Is This Rust?

paolobaluyot08

Hello everyone. I have a 2023 bronco Wildtrak. I was doing my weekly car wash when I noticed that, underneath the front fenders, this part had a brown spot which I could only think of as rust. Is this normal and should I be worried? My Wildtrak only has 4500 miles on it.

Curious if you are talking about the bolt on top, in the middle, or the area under the cap or both? Doesn’t look like rust. Reach up and wipe the top bolt with your finger to see if it is some kind of fluid. Almost looks oily. And does the other side have the same thing or no?

I checked on mine and both sides have it. Mine is right about a year old and it has a uniform patina of surface rust. This is not uncommon. I would bet if you crawled underneath it would have surface rust on many of the unfinished surfaces. (Driveshafts etc)

TK1215

Curious if you are talking about the bolt on top, in the middle, or the area under the cap or both? Doesn’t look like rust. Reach up and wipe the top bolt with your finger to see if it is some kind of fluid. Almost looks oily. And does the other side have the same thing or no?

Yes. Talking about the bolt and the area under the cap. I have just taken your suggestion, and no, the brown stain wasn’t coming off. I do think it’s rust. I’m not a mechanic so I’m not sure if I should be worried or not.

TK1215

I checked on mine and both sides have it. Mine is right about a year old and it has a uniform patina of surface rust. This is not uncommon. I would bet if you crawled underneath it would have surface rust on many of the unfinished surfaces. (Driveshafts etc)

Yes my Wildtrak has this on both sides. I’m not a mechanic so I’m not sure if I should be worried? I want to keep my Wildtrak for the long term, but it makes me think that it wouldn’t last 100k miles because of this haha.

paolobaluyot08

Yes. Talking about the bolt and the area under the cap. I have just taken your suggestion, and no, the brown stain wasn’t coming off. I do think it’s rust. I’m not a mechanic so I’m not sure if I should be worried or not.

I wouldn’t be worried. I have taken photos of brand new, on the lot with more rust.

Where I come from we call it old age. Get a little rusty with old age.

poor manufacturing of the metal itself. American steel is a better quality but cost more. A lot of your vehicle parts are made from foreign metals. Welcome to global manufacturing (cheap stuff overpriced)

TK1215

Wow it really does make you wonder why Ford didn't spend the time to rust-proof their components. But thank you for sending! I feel more relaxed now.

Some parts are designed to just let surface rust form and protect the metal underneath. You'll be long gone before it rusted enough to be a problem. Coating parts is an expensive process and it's not practical to do so on parts that are not easily visible. I've purchased more than a few new cars and trucks over the years that I also turned into show vehicles and have always had to paint or remove parts to coat no matter the brand of the vehicle. Surprisingly to a lot of folks , most buyers never crawl under their rides to even notice .