2004 Ford Transit - Rust Issues

An Caislean

I have a 2004 85T260 FWD Transit which is quite rusty underneath - along the sides and also parts of the Chassis. It has failed the DOE today as a result of the Rust even though I got the Chassis and various holes in it weld - repaired this week. It had no problem passing the Suspension and Brake test portion of the DOE. Only 2000 Miles done since the last DOE.

Has anyone had any success with Ford in relation to this widespread issue.

Any suggestions as I do not want to bury money in it and get the same result on Re Test.

colm_mcm

Do you mean getting ford to cover it?

Not a chance on an 11 year old van.

The Sidewards Man

Got one done last year by Ford. A dumb priest never got a parish as they say.

colm_mcm

How old was the van?

The Sidewards Man

2003

colm_mcm

Wow, I stand corrected then.
How did you manage that? Where was rusted?

Stoolbend

Had you dealer service history?

Most warranties for corrosion stipulate a yearly inspection.

Noccy_Mondy

It's interesting to note how not all transits rust, whereas some rust like mad. I suppose that's the case with everything, and depends on how well they were looked after. That said, the newer 07 on models don't seem to be as bad with body rust.

In our own situation, there are 3 transits. 2 08's and an 07. All of which are lwb with the double rear wheels. The main areas that seem to effect all 3 are the rear step (paint flaking and rusting a tad), above the front windscreen (small rust spots have broken out, nothing too noticeable though) and the wheels, more noticeably the rear ones (one transit was extremely bad with rust, the other 2 aren't as bad yet.)

There was an older shape 05 here until a year or two ago, suffered from the same issues above, but neither the older transits, nor the newer ones had any problems with surface rust along the panels, or on the subframe. All of these are washed regularly and driven carefully though.

I suppose what I'm saying is that, if the rust is entirely down to how the van/bus is looked after then I'd find it very difficult to see how Ford will deal with it.

JohnBoy26

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

It's interesting to note how not all transits rust, whereas some rust like mad. I suppose that's the case with everything, and depends on how well they were looked after. That said, the newer 07 on models don't seem to be as bad with body rust.

In our own situation, there are 3 transits. 2 08's and an 07. All of which are lwb with the double rear wheels. The main areas that seem to effect all 3 are the rear step (paint flaking and rusting a tad), above the front windscreen (small rust spots have broken out, nothing too noticeable though) and the wheels, more noticeably the rear ones (one transit was extremely bad with rust, the other 2 aren't as bad yet.)

There was an older shape 05 here until a year or two ago, suffered from the same issues above, but neither the older transits, nor the newer ones had any problems with surface rust along the panels, or on the subframe. All of these are washed regularly and driven carefully though.

I suppose what I'm saying is that, if the rust is entirely down to how the van/bus is looked after then I'd find it very difficult to see how Ford will deal with it.

The 06+ facelift models rust just as badly if not worse than the pre facelift. Lots of rusty ones around the place and it's not really to do with lack of maintenance or how carefully they've been driven either. It's really mostly down to a really poor rust protection.

I know someone who bought one of these brand new back in 07 and rust was appearing on the bodywork within 9 months :eek:

Rust just seems to be a trait with the transit for years.

Noccy_Mondy

JohnBoy26 wrote:

The 06+ facelift models rust just as badly if not worse than the pre facelift. Lots of rusty ones around the place and it's not really to do with lack of maintenance or how carefully they've been driven either. It's really mostly down to a really poor rust protection.

Hows it that none of our facelifts suffer from rust, apart from the few parts I mentioned? From what I've seen, a lot of the rust comes from where the bodywork has been dented/gouged in, allowing the rust to form, i.e driver error.

JohnBoy26

Noccy_Mondy wrote: »

Hows it that none of our facelifts suffer from rust, apart from the few parts I mentioned? From what I've seen, a lot of the rust comes from where the bodywork has been dented/gouged in, allowing the rust to form, i.e driver error.

The rust comes from the inside out on these. Lots of them around with rusty sills etc. Nothing to do with driver error. Dents and scrapes will rust on any car or van made out of metal but dents or scrapes usually don't lead to holes or bubbling of the paint.