A rant ...

[JonK]

I love my truck, I really do. However, the quality of nuts/bolts used in these trucks is crap. Even after I soak parts in kano kroil oil they still seize and break. They must be using steel imported from China. So much for Toyota quality! :rockthrow:

 

[rjaudi]

I replace every nut and bolt on the undercarriage when I work on it. The prices are about 1 dollar a piece on average.

 

[maclean216]

Salt.

 

[Duhockey]

I love my truck, I really do. However, the quality of nuts/bolts used in these trucks is crap. Even after I soak parts in kano kroil oil they still seize and break. They must be using steel imported from China. So much for Toyota quality! :rockthrow:

huh... prob a lemon... never seen any problems on the many 4runners I have worked on.

 

[yc4runner]

Must be a lemon or something, cause mine seem to come out fine with a little kroil oil and a 1/2" impact

 

[brian2sun]

Yours must be rusty underneath probably due to salted roads like maclean216 said. I live in CA and have zero rust on my truck and never had a problem getting bolts out.

 

[Duhockey]

Yours must be rusty underneath probably due to salted roads like maclean216 said. I live in CA and have zero rust on my truck and never had a problem getting bolts out.

oh yeah, original poster is from PA

figures... the trouble is not the 4runner, its the state you live in! :shrug:
too much humidity man... bring the runner out where its dry like CO and you wont have any problems with that.

 

[JonK]

Understand it's wet here and they salt the roads. Regardless, I've never had this type of problems with nuts/bolts on any of my other vehicles and I've had all types ... especially after I've given them a good spraying.

 

[004Gunner]

I agree with the OP. The hardware is intentionally low quality, salt or no salt. Toyotas are notorious for having poor corrosion resistance and it spans decades. The part that bothers me is that it seems to be planned on what will corrode and need to be replaced. My steering rack hardware is completely rust free, my sway bar brackets and bolts are nearly rust free, but the sway bar end links and tie rod ends will rust to hell. :wtf: I would gladly pay more for that little extra attention to quality

 

[JonK]

I agree with the OP. The hardware is intentionally low quality, salt or no salt. Toyotas are notorious for having poor corrosion resistance and it spans decades. The part that bothers me is that it seems to be planned on what will corrode and need to be replaced. My steering rack hardware is completely rust free, my sway bar brackets and bolts are nearly rust free, but the sway bar end links and tie rod ends will rust to hell. :wtf: I would gladly pay more for that little extra attention to quality

Agreed ... would pay extra for better quality hardware, possibly stainless. Would also pay extra to have had hardware with anti-seize, which I use liberally.

 

[zcruiser]

Yeah, I got the same issue with the brackets in the engine bay. Unless you're in AZ, they are almost always corroded. I have been taking them off one by one, buffing them down, and spraying them with black high-temp paint. It's just irritating.

 

[Iowa4Runner]

I'd have to agree with the OP as well. My 2004 4Runner has more rust than my 2000 Subaru Impreza that had more miles and drove on the same (salty) roads.

 

[JohnsD90]

I agree with the OP. The hardware is intentionally low quality, salt or no salt. Toyotas are notorious for having poor corrosion resistance and it spans decades. The part that bothers me is that it seems to be planned on what will corrode and need to be replaced. My steering rack hardware is completely rust free, my sway bar brackets and bolts are nearly rust free, but the sway bar end links and tie rod ends will rust to hell. :wtf: I would gladly pay more for that little extra attention to quality

Problem is there then they would make a near ideal vehicle, and then you are more likely to keep it longer an not buy a new car. They want Money over Quality.

 

[dk27]

I'd be interested and seeing it just out of curiousity. I certainly don't doubt it's rusty though. The quickest vehicle I ever saw accumulate a lot of rust, however, was my parents 2000 GMC Jimmy. They bought it only like 2 years old and the whole bottom was pretty much rust it was unbelievable. Rust really does make working on shit a ***** at times.

 

[JonK]

I completly agree on the salt. However, I somehow think that the corrosion protection of the 4Runner was better compared to it's competitors at the time. I've seen more mid 90's Explorers, Pathfinders, Blazers, etc. with rust in the bodys and I see mid 90's 4Runners with no more than rusty rear bumpers and minor surface rust underneath. I may seem biased since this is a 4Runner forum, but this is what I've been noticing.

I had less rust on my '97 Pathfinder with 178K miles than I do on my 2000 4Runner with 138K miles. Both were run under the same weather conditions and in the same area. Even where there was rust on the Pathfinder, bolts did not snap as easily as they do on the 4Runner. The quality of steel on some parts just seems to be substandard.