another rusty 4th gen 4runner thread

[AuSeeker]

That's a great photo of inside the frame rail, it really shows how these frames also rust from the inside as much or more then on the outside!!

Looks like you doing a great job, the finish results shows the frame is now protected and true condition of the frame without hiding problems areas!!

 

[hutchison]

That's a great photo of inside the frame rail, it really shows how these frames also rust from the inside as much or more then on the outside!!

Looks like you doing a great job, the finish results shows the frame is now protected and true condition of the frame without hiding problems areas!!

thanks, it's the ugly truth!

open to suggestions how to better clean the inside.. long wire brush perhaps

 

[hutchison]

I just spent the last 6 hours under and around the truck.

Here are some of my most valuable rust removal tools:
Chisel set, 3 different sizes. Small hammer. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Buck-Bros-Economy-Wood-Chisel-Set-3-Piece-40601/100076202

These drill bits: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FWRIAGQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (this one was the best of the bits)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Avanti-...-SearchPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-202831066-_-N

Various size steel wool drill bits. I can't find the links but you can get them cheap from home depot.

After you can see beautiful silver steel, hit it with some WD-40 Rust Remover and let it sit awhile. Wipe it all down after, oh 10-30minutes, then spray it with the Rustoleum.

After that, let the rustoleum dry overnight. Come back the next day then hit the same spot you hit with rustoleum... with this: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-2...&sr=1-1&keywords=rustoleum+undercoating+spray

Now you got some seriously protection that should last you at least a year. It will likely last a lot longer than a year but I say a year because it's good to assume 1 year then check it every spring.

It's really not so bad of a job. I mean, it sucks and you will get dirty and greasy for hours but when it's all done, the peace of mind will be extremely worth it. I lost my 97 t-bird v8 to rust and will never let it happen again.:hunter:


edit: oh I jacked the car up too. I got 3-ton stands x 4 from local Harbor Freight (24$ a set) and they had a sale on 3-ton low profile jack, got that for 79$. Friggin worth it. The jack and stands aren't that heavy. If you don't have some, get 'em.

i prefer brush on hard coatings underneath its a lot tougher skin compared to spray. but i will use a little spray on for the things that are o.k and not affected yet, thanks for the tips. is the rustoleum sticky to the touch?

 

[meltdowner]

Nice work, that inside of the frame scares me. I know mine likely looks worse.

 

[mgbringo]

I just started using Fluid Film and I am impressed with it. Check out YouTube for some long term experiences. Amazon has a nice kit with a spray gun and a couple of wands for inside frame rails, etc.

It is pretty easy to get inside tight areas. This product has been around for many years and was developed for the Navy ships.

 

[hutchison]

I just started using Fluid Film and I am impressed with it. Check out YouTube for some long term experiences. Amazon has a nice kit with a spray gun and a couple of wands for inside frame rails, etc.

It is pretty easy to get inside tight areas. This product has been around for many years and was developed for the Navy ships.

thanks for the tip i have been reading about it here ;

Treating Your Rust - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

im against amazon i prefer to go direct to the vendor direct if possible, i like looking round stores which are fast dissapearing. :snacker:

fluid film looks like a reasonable product , i may try some where applicable.

 

[hutchison]

here are the screws for the inner fenders.




here is the socket i used to get the one right up inside the fenders





the other upper screw is easy enough to get to with an extension



I used a coat hanger to stiffen up the frame coating spray tube , to get inside of the front lower cross member (under the rad)



the flow rate of the eastwood internal frame coating is alot, nothing wrong with that except it leaks outa holes.



why would you take off the skid pan? less physical protection and exposes all of that metal to grit blasting!



do not forget to put your bumper foam back on before you put the bumper skin back on, like me, i have to pull off the bumper again and fit the foam insert next week.



I also replaced the stat while replacing the rad, easy enough once the system is drained from the rad tap.

