I gave my brand new (750 miles) 07 a bath today. I decided to pop the hood and check the oil and saw some rust on the engine. Please excuse my noobish-ness, but is this something I need to be concerned about?

 

my 03 doesn't have rust like that, damn?

 

That rust is on your exhaust manifold. This rust is red, indicating that it was caused by a wet corrosive environment, not heat. High temperature oxidation forms a gray oxide, not red.

I'm surprised to see that much red rust on your manifold. I suspect that someone used a strong cleaner/degreaser on your engine. If someone used a cleaner high in chloride or bleach and didn't rinse it off, it would cause even a stainless exhaust manifold to rust.

It's not a problem - the manifold flange is very thick and is designed to oxidize gradually over time. But I would thoroughly rinse off this area with water (with a cold engine) to remove any chlorides that may remain on the manifold. In time, this red rust appearance will turn gray and be less noticeable. But if it bugs you, you can take a wire brush to it and remove most of the rust.

 

Yeah, its just the exhaust manifold. I have 20+ yr old car manifolds in my garage that look way more rustier but haven't cracked or anything.

BTW, the engine block is cast aluminum. It won't rust.

 

My 02 isn't like that.

 

I agree on the cleaner/degreaser. Why the hell would a dealer feel the need to clean the engine bay of a brand new car anyway? They are usually always clean unless they mod-bogged it in an unpaved lot. Who knows.