Have a 2002 4Runner with 356,000 miles… Had it since 2007 as my Primary Vehicle… I’ve put 300,000 of those mile on it. I LUV that Truck!

But now the driver side rear upper shock mount has rusted out and broke. So been driving it that way for the past 2 weeks with the top rattling just a bit over bumps.

I did have 2 body shops look at it, and both said it’s not fixable with all the rust underneath the back end. I’d have to agree. I’ve seen that this is major issue with others as well.

I know it’s not ideal, but until I get something else… It’s all I got to drive my 60-mile work round-trip – all highway miles.

I avoid all potholes/bumps like the plague – as a little knocking doesn’t bother me to much… But I don’t want the shock coming through the body.

At this point, I really don’t want to give this truck up as It runs great and the interior and most of the body looks great… But I know it’s time to get something else.

Question – what do others do with vehicles with a great interior, 98% great body, a good engine, transmission, tires, etc?

Do they junkyard it, drive it till it dies, part it out, or ???

I wouldn’t sell it to anyone with the rusted rear frame and broken shock mount.

The shock mount being rusted out isn't the worse thing, but it will make the truck less predicable. The shock, as you most likely know, controls the "bounce". So you'll bounce more which is less control.

If you're worried about the shock coming through, just take it out, it's not doing a thing anymore anyway.

You could move the shock outboard depending on the condition of your frame.

96-02 3rd Gen 4Runner OEM+ Outboard Shock Mount (OSM) V2
– Snowbound Customs

Sell it stating that it has a rusted out frame. A lot of ppl do frame swaps on these vehicles and this might be a good candidate for that. Another option is you could relocate the upper shock mount to outside the frame (such as snowbounds shock relocation mounts). I would only recommend that if you can weld it/make the mount yourself though as you don’t really want to dump a bunch of money into it. Or frame swap it yourself. I would temporarily just remove the shock with the broken upper mount so it doesn’t punch through the floor board though.

Like mentioned relocate it if the frame will take a weld.


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Have you looked at safe-t-cap? They make frame repair kits. It's hard to know if it can help without seeing photos.

I expect many shops will not even touch the job. Things like this can be a liability, and they won't give you answers without you bringing it in (learned this trying to get my seat mount fixed).

If everything else is perfect than a frame swap might make sense. Otherwise it might be time to let it go. Sell it for parts and state that it has a compromised frame and shouldn't be driven on road for safety reasons.

I would unbolt the shock from the axle to prevent it flor damaging the floor. I think most body shops wouldn't want to tackle this. I would look into welders. Wouldn't doubt that there are some who have experience with chassis repair in a state like Wisconsin. You can also buy that shock tower new to weld in from Toyota. If the rear of the frame is really that gone, I would consider a frame swap out this point. Plenty of clean 2WD frames down south that require some minor crossmember relocation to work on a 4WD.

So to add a bit more info onto this… and going a different direction…

Friday night I took my 4Runner in to get a small noise checked out that happened in the 55-60mph range…

They said not to worry about it at this time unless it gets much worse (possible rear axle bearing) – as it comes and goes… And it didn’t go on the test drive… sounded fine

Left the repair shop… drove 3 blocks… and the truck died going up a hill over the Chippewa River… (never done this to me before) I coasted right into the NSP Dam small parking lot… Lucky, lucky, lucky… could have been much worse… As I was to go pick up my son in 2 days from MSP coming back from the Navy in a driving snowstorm.

I called the shop… they were closing in 2 hours… waited for a tow truck and got it back to the shop… but now closed..

Truck sat from Friday afternoon till Tuesday at the repair shop…

On Tuesday they found a bad fuel pump fuse. Replaced it and let it run in the shop – and it ran fine. They took it for a drive… and died 20 minutes later… tech didn’t trust it, so had brought a spare fuse… Started right up and got almost back to the shop.. coasted down the hill and inside…

They did some troubleshooting and eventually found the Fuel Pump wiring right above the rear driver side shock mount area (my broken shock mount) could be the issue.

Replaced the fuse, started it up… started fine…

Wiggled those wires above the shock mount… the truck died..

They fully removed the shock… and redid the wiring… and it’s been running fine since…

Been very happy with these guys at the shop I moved to a few years ago.

Mount the shock outboard the frame and be done with it.


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I'll show that to a friend. He's looking at this 2001 4Runner in the same scenario. The interior looks great and only has 283k miles on the clock. The previous owner recently got new rotors and tires from 4Wheelonline. That's when the shop noticed the shock mount rust.

replacement upper shock mount/spring perches are available
51302-35040
51301-35030

How are you liking the relocated shocks? Working good for you? Notice any differences?

That is definitely an option in the rust belt. If that plate gets bad enough it will not hold the springs or shock.

Brillo_76, I know that you were asking another person but I just did this repair on my truck and I love the position of the shock mounts on the outside of the frame. It makes the truck very stable. This is also a much easier fix than replacing the actual shock mount.

Ah. Good to know as it's another option for a fix...

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Buy my '99 4wd Limited - it is a California/Texas car with Zero rust. Katzkin leather interior and heated seats!

If the price $500 with free shipping. We could probably work out a deal....;)

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