Rusted Rear Control Arm Driver's Side - Any chance of repair? - Toyota 4Runner Forum

donkeyhoatie · 11-16-2012, 02:53 PM

I'm guessing not, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had this issue fixed. It's not completely broken off the frame, just on the outside of the frame. Should I even bother having it towed to the shop?

donkeyhoatie · 11-16-2012, 02:56 PM

Sorry, picture's not posting. I'll figure out the link issue in a few.

cj80cruiser · 11-16-2012, 03:03 PM

Haven't seen it but you could get one from someone parting out a truck....like me. Pm me if you end up needing one.

cj80cruiser · 11-16-2012, 03:28 PM

Thats not what I was thinking you were talking about.

donkeyhoatie · 11-16-2012, 03:36 PM

I'm having it towed to the mechanic tomorrow to see if there's anything they can do.

If that doesn't happen, I may have to find someone in the Midwest who might be interested in purchasing a 3rd Gen for parts. Outside of the frame rust, it's in great shape in the interior and the engine only has 83K on it. Haven't done the water pump/timing belt yet. Tires are Yokohama Geolanders ATs (265070/16) with about 6000 miles on them. Really bummed about this.

cj80cruiser · 11-16-2012, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donkeyhoatie

I'm having it towed to the mechanic tomorrow to see if there's anything they can do.

If that doesn't happen, I may have to find someone in the Midwest who might be interested in purchasing a 3rd Gen for parts. Outside of the frame rust, it's in great shape in the interior and the engine only has 83K on it. Haven't done the water pump/timing belt yet. Tires are Yokohama Geolanders ATs (265070/16) with about 6000 miles on them. Really bummed about this.

Not sure how far or bad the rusted area is but you'll need a section of the frame as well from what I see. If you were local id help you cut out what you need.

zooroadbaja · 11-16-2012, 06:02 PM

Man that's rusted, while you're at it you might want to check over the rest of the truck and see if anything else is about to go. You might as well get it all done at once while it's at the shop.

shadow247 · 11-16-2012, 07:42 PM

If there's one spot rusted out that bad, chances are there is a lot more. I think your best bet is to buy another 4Runner and swap over the best parts from this truck and then let it go.

rjaudi · 11-16-2012, 08:08 PM

Everyone needs to keep an eye on those rear control arm mounts in the north. Mine got a hole on the passenger side. But I caught it early and patched it. I would think if you frame is that bad I would worry about the other side's arm mount, differential, muffler, power steering lines and rear heater coolant lines. Also, working on anything under the 4runner will be fun.

Ghostrider · 11-16-2012, 08:32 PM

While I am glad to live in the warmer climate - this ticks me off. It seems that Toyota had no clue what they were doing in designing this version. I don't think they cared a bit that the frame and parts were going to rust quickly, In various threads I have seen a lot of rust and in vehicles only 10-12 years old that amount of rust is a very poor design job by Toyota.

MX4R · 11-16-2012, 11:41 PM

A good offroad fab shop could probably make some new mounts and fix the frame. Welding and fab is what they do. A basic mechanic won't be able to tackle that, if he says he can I would be worried. It all depends how the rest of the frame looks though. If there are other spots that bad you have some thinking to do.

Another runner or full tube frame. I vote full tube frame.

donkeyhoatie · 11-17-2012, 01:22 AM

Thanks everyone for the comments. It's going to the mechanic tomorrow on the off-chance they can do something about it. I've reached out to a local offrad fab shop too and requested a quote for repair work. There are some other rusty spots on the frame, but none of them are nearly as bad as this area. Again, without looking inside the frame, it's hard to tell the extent of the damage. I'd love to be able to rescue this thing and keep driving it for a few more years.

t4r4life · 11-17-2012, 05:30 AM

yall tripping, this is not that bad just cut out the rust parts and have the fab shop weld in a piece of 3/16" U channel, and make a new link mount. it takes a while to rust thought a piece of 3/16"

BlackCat914 · 11-17-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghostrider

While I am glad to live in the warmer climate - this ticks me off. It seems that Toyota had no clue what they were doing in designing this version. I don't think they cared a bit that the frame and parts were going to rust quickly, In various threads I have seen a lot of rust and in vehicles only 10-12 years old that amount of rust is a very poor design job by Toyota.

10-12 years is not "quickly". And ya, damn Toyota for not regularly cleaning and maintaining the undercarrage of peoples 10-12 year old cars! How dare they!

donkeyhoatie · 11-17-2012, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t4r4life

yall tripping, this is not that bad just cut out the rust parts and have the fab shop weld in a piece of 3/16" U channel, and make a new link mount. it takes a while to rust thought a piece of 3/16"

Thanks man for the suggestion and reassurance. When I saw it yesterday, I had resigned myself to the fact that Gene Banks, my rig, was most likely headed out to pasture. While I'm not sure what the official diagnosis will be, I at least have some hope for good news today. On the plus side, I'm off work on vacation until after Thanksgiving, so it's not like I need my daily driver for anything right now.

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