Thanks Mike. I’ll poke around tomorrow if I can get some time. Kinda scared lol. Oh well.

Can someone chime in on this…

So used frame for sale, $1000. No idea if it’s strip down, condition etc. but assuming it’s a good rust free frame and can be shipped and a reasonable cost - who’s done the swap and is it reasonable to think it’s better long term?

2004 Toyota 4runner Frame 4x4, 6 cylinder (OE Used) |
$1,027.00, 500-50525, D300001030F, El Paso, Texas (FREE Shipping)

$1000 frame
$500 ship (guessing)
$ ??? Install

Any major downsides I’m missing here?

Just thinking even I fix these two frame holes for $1000, odds are in next 5-10 years there’s going to be at least few more that pop up so that’s probably another $3-5k over that period, plus the aggregation of looking for them all the time.

Would love to hear thoughts

I had no idea you could straight up buy a frame, you learn something new every day!

OP, how bad is your rust on your current frame?

Have you got any install quotes? I feel like this thing would be an outrageous cost. When you factor in the frame cost + the shipping and install, you may be getting close to what you could just get another T4R for. Just my two cents!


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As an alternative... safetcap.com sells formed pieces to repair the frames. If you access to a good welder this may be a cheaper and less costly way to attack the rust through.

This is the route I wil be taking on my son's 06. Just waiting for time in the shop to become available.

If anyone in the Boston area needs their frame repaired, World Motorwerks in Braintree MA (Yianni) does an excellent job.

I'm seeing some rust in other areas as well. I've heard good things about Fluid Film product from the Canadians that drive there cars in very harsh condition. Check out Fluid-Film lanolin-Based-Petroleum-Oil. Lowes sells it.

I recently used it on the bottom of my steel trailer, although I live in the Southwest US, and probably wasn't completely warranted, I still wanted to do it as an extra precaution.

I was thinking about adding it on my suspension arms and suspension bolts at some point. The only thing I don't like is it lets dirt get caked on the surfaces that you spray it on.

11/13 Update**

Some pretty bad news. Went digging around this afternoon to see what I could find in the way of more holes, etc. It’s really bad.

I found 4-5 more holes, massive corrosion. It’s now obvious the used car dealer in Ohio that sold me the truck three years ago covered a bunch of stuff up with bonding and coating.

The rear where the bumper covers the frame, and the entire metal piece that holds the rear bumpstop on the drivers side has rusted out of the vehicle.

The problem seems invasive, and terminal.

I’m super bummed. Just totally crushed by this.

One of the holes I found is right along the weld underneath the frame as in arches up to the front passenger side. She seems unsafe to drive at the moment.

I feel that welding is just putting a bandaid on flesh wounds EVERYWHERE.

I feel as if a new frame is the only option.

Has anyone, I mean anyone done the frame swap or know of a shop that can do this in the mid-Atlantic??

Who feels she’s unsafe? Will Toyota help? This is BS

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I don't think it's unsafe at this moment for on road use as long as all your spots where suspension component brackets are welded to frame are solid. Such as all the rear bars, shock mounts, front crossmember where LCA attaches, etc.

Yes, a frame replacement would be ideal, but it's probably a long shot, or will be big $$$ if you can find someone willing to tackle it.

Google 4Runner frame replacement on youtube and you'll find some videos.

Thanks. It's kind of the front A-arm hole along the weld that freaks me out. And has anyone ever had the entire rear bump stop bracket come out?! It literally was hanging so I just tore it off. Do I not need that, lol? Saw a couple videos. Really extensive but you dont think someone would do it for like $5-6K?

I don't know. It also had a ton of rust on top of the frame. The part you can't even see. I pulled like, slabs of rust flakes the size of my hand from out of there. How would I even treat that area.

Oh, and one of the straps/bracket that holds the fuel tank inside of its metal shield it broken.

I still haven't heard of anyone recommending a good fab/frame shop in Northern, Va to do this work. There has to be someone interested in making a few thousands bucks.

