After so many posts on this, anybody have the best fix? I live in Western Pa, so I'm looking for a housing from a "no roadsalt use" state. What has everyone been doing just searching bone yards? Do they even still make new housings like this. Last question, if I have the differential lock button on my dash, I need to find an e-locker housing Right? 2002 SR5 142,000 miles
Axle Housing Rust thru
- Thread starter woodsie
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the great him
Elite Member
if you have a 2002 like you say you dont have a diff lock, someone put that switch in there, unless they did a whole swap, check your rear axle, if on the drivers side of the third there will be an electrical motor on the outside of the third member. and if your axle housing has rusted through, you should just scrap the rig, im sure thats not the only thing that has rusted through or about to rust through... personally ive never seen or heard of an axle housing rusting through(its not that i dont believe you, i do, its metal it will rust). but if you just have to keep the truck get a new(used, try car-part.co") housing and have it powder coated
Nelsonmd
New member
...yeah, this is not correct...
I had severe rust on my axle to the point that it had rusted through in multiple spots. The frame on the other hand doesn't have that much rust on it. Rusted through axle housing certainly does NOT mean scrap the car.
You have 2 options for a fix. If the rest of the axle is super rusty (like chipping big thick flakes off to the point you are concerned about it), then I would look mostly at part out vehicles here and on yotatech, ih8mud, pirate, etc... Yard are good too if you can get someone to pick it up and ship it to you.
Your other option, if most of the axle isn't bad, but just the diff cover part, is you could get it welded. Any capable welding shop should be able to fix it for you. for not too much.
I replaced my whole axle assembly (bought from topdownrunner here on t4r.org), pretty easy bolt on job. Wallaceg (also on here, also in Boston) had both his frame and his diff cover welded shut by a shop just a few blocks from me. A good coating of paint and he is good to go for a long time. He paid $1200 (seems a bit high to me), I paid $725 total. I know others have gotten axle housings or full axle assemblies for significantly less than even I paid. For reference, you can get a new OEM axle housing for about $950 shipped (just the housing, not the axles, etc.).
Check this thread out...
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/70989-serious-frame-rust-questoin.html
Also check out my build thread for pics of my axle swap.
the great him
Elite Member
can you guys post some pics of what you are talking about!? i must be envisioning something much more horrific than actually is... cause the axle housing isnt thin metal, thats gotta be some bad rust
the great him
Elite Member
damn ok i just looked at that frame rust thread... you people need to start taking better care of you vehicles! hell id be spraying off(with fresh water) the under carriage of my rig like once a month in the winter if i was you people back east... and then in the summer id throw some rattle can or por15 on things like the axle and frame rails to keep a protective coating to fight this RUST epidemic! hell i throw a coat of paint on my underside every other year here in the PNW. now im kinda anal and like things clean(especially when i work on it), but you guys have let that stuff go way too long. -id never buy a rig from back east now...
:jaw drop::wow:
:jaw drop::wow:[email protected]
New member
$1200 was for both the frame ($800) and the rear axle cover plate ($400). To put the cost in perspective, that's about one carwash per month over 10 years.
Rust is a serious problem in New England. We have several months of driving on wet, salty roads almost every day. Washing daily will help if you have a driveway and a hose, but many of us do not. I wash my truck whenever the roads are dry enough that it won't be coated in salt again by the time I get home from the carwash.
Rust is a serious problem in New England. We have several months of driving on wet, salty roads almost every day. Washing daily will help if you have a driveway and a hose, but many of us do not. I wash my truck whenever the roads are dry enough that it won't be coated in salt again by the time I get home from the carwash.
Nelsonmd
New member
damn ok i just looked at that frame rust thread... you people need to start taking better care of you vehicles! hell id be spraying off(with fresh water) the under carriage of my rig like once a month in the winter if i was you people back east... and then in the summer id throw some rattle can or por15 on things like the axle and frame rails to keep a protective coating to fight this RUST epidemic! hell i throw a coat of paint on my underside every other year here in the PNW. now im kinda anal and like things clean(especially when i work on it), but you guys have let that stuff go way too long. -id never buy a rig from back east now...
Yeah, ok, it isn't just neglect that has caused us rust problems. It's inherent to the salt use states, even if you do rinse it off periodically in the winter. I bought mine with them. Ok, my bad, but now it's time to fix it. Paint isn't a solution, just a preventive thing. Preventive maintenance is worthless if the problem is already there...
The rusty axle issue is well known. Toyota clearly had an issue with the metal they used for the axle housings. Yeah, they are typically quite thick, but over the diff cover they get pretty thin, hence the rust holes.
