Classy.

Screw over some poor sucker that might be foolish enough to believe that some people still have ethics...

my overall point is that parts available and reasonable cheap for this fix. The real $$ is going to come from a body shop doing the work though.

I want to know how the owner didn't notice his vehicle leaking though. It clearly wasn't sealed to begin with and had to leak A LOT during rain.

This is why I don't want to mess with my roof rack or install a new one. The factory installed one is probably the best you can get at having proper sealing.

I am going to try and answer some of the questions and responses to the thread.

I bought the truck brand new in 2014 and half of its life garage kept in San Diego. The next half was in Hawaii not garage kept, the issue both places is I was frequently gone often so the vehicle sat static for periods of 6-7 months.

The roof was line-X in 2016 when I got to HI as well as the rack (1 of the times I took the rack off, I can't remember why I removed it the 2nd time). I never saw any indications of the roof leaking and never had water coming in. I deployed several times from HI and the vehicle was left outside for long periods of time. I assume had there been water leaking, it would have been apparent when I returned with either mold, foul smells or some sort of sign, but there were none. The photos posted are of the top of one mount with one bolt in and one out and the inside of the same mount, as well as the headliner(excuse how dirty). My intent in the photos is to show it did not really show signs or indications, not like you would expect with the amount of rust

The original photos I took were after I did some scrubbing of the area and some of the bolts were different due to the sale of the rack I also gave up the original hardware, so I put something to place hold until I can get more factory bolts.

For those concerned about an aftermarket rack I assure you this was pretty much self-induced. Had I sealed properly and regularly checked the seals this probably wouldn't have happened, also the factor the truck sat static for periods of time allowing water to soak in didn't help.


I don't really plan on selling it, I'm going to figure something out. I will probably hit a pick-in-pull or something to try and pull the sections I need. I have no idea or experience how to weld but I do have youtube. I love this truck and very much love not having a car payment. The truck is also in great mechanical shape I barely broke 60,000 miles a couple of days ago. Hopefully, this just serves as a reminder to CHECK YOUR SEALS!!

On the upside, I'm stoked this post has over 2,000 views and a ton of comments ..lol

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That's kinda remarkable how badly it rusted. I have pieces of raw steel that I've left outside longer than that - just raw mild steel sheets - and they look better. The rate of rust is similar to some hardware I've taken off the underside of mine that look worse than bolts on my 1974 FJ40 that lives in the same climate. I think Toyota has some real problems with metallurgy. If you had sand blasted the roof entirely - I'd still expect it to take a decade or more to actually rust through the metal. Strangely the places I've actually scratched through the paint on mine to the metal - there's no rust at all. Not even an orange color on the bare metal. I assume there must be a galvanic protection coat applied to most of the body panels.

Just a guess but was the rack still in really good shape like not corroded at all? Was the metal of the rack directly touching the metal of the roof maybe where paint had worn off? Factory racks have a rubber or plastic spacer and I'm sure factory bolts are chosen specifically to avoid a dissimilar metals issue. Your rack I'm guessing did not have a spacer and or the hardware was a dissimilar metal. Again just guessing.

Galvanic action occurs when two electrochemically dissimilar metals are in contact and a conductive path occurs for electrons and ions to move from one metal to the other. One metal corrodes as its ions are deposited onto the other metal. ... Cathodes are noble, or stable, metals that are not prone to corrosion.

If I'm correct, your roof acted similar to a zinc anode on a boat prop shaft or the zinc outer coating of a galvanized steel beam. It sacrificed itself protecting your roof rack.

It definitely seems like it could be a galvanic corrosion process given the speed of the corrosion. Probably depends on the rack material. Aluminum is normally the anode - so the aluminum gets eaten not the steel. That rack was mild steel. So you could have either the bolts or the rack that's a cathode compared to the body panel that's made of ???.

I like to use clear-bra strips to isolate things like this from the body. Easy to install. Low profile. And very inexpensive. I keep a small roll in my garage and some "stickers" in my 4Runner. Then if I need to run a tie down or whatever that might rub on the paint - I just pop a sticker on there while I need it and peel it off and throw away when I'm done.

As far as fixing this goes - I'd probably use fiberglass myself. If done right it'll be as strong as the steel that was there, and you can do it without the heat and welding issues on a finished interior of your 4Runner.

OPs name is sure fitting for the subject.

Maybe you can cut a large portion off the roof and be the first 5th gen to look like a 1st gen 4Runner convertible top?



What ever you do to repair or salvage the roof, please keep us updated with pics.

Full tube frame with a custom soft top? If OP is still in Hawaii then it would be a great setup!

Similar to this suburban, bout shaped to better hold the 4Runner body lines Buy used 1986 Chevrolet k10 Suburban Convertible Go Topless Custom Build 4x4 Bad to Bone in Sarasota, Florida, United States, for US $10,000.00

This. Sadly, it's not too hard to imagine that people would do such a thing. I hope you are above such dishonesty. Especially since you admit to at least being somewhat responsible. Imagine being the guy that bought it without knowing.

Some poor Private with a 30% first time loan. "Hey Sarn't. Got a great deal on a station wagon" .

First off, thank you for your service Marine. (even if it was Hawaii. )

Second, the combo of lineX and coastal rain are the two main factors IMO.

As for the repair, strip it down, clean the area, and get a body shop to help you weld/repair that. Also assuming you have USAA, talk with your insurance to see if they can help at all, not likely but worth asking.

It may be costly but it will be worth the investment in the long haul and it should come with some kind of warranty.

check out this guys youtube he peels the roof on a 4runner.

YouTube

Thanks for the support, HI was awesome when I was there. I just recently got to DC and miss HI weather. The video you posted was good. I'm in the process of shopping around for a local place that can help. I may look into JetBoys suggestion on fiber glass, just so i can do it myself

The glass is a good option.
If you call around, remember a custom/restoration shop is the best bet NOT a body shop.

Damn thought I was on the 240sx forums for a second.

Looks like you want to keep it (understandable with no payments)...

Do you need the roof rack?

If the answer is no I would maybe see about cutting, grinding, and wiring wheeling all the rust out. Find a way to seal it all up (ideally welding in new material) and run with a slick roof. IMO slick top runners look tits be it the loss of space.

I basically use my roof rack to tie my tarp down and that's about it. Thinking about going slick myself.