 

[Captsolo]

This was my recent post:
"I bought an 07 4R 2 years ago from Ohio. It's frame had a lot of rust on it but it did not look as bad as yours. There were no obvious holes or defects and the skid plates were still (mostly) intact.

At first, I tried to sandblast off the rust. This was a complete waste of time and money. Then I started spraying it with rust dissolver (like this: https://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallon-evapo-rust-rust-remover-96431.html). The rust dissolver worked extremely well as long as I could spray it heavily and let it soak in for several hours, repeatedly spraying as it soaked in. I probably went through two gallons of the stuff. I also tried my best to spray on the inside of the frame. I should mention I was living in Arizona and I just parked the truck in the desert beside my house and had no issue with chemicals/water dripping into the sand.

I would then wash it off really well with a pressure washer and let it dry, which only took a few hours in the AZ sun. I probably repeated this 2-3 times on the entire frame until I really didn't see much rust leftover. It worked well.

Rather soon after pressure washing and allowing it to dry (within a day or two), I would then spray it really well with rust reformer (https://www.harborfreight.com/9-oz-iron-armor-black-rust-reformer-spray-paint-60788.html). This worked well also and I probably used 12 cans. I then sprayed parts I wanted black with chasis paint (https://www.harborfreight.com/11-oz-iron-armor-gloss-black-chassis-and-grille-paint-60780.html).

Overall, it worked extremely well and I see no recurrence of rust 2 years out. Also, my truck has been in Arizona since doing this, so who knows what would have happened elsewhere. I just relocated to the NE, so check back with me in 6 months and I'll let you know how it has held up."

I have a 2005 SR5 V6 with 140,000 miles and live a block off the ocean in Nassau, Bahamas. I bought the car new. I have one rusty frame brace right underneath the radiator. That's the worst of it for me.

I sprayed it and other superficial rust spots with Corrosion X. It stopped the rust and turned the rust into "black" unrustable medal.

The body on my 4 runner is still rust free.

The area around the very sturdy universal joints and drive shaft has some superficial rust, but nothing to worry about.

Toyota builds an incredible drive train. It's all virtually rust free - and not a to worry about issue.

If the poster had caught all that rust on his underbody he could have stopped it with corrosion X IMO.

Corrosion X is oil based and doesn't ever dry - but that's OK. It stops the rust.

I have several brands of rust blockers in my two car garage. I have three F225s on the back of a 42 foot Performance, and I've had those Yamaha oil filters rust though and pour oil. For boaters, when you put them oil filters on, just spray the hell out of those thin canned oil filters, and it might help.

On rought iron on an outside in the rain electric pump for my rainwater tanks, I sprayed with Bull Frog. it's white and pasty and I wouldn't use it on a car's underbelly, but BF stopped the rusty stains with one covering - and I get little or no rust stains around the pump. That was 6 years ago.:rain:

BF didn't work every where but on rought iron it worked great. Turned the rusty staining piece of rought iron in to black nonrusting iron - almost like covered in "glass".

 

[New_2_4runners]

I took mine apart and POR15’d it.

 

[Gatafly]

I just spent the last 6 hours under and around the truck.

Here are some of my most valuable rust removal tools:
Chisel set, 3 different sizes. Small hammer. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Buck-Bros-Economy-Wood-Chisel-Set-3-Piece-40601/100076202

These drill bits: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FWRIAGQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (this one was the best of the bits)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Avanti-...-SearchPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-202831066-_-N

Various size steel wool drill bits. I can't find the links but you can get them cheap from home depot.

After you can see beautiful silver steel, hit it with some WD-40 Rust Remover and let it sit awhile. Wipe it all down after, oh 10-30minutes, then spray it with the Rustoleum.

After that, let the rustoleum dry overnight. Come back the next day then hit the same spot you hit with rustoleum... with this: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-2...&sr=1-1&keywords=rustoleum+undercoating+spray

Now you got some seriously protection that should last you at least a year. It will likely last a lot longer than a year but I say a year because it's good to assume 1 year then check it every spring.

