[Wiseguy]

Hey guys,
I made a joking “How to Change my Oil on my Lightning” on Tik Tok and many commenters pointed out something that’s mildly worrisome. Both sides of my CV axles from the motor to wheel hubs are rusty. I’ve only had the truck for little over a month with 1k miles on it. I do live in Nj in the shore which causes salty conditions but is this normal?
I’ve read a thread from the Mach E forum that the axles will outlast the vehicle even with rust but their photos didn’t have nearly as much as mine.

 

[BertJ]

It is surprising to me they didn’t paint those pieces, but i doubt they will fail because of that. I’ll have to look at mine and see if they are unpainted as well.

 

[Henry Ford]

Looks like every steel part on the bottom of every car I've ever owned. It's because of salt. Since Ford engineers cars in Michigan I'm going to guess they factor this in when they choose materials and it's completely normal.

I wash my truck regularly to mitigate salt corrosion but the reality is when you drive in salt parts with iron will rust. A little surface rust is no big deal.

 

[Wiseguy]

Looks like every steel part on the bottom of every car I've ever owned. It's because of salt. Since Ford engineers cars in Michigan I'm going to guess they factor this in when they choose materials and it's completely normal.

I wash my truck regularly to mitigate salt corrosion but the reality is when you drive in salt parts with iron will rust. A little surface rust is no big deal.

Thanks for the reassurance!
I think I’m still going to wipe the surface rust off and put some ZRC cold galvanizing compound on the CV axles to help extend the life just to be safe.

 

[Art p]

I’ve had mine since August. I checked and the smaller tube on the left looks the same as yours but the part on the right has no rust. I’m also in NJ but not near the shore.

 

[Voltz]

Mine had the same surface rust when delivered. Same as my Fusion when delivered 10 years ago.

 

[Russr]

Thanks for the reassurance!
I think I’m still going to wipe the surface rust off and put some ZRC cold galvanizing compound on the CV axles to help extend the life just to be safe.

Just a little comment from the peanut gallery... while applying chemicals to the CVs, try to avoid coating the boots with any of it. It would be horrible if your preventive maintenance accelerated the failure of a different component!

 

[VinceNY]

Mine looks identical to yours, would painting it black with spray paint hurt anything? I was planning on doings it once it gets a little warmer.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Henry Ford]

My advice is stop looking at them. They are a lifetime part unless a boot is torn.