Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 1999 - Excessive rust underneath

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Sun 19 Aug 2007 13:43
1999 - Excessive rust underneath - Pete Mansell
Whilst carrying out the annual service on my 1999 Focus, I was amazed at the amount of rust. This is heavy flaking rust on most of the rear suspension and 'sub-frame' bits as well as the brake drums. The body itself is fine, and the car has always had an under-body hose down after each winter.

Does anyone know if this is normal, and whether it could be a safety issue. The car has always passed the MOT without comment, the last in January.

Many thanks
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 16:41
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - piston power
Yes normal most that age are the same, its heavy thick steel no need to worry.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 18:50
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - Aprilia
Yes, fairly typical.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:14
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - Pete Mansell
Many thanks for those comments Bigtee and Aprilia. It probably looks a lot worse than it really is!
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 21:37
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - GregSwain
I was alarmed how much surface rust there is on my Almera - the front crossmember is covered, and there are the beginnings of bubbles on the inside of the wheel arches which I keep meaning to sort before they spread. The rear brake-pipes are also a mess and will probably need replacing for the next MOT.

Focuses seem to get away lightly compared to similar vintage Kas and Fiestas - I was surprised to see a V-reg estate the other day with a very rusty tailgate. Saw a P-reg Ka a couple of years back that was unlike anything I've ever seen before or since. An absolute rot-box.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:12
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - Pete Mansell
Sorry about the heading, but haven't posted for some time, and having already typed in the car make and model, forgot to include in the header.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:29
1999 Ford Focus - Excessive rust underneath - Dynamic Dave
Sorry about the heading but haven't posted for some time and having already typed in
the car make and model forgot to include in the header.


Which is why the sticky message at the top of the page mentions that this info ISN'T included within the actual post. Hopefully this will be resolved at some point in the near future to stop wear and tear on our edit buttons ;o) DD
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