars either.
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#86 | |||
Back to Le Frenchy
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Back home.....
Posts: 13,346
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I looked after my AU better than I ever have my Pug. The AU had the usual rust spots, the Pug has none.
Ford dropped the ball with the AU-BF when it came to QC.
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#87 | ||
Flairs - Truckers Delight
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Brisbane Northside Likes: Opposite Lock
Posts: 5,731
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Yeah, I'm usually pretty positive about how good the AU's are in nearly every regard but I will absolutely say that they would have to be one of the worst cars of their year in terms of rust.
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2006-2016: Regency Red 2000 AUII Ford Falcon Forte Automatic Sedan Tickford LPG "Millennium Falcon" |
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#88 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 6
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I almost wish I had not read this thread.
I took out both rear lights and sure enough,rust! Not as bad as the first photo but bad enough. Mines rusted towards the back of the recess as well,after removing the flaky stuff I now have a couple of holes that go through to the boot. Sprayed with Lanocote,anyone used this stuff? Will have to fill the holes with something I suppose as I am sure it will leak otherwise. |
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#89 | ||
2002 XR6 VCT Owner
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sydney
Posts: 51
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Just another spot for people to look. Side skirts.
I was polishing my XR6 on the weekend and noticed brown stuff where the side skirts met the door sills. My first though was rust. So I unclipped the skirts (couldn't see how to remove them completly without taking the rear doors off) and sure enough there was rust. More surface than anything. So I gave it a good sandback and touch up with primer. There was also a good amount of rocks and dirt stuck between ths skirts and the sills, so I gave that a good clean up as well. I also noticed the paint quality on the skirts is crap. They are factory painted and have paint runs!!!
__________________
SOLD: 2002 AU3 Falcon XR6 VCT on Impco Mixer Gas Factory Leather and Towbar Stock 17' rims Perfect After Fixing Myself Air Hog Air Filter + 2.5 Inch Sterling Mandrel Bent Exhaust + Supercheap Oval Tip. Carbon Fibre Style Vinyl Wrapped Roof and Boot |
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#90 | |||
Regular Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 92
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Quote:
I used to do a bit of contract maintenance and shutdown work and worked at GMH and Mitsi in Adelaide and used to see a bit what goes on. Did Ford dip the body shells in a bath of anti corrosion coating before painting when they built these like other manufacturers do? I've also heard that a lot of poor quality recycled steel with lots of contanimants in it gets used to make aussie car panels too. |
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