The wife and I just bought our X, and it's our first diesel engine (YEA!!). While we love this Limited version and PSD, there was something that caught my attention this week. I got up on the rear bumper to look up on the top of the X, and noticed that both of the rain grooves on either side of the luggage rack had been filled in with some sort of liquid metal or epoxy (or bondo?) for about 7 feet!!! Is my dealership covering up something? It looks to have been professionally painted over (maybe even from the factory), but I am suspicious. A co-worker of mine bought the same X on the same day, and he said he has that for only about 6 inches in his rain grooves/gutters. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
THE MATERIAL YOU SEE IS A URATHANE SEAM FILLER/SEALER USED IN THE ASSEMBLY OF YOUR BODY. THE TOP OF THE EXCURSION IS ONE PIECE FROM THE WINDSHIELD TO THE REAR LIFTGATE. FRON THE WINDSHIELD TO THE BACK EDGE OF THE REAR SIDE DOOR THE TOP ROLLS DOWN TO THE DOOR FRAME OPENINGS. FROM THE BACK EDGE OF THE REAR DOORS TO THE BACK OF THE BODY THE REAR QUARTER PANNELS ROLL UP INTO THE TOP CREATING THE SEAM YOUR SEEING. THIS SEAM OVERLAPS AND IS SPOT WELDED THEN COVERED WITH THE URATHANE SEALER. IT'S THEN PAINTED WITH THE REST OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROCESS IS USED BY ALL MANUFACTURES.
[This message has been edited by JDAALLEN (edited 10-06-2000).]
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2005 "AMARILLO" PACKAGE F250 CREWCAB, LONG BOX, POWER MOON ROOF, LEATHER INTERIOR, HEATED POWER SEATS, TOW COMAND, UPFITTER SWITCHES, TEMP/COMPUS/HOMELINK MIRROR, POWER REAR WINDOW, ARE BED COVER W/SPOILER, 6 DISC IN DASH, SHIFT ON FLY, BODY COLOR GRILL INSERT, MIRRORS, LOWER VALANCE, LICENSE PLATE BRACKET, COWEL COVER, MUD GUARDS, SIDE STEP BRACKET COVERS, REAR BUMPER/HITCH PLATE COVERS, AND IS THAT YELLOW EVER "SCREAMING", AS FORD PUTS IT!!
Hmmmmmm...that is very interesting. I guess what I don't understand is that it is actually INSIDE the rain groove for about 7 feet starting at the back of my truck. However, on my friend's X, it's only about six inches from the back of his truck.
However, I am no expert, and hope that your reply is correct (believe me, I don't want to try and "exchange" the vehicle).
Lok at newer vehicles and you will see that almost all have some sort of trim that runs inboard of roof edge 5-8 inches. Some are trimmed with black strips and some are trimmed with body colored strips.
Some look like drip mouldings.
These cars have low enough roofs to do something more esthetic. The only time you see the seam on your X or SD is when you stand up in the bed or bumper and look.
The manufacturers started doing some things that save metal when they stamp body pieces. They get really good utilization of the metal sheets.
The whole body side, or at least most of it is stamped out of one piece and the seam to single roof stamping is usually a laser weld.
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Don't tell my cattle I got leather seats!
2000 CC Dually 4x2 6 spd Lariat.
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Don't tell my cattle I got leather seats!
2006 F450 CC Hauler bed 4x2 6.0 L Pstroke/Torqshift, Lariat, 4.88 r/a.
2006 F350 Lariat CC Dually 4X2, 6.0 TQShift 4.10 LS, STOCK.
36 feet on the floor Elite/Outlaw LQ horse trailer. Sooner 6 horse large dressing/ mid tack.
15 horses with good balance from being hauled behind a P'stroke.
THE RAIN GROOVE IS THERE FOR 3 REASONS;
1. FUNCTION AS RAIN GROOVE OVER THE DOOR AREAS.
2. GIVE THE TOP RIGIDITY SAME AS RAISED RIBS IN CENTER AREA.
3. PROVIDE A DEPRESSION TO HIDE SEAMS.
THE REASON YOURS LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR BUDDYS IS SIMPLY QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP OF THE INSTALLER. MINE IS HARDLY DETECTABLE FROM THE BACK UNTILL ABOUT 3 INCHES FROM THE DOOR THEN IT GETS THICKER AND ENDS IN A GLOB. STILL WITHIN THE "RAIN GROOVE" THOUGH. I'VE LOOK AT OTHERS THOUGH THAT YOU COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE SEAM AT ALL.
THIS URATHANE IS EXTREMELY TUFF STUFF. WHEN A BODY MAN HAS TO REMOVE IT FOR PANNEL REPLACEMENT OR REPAIT IT HAS TO BE GROUND OR CHISSLED OFF.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BODY PANNELS GO TO YOUR FORD PARTS DEPT. AND HE CAN SHOW YOU AN EXPLODED VIEW OF THESE PARTS AND YOU WILL BETTER SEE WHAT I TRIED TO EXPLAIN.
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2005 "AMARILLO" PACKAGE F250 CREWCAB, LONG BOX, POWER MOON ROOF, LEATHER INTERIOR, HEATED POWER SEATS, TOW COMAND, UPFITTER SWITCHES, TEMP/COMPUS/HOMELINK MIRROR, POWER REAR WINDOW, ARE BED COVER W/SPOILER, 6 DISC IN DASH, SHIFT ON FLY, BODY COLOR GRILL INSERT, MIRRORS, LOWER VALANCE, LICENSE PLATE BRACKET, COWEL COVER, MUD GUARDS, SIDE STEP BRACKET COVERS, REAR BUMPER/HITCH PLATE COVERS, AND IS THAT YELLOW EVER "SCREAMING", AS FORD PUTS IT!!
I just finished removing the roof rack cross bars from my truck and also noticed the rain track is filled about 7' from the back of truck to front. While I was up there I looked at my Chevy Suburban and noticed the roof rack installation appeared to be much superior to the rack used on the X. The Chevy has braces on top of the roof supports running the lenght of the truck. I guess ford went with their design to cut down on the height of vehicle, but the other design appears to be much better. Any thoughts?
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2001 Oxford White Limited. Limited slip. Heated seats. 6 Cd in Dash. A/T Tires. PSD. All the other normal standard items. No extras yet.
Agreed. 80" seems to have been the mantra rather than quality. Also, remove those cross pieces on the X or they will wear the paint right off the roof! They did not allow for enough flex clearance.
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