Hey everyone.

I checked the undercarriage the other day and noticed frame rust - for the most part it seems surface rust - some areas near the spare tire have rusted through. i bought it at 115k miles and it has 233k miles on it currently and runs like the day I got her. regular maintenance etc. my only concern is that I'm curious if you think its safe to drive - also important to note I do no offroading in this one - I live in NYC so I drive it very seldom but I'm just torn.

Its a perfect vehicle with the exception of the frame. Im considering a ton of options on how to handle this - frame replacement is out of the question - too old and the value of the car is not worth to pay for a replacement. I also think its an incredible vehicle and the thought of just scrapping it breaks my heart. THe majority of the bad rust is back by the spare tire

My questions is: is this safe for road driving here and there throughout the year? If not, what would you do with this vehicle? not sure if its possible to even trade in. I'm torn. any help is appreciated

I want to also preface: I know there is a million things I could of done to avoid it getting this bad - I'm not proud to make this post - especially to this community, I'm embarrassed it got to this point. I bought the car very young and never really thought much of it. Lesson learned moving forward.

Any and all advice is helpful

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The only real issue I see is by the spare and that is huge. Is the inside rusted through too or just the outside of the frame? The main concern is getting rear ended, there's not much there to keep it from crumpling up to the fuel tank. I would look at the rest of the frame closely, poke it with a screwdriver or pointy hammer. If the rest has no holes then maybe look into having safe-t-caps welded on. I'm curious how this thing passes NY state inspection.

BTW, good idea to check your brake lines that run on the inside of the frame on the driver's side. They may be close to failure if original.

4 Runner 2003-2009 4th Gen Archives - autorust.com

Yep, looks rough, do as Mike says, or use a small ball peen hammer on it for checking and getting the loose stuff to start falling off and out of the inside, you're going to get a pile! If your AC condensate hose is still as stock and dripping on frame in passenger side engine compartment, which your pictures tell me it is, the frame under passenger side door will have a good load and probably hole out.

It is AMAZING what NY salt can do to an older car in short order. Dont beat yourself up too hard... the front of my kid's '99 looks like CRAP after 3 years of use, 2 here and 1 back in Utah where the car hails from.

The rear crossmembers are really problem areas in every Toyota truck i've deal with ( up in Buffalo, whattya expect!?) that one is indeed toast.

In NYC you must not have easy access to a compressor and needle scaler, but that's the usual prep for frame like this, then a through degrease, and then something like POR-15.

The fuel tank needs to be dropped, and that cross member cut out and redone.

Needle scaling breaks off the rust and can expose any nastiness underneath. Short of that, beat it with a hammer as said. In fact that's how I get big scale off. You dont need a danty hammer or a ball peen specifically, any will do. A chisel may help as well.

I agree with @MikeinNH67 - the spot near the spare tire needs attention in pretty short order but the rest of it looks ok - don't see any penetration but check it with a welding hammer or big screwdriver. This spot can be welded so don't despair but don't let anybody put it on a lift without being aware of the issue. I had a 3rd gen that I welded up three times but then eventually had to sell it for salvage because there was nothing left to weld to. This is the place I used the first time near Columbus, OH and did it myself a couple more times after that....

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I see you list Cincinnati as a home and expect you might better find an experienced shop there vs Florida. You might look into getting an estimate from Franks Frame and Axle / Hartwell Tire, 8215 Vine Street in Cincinnati - I don't know the place but did a quick google search ("auto frame restoration welding) and they do this type of work. The Safe-T-Caps are interesting - was not aware of them when I was doing my work on the 3rd gen. After you get it welded up, knock that loose stuff off and Woolwax the frame. That will extend the remaining life.

I have NO clue how this passed. It got inspected last week. I have a feeling my guy just slaps a sticker on it and takes my money

The bad spot happens to be the body mount bracket. This is what attaches the body to the frame and it looks like its barely hanging on.

Wow, ok then. Keep us posted on what you do.

It was going alright until pic #6