Quality of the 2005 Taurus SE

Strange indeed. The engine of my '99 SE Duratec is as rust free as the day it came from the dealer and I live in a really humid climate.

Eric

Remember the Duratec has mostly aluminum parts that do not rust. My 99 Merc Sable also had the DOHC engine and had no rust whatsoever.

I am particularly looking for the Vulcan engines.

Thanks for the reply.

Al

Will get more detailed pics tomorrow, here is one of the front view of the car, zoom in if you want to see better.

This is when the car had been driven 120km from the dealer in dry conditions.

OK, I have a Taurus Vulcan 3.0 liter in a 2003 Merc Sable ( same car ). It had rust on it from Day One. On the exhaust manifolds, and on the heads where the spark plugs go in. Obviously these are non-aluminum alloy. High iron content, possibly cast iron.

My concern is rust-through on the manifolds, but I don't know what to do to slow down the process, as those things get _hot_ and would burn-off anything I could apply to them.

Lg

High temp paint will work. They don't get as hot as you think.

Ford doesn't paint their iron blocks or heads these days do they? I would think rust on the heads and block is normal even if the car is new. Someplace else to check for rust is under the dash and on the seat tracks and frame. You might even be surprised what ferrous parts under the car are starting to rust. Keep us updated.

Hmmm sent me an email and I will forward it again, just going in now to make more pictures. Did the news server strip the attachment or something? It was about 225K

I wouldn't worry too much. It will take a VERY LONG time for it to eat enough to cause problems. It's 99% cosmetic. I've had old frame-based cars with frames that look horrible, but are actually still very strong.

I was adviced not to put on any high temp paint from a mechanic at the Ford dealership. The dealership was actually offering to paint the cylinder heads with a high temp paint but the people that need to do the work told us that it is of no use, it might hold for a month or for a week and the end result might be worse.

If paint will last on a set of headers for several years it will work on your cast iron manifolds. It wont hurt anything, just as the surface rust on them now will not hurt anything. The thing you need to realize.....it's an engine, not the interior of the car, so some parts have surface rust, big deal, get over it. The rust will not "eat" away the manifolds.

It does not matter in my opinion how long it will take to cause problems. It may cause problems, no matter how you reason it and will a customer accept this on a new car. It causes a problem with me that although the parts were painted the rust is showing and in fact has taken off the paint. I am looking at the quality of work as well, as it states on the window sticker: Quality is job #1 I would assume this is for all the parts of the car. Others are also telling me not to worry too much and maybe I am a picky customer. Maybe I am too picky, that is why I like to read the opinion of other people (and I do appreciate the comments).

I am sure a layer of rust (maybe 1/1000 inch thick) would form when the cars are on the car carrier, sitting on the lot, etc. The only way you are going to avoid this is to paint the engine (or use aluminum). This is nothing to worry about. within a month or so, a layer crude (engine oil, road dirt, etc.) will form on the engine and prevent further rust.

Their not painted.

No. They will be coarted with oil and road dirt.

Who are "we"?

They just see the layer of dirt and oil.

Don't worry. It won't hurt anything.

Jeff

The Duratec is aluminum. The other 3.0 is iron.

Jeff

It will take about 200 years of daily operation of the car for the manifolds to rust through.

Jeff

It seems that this issue was brought up years ago:

Just consulted a mechanic that told me that in fact it is okay for cast iron to rust. It will give it a protective layer. He also explained that it may not look really nice but that it is okay and so I am at ease with it now.

Thanks for all your replies.

Al

Je kan ook naar Californie verhuizen, hier roesten ze niet..........

Johan

Surface rust is inevitable on all exposed iron. Unless the rust is constantly fed by exposure to water and chemicals you have nothing to worry about. The rust will form an oxidized barrier several thousands of an inch thick and will stop further attacks. (the rust browning treatment was used on gun barrels for centuries as a protection from rust) Your engine heads and block are very thick. For rust to wear into them to any appreciable depth would take several decades. Now if the motor were in marine service and exposed to salt water (moisture and chemicals remember?) then you would have reason to worry. If your state uses salt or some other chloride to de-ice the roads each winter, it would be prudent to rinse the engine and the under side of the car including the wheel wells every time you get the chance. If rust does developed, it will be the freeze plugs that go first as they are made of stamped sheet metal. As you note, alloy engines don't rust. So, if you were purchasing alloy motored cars in the past you might be shocked by what you see under the hood of an iron motored car. If you see paint blistering on sheet metal, get worked up. If you see rust eating into the fire wall or wheel wells, get worked up. If you see rust in the door sills or around the cowl get worked up. But a rust covered iron block is nothing to worry about. Shoot, I recently restored a 41 Dodge Power Wagon that spent the last 45 years in a Missouri field buried up to the top of the frame rails. The sheet metal was shot and the frame and block heavily coated with rust but when we sandblasted them they came out unscathed. I've seen this same scenario on several of the 6 cars and trucks I've restored. They were all pitted to be sure but nothing serious. IMHO, I wouldn't loose any sleep over surface rust on an engine block.