I was reading in my Haynes manual that 2nd gen trucks that were built in the US have an E-coated frame and the others including those built in Mexico have a wax coated frame. What's the difference and why is there a difference??

 

Good, I wanna know this too. I have an E-coat and my truck was built for Canada. Maybe the E stands for electrochemical - meant for better chemical/rust protection?!?!?

- Craig

 

Wax coating is just that a wax coating sprayed on just like Rusty Jones used to do in the 1980's- factory undercoating for GM. It will scrape off but is self healing for minor scrapes. The E-Coat is an electrochemical dip the chassis passes through (just like electro plating) which adheres the coating to all surfaces, inside and out better than the wax. The Ecoating is supposed to be more durable and scratch resistant, which based on what my truck has been through (plowing and high salt content winters for it's whole life) does work better.

wax coating is a hold over from past generations of vehicle manufacture. It is a predictable method because it was widely used. Updating multiple factories to use a newer method costs a significant amount so I think they were doing it on a trial basis on the US made trucks with the intent to upgrade other plants in the future.

 

^Cool, thanks for the info!

 

My truck didn't come with the orig owners manual...how do you find out if you have a e-coat or wax coat? where does one find this information specifically?

 

Door Jamb should list the country your truck was assembled in, and then use the info above to figure out what ya got.

 

It listed in the VIN. A service manual should tell you where to look.

 

Just to add, I believe all 1997 and later trucks have an e-coat and all 1995 and previous have a wax coat. Only in 1996 does it depend on where it was built. I'll have to double check what I said again but I'm pretty sure it's right.

 

I can't speak on the other years, but that's correct for '96.

 

I've got a 1997 made in Mexico, so you think by 97 all frames including those made outside the US had the e-coat on the frame? I have a complete build sheet from Dodge and also the original window sticker and it doesn't specify the frame coating on either.

 

I have a 2001 made in Mexico (by looking at the door jam)... interested to know since its well past '96 if it's e-coat versus the wax coat...

So is it by where the truck was made no matter what year ...

OR...

is it by the year with the exception of 95 and older wax coats (which then defers to US or Mexico) and 97 and newer are e-coated

 

look under your truck- ecoat looks like paint/powder coating. Wax coating is just that.

I'll try to look in a 3rd gen FSM and get the vin code breakdown. it will say there which digit is which factory and which factory uses what method.

 

I think I had wax coat on my 95 and it was rusty as all hell when I bought it the whole frame was orange. Since then its been a project of mine stripping and painting front to back.

 

Ok guys... I can't tell you for sure if the 97-on have an e-coat. According to my Haynes manual torque specs:

Upper suspension arms:

1994-95: 62 ft-lbs.
1996 wax coat: 62 ft-lbs.
1996 e-coat: 100 ft-lbs.
1997-on: 80 ft-lbs.

The same discrepency in torque spec applies to a lot of other components in the front suspension. The '96 wax coat frames seem to have the same torque specs as the 94-95 trucks, the '96 e-coat frames have the highest torque specs of all years, and the '97-on trucks have medium torque specs compared to the other two. From this info I cannot determine whether all 1997-on frames are e-coat or whether all 1994-95 trucks are wax coat. Seems like it would be from the torque specs but then why would the '97-on trucks have a lower torque spec than the '96 e-coats?

Here's how to decode your VIN (especially for 1996 truck owners). The 11th digit of your VIN should be a letter. If it's a "J," then it was built in St. Louis and has an e-coat. If it's a "S," "G," or "M" then it has a wax coat. I guess I messed up in my original post. "S" means that it was built in Dodge City USA and the latter two are Mexico. So I guess the only 1996 e-coat trucks are those built in St. Louis (like mentioned, probably as an experiment).

Hope this helps some.

The rust isn't because it has a wax coat. You'd have the same rust even with an e-coat. It's all about the region and conditions that the truck lived in.

 

I don't know if I would consider that entirely true. Yes, location does have a large influence, but the electroplated process is much better than wax coat. In fact this is a facet of industry that has improved greatly the last ten years. The plated process for frames and steel body panels is much better. We will probably much less rust on newer vehicles.

Anyway, my truck lived on dairy farm for 10 years. It has seen its fair share of manure and salt. I have rust all over the body panels, but the frame is in pretty good shape. Now, I don't have a wax coated truck, so I don't have a direct comparison. I don't have an orange frame though.

I'm not trying to argue, these are just my observations and opinions.

- Craig