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Looking at a 2003 FX4 with ZERO rust...impossible?
Hello Everyone!
I am very new to the forum (first post!) and have been reading everything I can find about the 10th gen F-150. I sold my ranger in 2010 and have been looking to get back to Ford for a while now. This seems like a great community and the information on the site is excellent. Now...onto my question.
I recently took a look at a 2003 FX4 super cab with about 155k miles. It has had three owners in eastern Oregon but seems to be in really good shape. I'm worried that the seller spray painted over the bottom of the truck or something (not sure if this is even a thing) to hide any issues because I don't see how a 13 y/o truck can have such little rust. Please take a look at the photos and let me know what you think.
Yeah right
Should there be rust?
Same
This side looks a little more realistic but my flash kind of messed it up
Flash blew this one too
Front IFS looks really clean too
Am I missing anything? The interior is just as clean so this could be legit, but I'm a pretty suspicious guy.
The test drive was great. I had a hard time getting it into 4-Low, but I'm guessing it's because I'm not familiar with the manual t-case shifter on the floor.
My 03 when I bought it looked just like yours, mine had been doctored... Tap on the rocker panels, look for overspray, oil filter should be a giveaway that's where I confirmed and started checking more
My old '97 was like that, it's not uncommon especially for vehicles that are well taken care of or aren't driven on salted roads.
One thing I'm seeing that I'm not liking is where you are showing the front part of the rear diff. Is that diff oil or spray paint? It looks like spray paint to me because you can see a clear line on the diff were that wire above it was, and a line where the wire fades from black to just dirty.
As said, check the rockers. Also drop the spare tire, if someone painted under the truck they may have been too lazy to drop the tire leaving that area in original condition. It might not hurt to take some degreaser and try to clean a few spots and see how deep that dirt is / what the condition of the metal is under it. One thing that is hard to cover up is the threads on the bolts. Do they look good with just a decent coating of dirt? Or are the corroded? A good place to look at exposed threads easily is on the rear shock mounts.
Awesome. Thanks for all the good info! I live pretty far away from the seller and am going to get a local mechanic to go take a look at everything you've mentioned. I'm also going to have them look at the spark plugs since that seems to be a common concern.
Check for open recalls on it, they had a couple a few years ago (gas tank straps and something to do with cruise control). Also check to make sure the windshield isn't leaking. Some people have problems with this and water gets on the computer then you have all sorts of issues.
On the good side, it looks like it's got new shocks and a new UCA!
I have an 02 that I bought in 03 that looks just like that and I live in the PNW also. Honestly that looks about right as far as rust or the lack there of.
Your truck looks good but like it was mentioned earlier, start tapping on the rockers. See if there are rubber plugs on the back side of the rockers. Have a peak inside. Look at the seam at the inside of the bottom of the doors. Look for overspray from the underside high up in the engine bay. Undercoatings will spray on the oil filter, bottoms of other components. Painted rusty surfaces will appear to look chipped at.
Drop the spare tire to see if the area was masked by the tire for any spray applications.
Looking at a 2003 FX4 with ZERO rust...impossible?