It's really not so bad of a job. I mean, it sucks and you will get dirty and greasy for hours but when it's all done, the peace of mind will be extremely worth it. I lost my 97 t-bird v8 to rust and will never let it happen again.:hunter:


edit: oh I jacked the car up too. I got 3-ton stands x 4 from local Harbor Freight (24$ a set) and they had a sale on 3-ton low profile jack, got that for 79$. Friggin worth it. The jack and stands aren't that heavy. If you don't have some, get 'em.

If you used the rubberized undercoating you just did the worst thing you can do. I did a great cleanup job with the POR15 system on mine and finished it off with that exact coating. Now 4 years later my frame is rotting out. There are a few videos on YT showing this exact thing. Problem is that moisture will still find its way in there and then it is trapped. A mechanic shows and explains how bad the stuff is. Sure wish I knew about it before I did it because if I can fix it, it is going to be spend. If not I may have to junk it in a year or so. For now I keep touching up the areas with Amsoil heavy duty MP.

 

[stuffinit]

I would love to see some more pictures of rusty frames.

I'm currently looking at an 05 v8 with only 109,000 miles. Its a New England vehicle that I'm guessing might have even been a family ski trip vehicle. The inside and body are immaculate, but the underside has seen the salt. This juxtaposition bothers me more then anything. Makes me think I'm missing something obvious.

I only had a chance to peak underneath and that I saw wasn't great but I'd say it was solid enough. When I go to look at it and make my final decision I'm going to crawl underneath and get a better look. I saw a few rusted through holes on the skid plates but Really didn't see anything other then rust on the weld locations. (yet) The Radiator support was scaly but not eaten away. And that obviously gets hammered with road debris.

It would be extremely helpful to have some reference pictures of the different rust levels you have seen and remedied to keep your trucks going. I think some of the pictures that originally were in this thread have been removed/lost.

Thanks,
-stuffinit

 

[meltdowner]

If you used the rubberized undercoating you just did the worst thing you can do. I did a great cleanup job with the POR15 system on mine and finished it off with that exact coating. Now 4 years later my frame is rotting out. There are a few videos on YT showing this exact thing. Problem is that moisture will still find its way in there and then it is trapped. A mechanic shows and explains how bad the stuff is. Sure wish I knew about it before I did it because if I can fix it, it is going to be spend. If not I may have to junk it in a year or so. For now I keep touching up the areas with Amsoil heavy duty MP.

I'm confused, so what is better than coating it? Nothing?

Mine was super dry when I did the whole thing, no rain for weeks. I understand this entire "rust removal" is often an exercise in futility but it has to improve the longevity a bit.

 

[meltdowner]

I took mine apart and POR15’d it.

Absolutely beautiful

 

[Jdevtac]

I'm confused, so what is better than coating it? Nothing?

Mine was super dry when I did the whole thing, no rain for weeks. I understand this entire "rust removal" is often an exercise in futility but it has to improve the longevity a bit.

Lots of people swear against it being applied over metal that was rusted as it likes to trap moisture. I really don’t think it’s anything inherent to the rubberized coating either, as something similar could very well happen with spray paint too. The issue is you may think the metal is dry to the bone but if you took it down to raw material or close enough, moisture may still be there. The idea is over time that little amount of moisture eventually can feed the rust and/or compromise the coat, and once the coat is compromised it can accumulate further moisture underneath and all the sudden you have more rust or a return of what was there prior. Same deal like for example when you are doing rust removal and maybe a big patch of paint comes off to reveal rust underneath that was otherwise not seen initially.

Like you alluded to, rust reformation isn’t a game of getting totally rid of it, it’s slowing the process to a crawl to prolong the life of the frame. From my research and seeing posts on restoration forums with some die hard “do it right” guys, they all prefer to take everything down to clean unrusted metal before hitting it with epoxy primer/paint for a more permanent solution.

