Aluminum 2015, F150, repair certification.

-
1968FormulaS340

1968FormulaS340

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
Messages
11,394
Reaction score
702
Location
St. Helens Oregon
Had my first class today. So basically this truck is all aluminum except the firewall (bonded steel for noise reduction, the door hinges (steel), the frame (steel) and the door intrusion beams (boron steel).

Most of the structural parts are extruded aluminum and must be replaced if damaged. Sectioning is extremely limited. Only cosmetic parts can be repaired if cracked. Corrosion preventative measures are critical.

Most repairs will be extremely labor intensive with all the rivet bonding and part replacement requirements.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Had my first class today. So basically this truck is all aluminum except the firewall (bonded steel for noise reduction, the door hinges (steel), the frame (steel) and the door intrusion beams (boron steel).

Most of the structural parts are extruded aluminum and must be replaced if damaged. Sectioning is extremely limited. Only cosmetic parts can be repaired if cracked. Corrosion preventative measures are critical.

Most repairs will be extremely labor intensive with all the rivet bonding and part replacement requirements.
Click to expand...

Wow... Education time.Good luck ,Turd Ferguson (lol.).
 
Well someone will be dumb enough to buy one then wreck it. Looks like you have job security.
 
Pretty interesting. Lets us know when you get to work on one.
 
I'm not a fan of riveted aluminum structures. Ford has been playing with this idea since the drop top fox bodied mustangs.

Aluminum is tricky. It can be welded, but unless you know the series of aluminum, which calls for a different series aluminum filler metal, with the exception of 5000 series aluminum alloys, you are playing with fire. 7000 series aluminum alloys cannot be welded and hold up under load. A lot of heavy duty truck beds are made from 7000 series aluminum. Most structural parts are made from 6000 series aluminum, most sheet metal is 3003, but if you ever decide to make something from scrap aluminum, don't plan on using it for anything critically structural.
 
I believe they are using 5000 and 6000 series exclusively, I would need to review training material to be sure. We (the dealer) did have to make an $80,000 investment in (Ford Certified) new equipment (Welder and dedicated tools) and a "Clean Room"
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0718.jpg
    51.1 KB · Views: 299
  • DSCN0719.jpg
    33.1 KB · Views: 291
  • DSCN0717.jpg
    36.5 KB · Views: 296
  • DSCN0720.jpg
    40.4 KB · Views: 294
I wonder if the insurance companies are charging extra for an aluminum pick up truck?
 
That ProSpot Smart Mig is nice. Open the bottles, grab a gun and pull the trigger.... the welder will automatically choose the shielding gas, and adjust all settings except metal thickness.

It does aluminum, steel, silicon bronze and is also a Tig welder.

We have more stuff coming.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
We (the dealer) did have to make an $80,000 investment in (Ford Certified) new equipment (Welder and dedicated tools) and a "Clean Room"
Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see how the small town dealers that have body shops deal with this. I'm doubting many will be able to make the investment to properly repair them. Neither will the small independent body shops.

I'll be we will see a lot of botched repairs a few years down the road, unfortunately. It might be a good business opportunity in certain areas to be the only body shop around to be certified for aluminum repair.
Dallas
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
That ProSpot Smart Mig is nice. Open the bottles, grab a gun and pull the trigger.... the welder will automatically choose the shielding gas, and adjust all settings except metal thickness.

It does aluminum, steel, silicon bronze and is also a Tig welder.

We have more stuff coming.
Click to expand...

Sorry about the T.F comment,I want to learn here.....
 
Wonder how long the bodies will last on crappy roads ????.....aluminium fatigues badly with that punishment.
 
cjh said:
Wonder how long the bodies will last on crappy roads ????.....aluminium fatigues badly with that punishment.
Click to expand...

Yep. Just ask all those poor bastards that dropped a dime to by those Porsche 928's that were supposed to last forever.

I'm not going to be one to jump into an Aluminum truck for a while. I'll see what they look like after a decade.

I've always liked the Ford pick up, I do hope this isn't the lasted iteration Edsel.


Congrats on the new certificate, '68.
 
Yes, insurance will go up.
Not to mention it has to go to a certified repair shop, more money.

You know after that truck has been out for a couple of years, there are going to be some hack jobs out there that will repair them (rebuilders).

Ford elected to go with weight savings for MPG.
The F150 will have a 2.7 V6 eco-boost as the standard engine.
The 3.5 eco-boost & 5.0 are optional. No 6.2 being offered at this time.

Ford is gambling alot on this truck, hope it doesn't turn out like the 6.0 Diesel fiasco.

Meanwhile, there is a RAM salesman just waiting to show the customer the negative points on the new F150.
Looks like Ford may have given him the ammo he needs. LOL
 
mikedevore said:
Meanwhile, there is a RAM salesman just waiting to show the customer the negative points on the new F150.
Looks like Ford may have given him the ammo he needs. LOL
Click to expand...

What goes around comes around lol. Remember the '80s Ford trucks with their sharply creased body lines? The local Ford dealer was advertising the 'superior strength' of Ford's sheet metal. 'Ford bends their metal for strength". lol

Then when the other manufacturers started bolting their beds on from underneath so there weren't any bolt heads in the bed floor, they advertised the superiority of bolting the beds 'all the way through the floor' for superior strength. lol Nevermind that the center of the bed floors rusted out so badly the bedsides fell down over the frame.

Dallas
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top