steevr

Man, it's amazing what the moisture in the air alone can do.

I've had my '07 since last June. It's been stored in the garage since November. This evening I went out to put the Battery Tender on. I noticed the vibration damper and the exhaust manifolds were now totally covered with surface rust. The car has never been in the rain.

Rear axle still looks as rust-free as the day I brought it home. Strange....I would have thought that would have had it too.

More proof not to keep it in a vacuum sealed trophy case but rather just drive it to enjoy it.

theedge67

Vibration damper? Not sure exactly what you are talking about there...please elaborate or pics??

karman

I think he means the harmonic balancer.

DynamicmustangGT

It is supposed to have surface rust on the exhaust manifolds its consider discoloration and not rust

RobK

He's probably right, it's likely surface rust. As stated, the best way to keep a car in good shape is to use it. The only thing better is a 100% heated and/or cooled garage.

SteelTownStang

"That" surface rust will not hurt anything. Believe me... it'll out last you.

RobK

Yep, seals the iron so it can't oxidize any further.

kevinb120

Yup, they still should of painted or treated the rear axle housing though.

metroplex

AFAIK Ford has never painted or sealed/treated the rear ends on any of their cars. The trucks and vans that get Dana rear-ends usually have a black paint/treatment (most likely done by Dana, not Visteon).

GirchyGirchy

Are you positive it's rust on the headers? It might just be discoloration from high exhaust temps. I work at a diesel engine plant where a small percentage of the engines go through a 2.5 hour test. After this, the exhaust manifold, turbo, and EGR cooler, and even the stainless bolts are all darkened from the heat. It looks like it's rusty, but it's not.

As for the damper, yeah, it's the same as the harmonic balancer. Those terms can be used interchangeably.

KdF

Word!

It`s made of cast iron....rust is inevitable. You could always wipe it down with some oil , but it won`t last.

metroplex

A harmonic balancer is used for externally balanced crankshafts (like on a 5.0/302 SB V8). A harmonic dampener is used for internally balanced crankshafts, such as the ones used in the modular engines. I've never heard the term vibration dampener used to describe the harmonic dampener/crankshaft pulley before.

scramblr

Oh yeah, it's rust. No different than the rest of the underneath of the car...