This is why people will say just get rid of the worst of the rust and just hit with a rust preventive coat like fluid film, etc and call it a day.

Me personally I got rid of as much rust as possible, converted to a zinc coat using some phosphate converter, then hit with a duplicolor ceramic engine enamel and let cure for a week or so then topcoated that with CorrosionX. We will see what happens lol.

 

[rdruss]

Frame Rust

have an '03 V8, frame was rusted pretty bad in one place particular, visit my garage, but to reinforce the comment that the frame rusts more from inside I would agree with, I have pulled out a substantial amount of rust from inside the frame with my fingers, I would guess my frame is 10-15% lighter than when new from rust that has occurred from the inside. Would like to flush each rail out somehow and see what comes out, then again maybe I wouldn't!!

 

[T4R2014]

You need to spray some oil on that frame if you expect to it last. All these paints do not hold up any better than a factory coating to the salt and brine.

 

[bsa70]

That rot really looks bad but you did a good job where you could get too. Painting is ok, stay far away from that rubberized garbage. Will accelerate the problem big time.

The only proper way is an off the frame restoration and use por 15.That is the only way you can get to all of it with treatment.

Any kind of treatment for the inside channels is snake oil. You are peeing in the wind. There is no product you can spray on flaking, rotted metal and stop the process. IF the inside could be saturated with oil, that may slow it some. If you can knock the loose stuff and vaccume it out 100%. that may help some but it will still continue to rot.

I have a phd on working on rotted jeep frames.

 

[meltdowner]

That rot really looks bad but you did a good job where you could get too. Painting is ok, stay far away from that rubberized garbage. Will accelerate the problem big time.

The only proper way is an off the frame restoration and use por 15.That is the only way you can get to all of it with treatment.

Any kind of treatment for the inside channels is snake oil. You are peeing in the wind. There is no product you can spray on flaking, rotted metal and stop the process. IF the inside could be saturated with oil, that may slow it some. If you can knock the loose stuff and vaccume it out 100%. that may help some but it will still continue to rot.

I have a phd on working on rotted jeep frames.

Would spraying oil inside the frame help slow rust from forming/spreading on the unseen interior? What kind of oil? 10w30?

 

[Jdevtac]

Would spraying oil inside the frame help slow rust from forming/spreading on the unseen interior? What kind of oil? 10w30?

In my personal experience I recently bought a snakable magnet, retrieved as much loose flakey crap inside the frame rails as possible until I was pulling out dust sized particles, and then hit the inside of the frame with Eastwood internal frame paint. From what I can tell the Eastwood product gets good initial reviews, long term is highly questionable, but I used it anyway mainly to protect the non-flakey surface rust-only areas of the inside of the frame. Whatever flake you miss will only be helped by oil type spray that will penetrate underneath. I let the Eastwood cure for over a week then came back and coated the entire boxed inside of the frame with CorrosionX. Ideally get a flexible spray can hose to really get the inside of the frame rather than hoping and praying the little plastic tube through the frame holes gives adequate coverage.

Any corrosion spray will work. CorrosionX is simply my choice because I don’t mind the smell and it appears to be a good product. I applied it to my Tacoma over a year ago with good results. You can read up on whatever product you choose to your hearts content. Other examples: fluid film (smells like devils anus), CRC, Boeshield, etc. Some people use used motor oil, to repurpose.

I have a cheapo endoscope that I also used to look inside the frame for completeness.

And last but not least, before I did all this I rinsed/degreased out the frame as best as I could. The upside to that is you remove loose dirt and whatnot. The downside is now you need to allow adequate dry time, which unfortunately the flakey rust is going to trap moisture no matter how long you let it sit and dry.

Rust is a ***** but I’m hoping for some longevity from the frame as it’s still very solid.

 

[hinmo24t]

i live in MA and painted 5w30 (new) all over my frame in the fall. will prob do it before every winter.