4 th Gen Ram Rust - Front Fenders And Body Guys

What is this fiberglass piece behind the front fenders on a 11 Ram Sport 4x4 Quad Cab 1500

Doing some research , seems to be an area for rust

And it's not coming off , it's rock hard , and I was told if I tried to remove it the fender would come with it ?

Anyways enjoy the pictures

And how can I treat that rust spot before it bleeds through

Truck is mint , 26,000 miles , and now I see this

If it bleeds through , I would be replacing fenders , also was told the new fenders have this fiberglass tape pre attached already

It's a moisture collector plain and simple

Its done to give the fender some "Body" meaning the materials are so thin that the slightest force will deform the panel, so they glue a lightweight sub strait for "body". Heat will probably loosen the glue but a strong possibility the panel will deform in the removal process.

Thanx

So , spray it with fluid film ?

I was thinking a wire wheel on a cordless drill where the one rust bubble is starting at least ?

Then some rust neutralizer maybe

Or is it a waste of my time , and just wait for the inevitable on the other side

Thanx Scott

I think it's sound deadener.

If they didn't have enough problems already by using garbage general motors metal for the 3 Gens, they have to go ahead and do this to make things even worse.

Probably a big job to get it out of there, so, how long do you plan to own the truck?

Mine already bled thru the passenger side bed panel. Dodge wont cover it because it was 2 months out of the 5 yr rust thru and also said it has to start from under the paint. Took it to a body shop and it will only cost me $1900. per side to replace each side after they bead blast the garbage they put under the panel.

Maybe pull the fender and get the inside lineX coated to keep water from getting into the fiberglass.

My truck is also two months out of warranty

Man that stuff is rock hard , no way it's fiberglass

Honestly , I think the only way it's coming off is with a grinder - And that's not going to happen

Talked to a few dealers today - Like Win racing mentioned , it strengthens the fender from the backside


$50,000 MSRP Truck - Great Job Ram - 26,000 miles , always garaged , washed regularly

I still can't even figure out how water would even get back there - The fender itself inside around the section of adhesive is spotless . Cleaned up it looks brand new

New trucks of all makes are rotting like crazy. My 05 needs rear wheel arches and cab corners. The bottoms of the doors have surface rust due to peeling paint but it's not rotten yet. I'll have to wire wheel it off, neutralize it and paint them in order for them not to explode. In a couple of years I'll fix the box and do cab corners, probably need rockers by that point as well lol. I could get a newer truck I guess but they don't seem any better, plus I use my truck as a truck so I'd feel bad pulling stumps around with a chain and banging it up.
Ford and Chevy suffer the same problems, every 2011 ish Chevy/Ford I see here has cab corners that are full of cancer, it's not just a dodge thing. Actually the 4th gens seem to be holding up better than the Fords and Chevs. I talked to a body guy and he says that they now put foam in a lot of areas in the cab for NVH reasons and they hold moisture and rot.

Around here, by and large it's the Dodges that suffer from this the worst. I see so many 10 year old rams that look worse than my 20 year old ram with 350k miles on it.

I live in and around Winnipeg and the Chevies are just as bad as an 03-08 Ram, admittingly the Fords are better, except when they restyled them around 2010/2011? Everyone I see has rockers/cab corners full of rust. The 09 and up Rams seem to fair ALOT better. I haven't seen a bad one. And the 04-01 Rams are just as bad, don't kid yourself

They all rust just as bad as the other... My friend had to trade in his nice low mileage mid 2000 ford because the cab mounts were totally gone. My bro's gmc has no rockers left plus the bumpers look like they are going to fall off. My 01 cummins has more miles x2 than both of those trucks combined and less rust. My friends 08 GMC looks like it sat in ocean around the rear wheel wells. My 95 ram with 154k has no rust... but it's a 2wd and didn't see much snow/salt.

If the trucks didn't rust out after 6-10 years, how could they sell you another $50.000 truck?

Now they are adding foam and liners to the back of the sheet metal and in the rockers & pillars so new pieces can't be welded in to repair them. How would it be of any benefit for any manufacturers to build trucks that lasted much longer then the warranty? They only make money off those trucks from the 1st sale, any repeat sales cost them income.

The manufacturers best interest would be to sell you a new truck, have you return to them for all of the required maintenance, then have it self destruct a couple months after the warranty expires, so they can start the process all over again. Gene

Condensation. WI is a damp state. I have to squeegee off my vehicles every morning just so I can drive to work.

I had photos of a 2015 Ram front fender that was packed with jute from the factory. If that's not a water sponge, I don't know what is!

My 99 CTD has 228000 miles on it and not a single drop of rust.

It must be where you live

It's totally where you live, lots of salt here in the winters, absolutely kills trucks, no matter what brand (although cars seem to fair much better)

This is hardly anything new. My 1992 F-150 had that sound deadener foam behind the rear cab corners. I had to pull it all out before welding in patch panels.

If this was such a conspiracy then why are new Fords made out of aluminum?

My 97 ram has no rust. Just regular washes and no winter.