My friend just bought this 99 4runner and didn’t catch this spot.

I’ve never had rust like this on a vehicle. What are your thoughts?

How bad is this? Is this even fixable?

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Stick a fork in it.
If you don't do preventative rust regiment, this is what happens.
Frame is probably thin in a bunch of spots besides the obvious big holes, I'd scrap it.

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Wow that's scary...i patched a frame once on a 4runner but it wasn't nearly that bad. It was a pain in the butt for the small section i welded in so i'd say that frame is beyond repair and wouldn't be worth the trouble. Sorry about that. I'm never buying a rust bucket again, I'm fixing one myself right now and i'm about over it

Yeah mine had lots of rust too, nothing too deep but widespread so it's fully repairable. The body and frame are still in good shape. A PITA to fix though, I can think of better things to do with my life. But otherwise a good truck.

There are patch kits made of thick metal for sale on ebay. Simply place it and weld. Do rust prevention from day-1.

Don't scrap it.
Get it patched - I've seen much worse from that area.
Cut that stuff out asap and grind/wirewheel the rust off before any welding. Otherwise it is just a visual bandaid. Then do some rust treatment with por15

Just poke all the other areas of the frame just to make sure it is not a widespread problem.

It won't be a beauty queen but it is likely that a good welded patch will outlive your truck.

Wait until that breaks off while you're driving. (Hint: You can brake, slowly, but DO NOT accelerate!) BTDT. As to the fix, see the link in my sig below. I did it, but I don't recommend it. I wouldn't do it on a newly bought truck. I have 19 years of bonding with mine and I'm retired, so I had the time and the motivation. Patient is doing fine, by the way..

Yours actually looks much worse than mine did. It rusted from the inside out, so I was taken by surprise.

What about this spot? I’m no expert but I’m not sure you can patch this. Or am I wrong?

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It's amazes me how the rear link can hold up to that kind of rust and not have already broken off, that being said it can be fixed like anything else. I wouldn't drive it until the frame is repaired and don't coat it with anything either...that will just make welding a patch harder.

It's up to how much work your friend is willing to put into it, I have dealt with the personally have for that reason my next 4runner is coming from a road salt free state. Rust is an ongoing problem with broken bolts, replacing parts, crap in your eyes when working on it, etc. It is deceiving on these how the bodies are rust free and the frame is gone, pretty much opposite of the every other brand on the road.

I bought a 2000 just for parts, the whole frame fully fully repaired, still not worth being a keeper. Runs great too. Photo at purchase and present chopped condition. Here's a weld patch at the drivers side LCA bracket, there are other patches also.They just let it go too far and I didn't feel it was worth all the work to fully restore it, and I'm talking just rust repairs. It's a shame cause it was a beautifully truck, awesome color, trim package and 5 speed. Just plain NEGLECTED, totally preventable.
I guess anything can be repaired if you're willing to put in the work, can swap out frame too. Weigh your best options.


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Didn't catch the spot? More like didn't look under truck. Hard lesson to learn.

We all know that is the part that hold the rear axle in place. It will never be right again, the truck is compromised. What other parts are compromised that your buddy can not see?

I had the drivers side break off when I was driving years ago. Got rid of it, decided it wasn't worth my life if I were in an accident.

Maybe younger me might have fixed it, but I like to think the current version of me is a little more wise.

I'm going to give you some insight on the other end of the spectrum. This rust spot is a well known issue with 3rd gens as the heat from the muffler (without any sort of shield plating) causes advanced rust corrosion on and forward of the rear right LCA bracket. Seeing your picture, I can tell you that a good majority of the frames in the midwest/rust belt have at least this much of a hole in their frames, and it doesn't have a large structural impact on your rear axle support/placement.

What I am saying is this- I cannot stand scrapping or giving up on any vehicle that can easily and safely be fixed. There is a reason why some Toyota dealers (for enough money) fix these frames professionally; they wouldn't touch the frame is they thought the entire frame was bad. Please check your pinch welds/cross members/other low hanging frame locations before making the decision, but I highly doubt you will find any other spots showing structural corrosion.

Heck, my rust hole was easily twice as long and eating through the entire bracket and I fixed it. To each his own.

Nope not close


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I say it isn't worth scrapping. Pain in the ass it is though. Probably looking at 700-1000$

I wouldn't drive it if the control arm is about to break off FYI. Very dangerous. Like super scary dangerous.

You're not going to race the thing.
It won't break off if properly welded.

But some folks are anal about their 4runners and only want the best of the best. Who doesn't?

All depends on one's level of tolerance.

That being said - you can't have mickey mouse welds.
The blue 4runner's welded patch looked mediocre though hard to tell. Shame it went to the crapper.

This is some astonishingly bad advice. The trailing arm locates your rear axle- If it breaks while driving, this is a profoundly dangerous situation! There's another thread from today about how a jury awarded millions of dollars to the family of a young woman who died in an accident due to the suspension failing from rust. The peanut gallery is trying to poke holes in the family's story, but the article mentions 60 (!) reports to NHTSA about this issue and 7 rollover crashes. In other words, this is not an isolated incident.

If I were in your shoes, I would get this fixed ASAP. My car had this same issue- Luckily I found out before it failed. The good news is, it can definitely be fixed.