Rust on a new truck

:confused: My husband and I are looking at a 2003 Chevy silverado that was manufactured in January. When I looked underneath the truck, I noticed the drive shaft was rusted. There is also rust on the bottom half of the engine block and starting to rust on the oil pan. Is this normal? The dealer says yes it is and so do a couple of friends. But other friends say this is not normal. HELP!

It doesn't sound normal to me. Not sure where you live, but it could be from the sand/salt sprayed on the roads during winter. I may be wrong, but i really dont think such a new truck should have any type of rust.

It's probably not so much rust as it is oxidation, and yes they all do that. Driveshafts wil always turn brown and unless your looking at a 8.1 or a 6.6 the engine is aluminum so it will never rust just gets a coat os whitish oxidation.

yeah its normal... i thought the same thing about a truck i bought a few years ago. i was looking under the hood and said, Oh s!@t. I saw that my block was a rust color and then i got on the ground and looked under the truck and saw my driveshaft was also this color. but i found out from a freind that its just because of the heat and so forth that it turns this color.....but im not sure about your oil pan. i dont think thats normal at all. i would definently be cautious

take a look at your steering column knuckle right where it goes into your steering gearbox... probably the same color as your driveshaft. Your exhaust manifolds are also probably rusty, but that is because of the heat.

sure brought this thread back from the dead....lol

damn... I didn't even read the date of the posts. I just got back in town and this thread was up, so I replied...

im hungry....