Rust!

[ClipperSkipper]

Well here's one for you my two year old GMC Z-71 SLT

is rusting out! Yep I bought her in December 2001 and

now with 12,000 miles the door bottoms and bed on my $33,500 Professional Grade truck are rusting away. What a

sight on a beautiful white truck. Always garaged and washed

weekly or so, with a nice coat of Mothers. Any suggestions

on how to address this issue is kindly appreciated. I'll post

photos first chance I get. Thanks and

Have a great one!

[Shaners]

You'll have to show your dealer...

 

I know it's a "rust through" warranty, but with only 12K miles on the clock, your dealer may be able to talk the regional rep into a "fix".

[ClipperSkipper]

Shaners who is the Regional Rep in SEMass?

Has anyone else seen this? New cars and trucks

just don't rust.

[seadoons]

:owned: I would be pushing for a swap out...Make them give you a new truck...there is no reason at all for any rust to show up on a vehicle that new, and you never know where rust is going to pop up down the road.

[bassdog]

I feel for ya, I just pulled of my plastic deflector from my rear bumber and low and behold....... rust  

 

Mine isn't two years old yet

[ClipperSkipper]

Saw this on the front bumper as well, no chips in either the bumpers or paint. Weird huh?

[seadoons]

Bassdog, you mean that you pulled that top plastic pad and found rust on the bumper itself?  If that is the case I need to pull mine off and check it for rust...

[99silveradoz71]

Check the bottom inside edges of the doors folks where the steel is folded.  I had paint bubbling in that area.  The dealer made arrangements with a local bodyship to paint them.  The bodyshop told me it would likely happen again as the folded steel allows water to sit there.  I used some POR 15 clear to seal things up.  Looks good now.

[ClipperSkipper]

Jees I chased rust long enough in my 1978 Blazer,

I'm going to look under the protectors. How does one remove the tailgate protector? The Chevy looks like a bolt-on however the GMC is 3m tape? BTW the Chrome bumpers were still mint on the 1978 Blazer when I sold it last Summer.

[seadoons]

Removal of the chevy tailgate protector is easy...you have to remove the 4 bolts that are on the outside of the tailgate, but be careful, because there is also 3M double sided tape used on the inside of the tailgate (the part of the plastic that gets scratched up when you slide stuff across it.)  Honestly, I don't think it will rust under there...I had mine off (i was replacing it after a friend cut it up with a jig saw) and it is just painted under there...if you pull the protector off, you are going to mess up the tape, and probably stretch the plastic cap out while doing it.  I wouldn't suggest it unless you plan on replacing the cap, which is at least 50 bucks.

[bassdog]

Bassdog, you mean that you pulled that top plastic pad and found rust on the bumper itself?  If that is the case I need to pull mine off and check it for rust...

 

Nope, the bottom piece, where the hitch ball mounts. Both sides had rust, but only one side I could see had chips in the chrome. I polished the area up with Mothers mag cleaner and got rid of it. Before the new plastic piece goes on I'm going to WD-40 the area and let it soak, then wipe it off and put some Mothers back on, but not wipe it off this time. Should protect for a while, I'll just have to remember to keep that area clean all year  

[JimG]

Hey, if no one minds me asking ...

I got a brand new 2003 Sierra at the end of December.  Was cleaning it this weekend and I noticed the entire inside area of my front bumper has a nice orange layer of rust... almost brown in the corner cuz it's rusted more there.  Is this normal in a 3 month old truck?  Or should I go see the dealer?

[ClipperSkipper]

It needs to go to a GMC Dealer with a body shop,

according to the GMC customer service representative whom  I spoke with today. I called to give him the dope on my

corrosion problem, and got a case number as well.

[RyanbabZ71]

Jim same thins happened with my truck.  Its still there doesnt seem to be getting worse.  Has been 3 yrs since i noticed this.

[JimG]

Ok, so I guess I did good because the dealer I bought it from has a Body Shop right there.  I didn't think it should start rusting just yet ... problem is it'll be a few weeks to get there.