What do you think of the bump stop mount rusting out? It's completely gone now. Do I technically need it? I guess I could have another one welded in?

Not sure how important rear bump stop is on road vehicle, someone else can comment on that. But something you might want to consider is looking at some of the "For Sale" V8, 4th gens on here that are for sale. There is an '06 or '08 on here for $9K with less than 200K miles and if it has a solid undercarriage might be worth considering and then part yours out. Just a thought.

Thanks. Might be an option.

Would be a shame because I’ve put a lot of maintenance into her when I purchased and over past couple years.

20k ago
-new timing belt, water pump, serp
-spark plugs
-front half-shafts
-front wheel bearings
-front and rear calipers
-front discs
-front uca AND lca (oh yea)
-bilsteins all around
-springs, bushings, etc
-exhaust
-secondary air pump workaround fix
-complete trans fluid exchange
-front and rear diff, transfer case fluid change
-coolant and brake fluid
-Mobil 1 oil every 5k

This month
-oil change
-factory coolant flush
-full driveline fluid change, trans drain and fill
-spark plugs, engine filter, cab filter

There’s more. She drives fantastic for 180k. Needs exhaust manifolds, rear hatch (rust bubbles), and a new frame apparently.

Is anyone participating in this class action suit for 4runners?

Toyota 4Runner - Bell Legal Group

I asked for them to include me. Maybe we get some traction on this.

I think a lot of us are, but with low expectations!

Well this could be a good idea. Some of them list free shipping but not sure how accurate that is. A Southern frame would be a good fix for this. Looking at your latest pictures is disheartening, mainly because there's so many holes and you don't even know what's in store behind the rear bumper. Pretty sure there's some YT videos of folks swapping the frame. Don't be concerned about the bump stop as mine has been gone for years. Nothing looks dangerous as of yet but who knows what else is lurking in there.

I had a tank strap break too, that can be a pain to replace. Someone on here replaced them recently if looking for info.

@rdruss

Heck yea, man. Toyota needs to address this! I'll donate some time if need be but have very low expectations as well.

Update on repair options:

Took her too Off-road Innovations in Winchester, VA. Nice crew they got there. John walked through the underside with me. Good news is that not too much more in way of suspicious spots that need immediate attention. His initial estimate/recommendation - which I'll revisit some of this - are as follows:

-Safe T Cap both front A-arms. This is where I'll need to chat about "why" both. The front passenger perhaps is bad enough to justify a long section like Safe T Cap. The drivers side just looks like it needs a small plate.

Both front safety caps and labor - $2,400 (16 hours labor)

-Wire wheel entire frame, coat with rust inhibitor, seal with POR-15. I noted that issues can arise from inside out, which they are well aware of. However, he said that they do not have a decent way of removing debris from inside (cost prohibitive if they attempted this). But by doing the rust mitigation and seal on the outside a) they drop the fuel tank so they would be able to fix that strap without extra labor, and b) it will help at least slow down the outside progression, plus make the frame look consistent if an inspector was wondering about a repair job.

$1,400 to do this.

I would try to bring this down to $3,500 out the door. I do think this is high. But my area seems to be elevated on cost, for everything really.

One of my thoughts is the passenger side does not need a Safe T Cap and that time+materials should be cut down. My goal is to get all this under $3K. This also does not address the holes in the rear bumper area or the bumpstop. MY plan for the rear holes is to metal plaster patch them after they complete their work. My thought is, yes, they are frame homes but they are in the edge of the rear bumper area where there's no suspension parts connected, etc. They are not really load bearing. So I'll fill them and move on.

Am I thinking along the right lines here?

@MikeinNH67

I'm thinking that I need to get another 3-4 years out of this frame. Then I'll probably have around 210-225K on the whole vehicle. If I do well financially, I'll give her to a place like this Off-Road Innovations and say, Here's $40-50k take her for next 6 months and go new frame, rebuild the FU-Z (325hp+), entire suspension rebuild, repaint, restore interior. Basically try and make her as new as possible. That's the dream at least, lol