Bought a 3rd gen with a strange history.. am I screwed?
- Thread starter 4ranover
- Start date
Victor_inox
New member
What`s left off it anyway.....
Why people ask for advice and NEVER follow it?
That was rhetorical question.... no need to answer it. :hand:
Welcome aboard!
Now that you decided to get the frame fixed, make sure you keep an eye on the progress. Disconnect the lower control arms from the bracket before heating up that area. Use long metal plates to do the fixings.
After getting all that done, spray used motor oil INSIDE and outside the frame with an oil spray gun. Do it once a year.
Now that you decided to get the frame fixed, make sure you keep an eye on the progress. Disconnect the lower control arms from the bracket before heating up that area. Use long metal plates to do the fixings.
After getting all that done, spray used motor oil INSIDE and outside the frame with an oil spray gun. Do it once a year.
Wondering how the repair went. I've been prepping the frame/undercarriage on mine for a fresh coat of paint and found the same situation. Other than the (2x) 6-8" x 1" areas that are rotted out on the inside of the passenger side rail, everything else seems to be solid. Surface rust was prominent around most if not all of the welds, but it's nothing the wire wheel couldn't take care of. I'm going to cut out the heavily corroded areas and have a friend weld a couple patches in there. I felt around most other areas that I could get in to and don't feel anything like this. I would like to get a camera in there to check it out before it's patched up though. That's what the midwest will do to these things. Note that I purchased my 02 Limited for $7800 in 01/15 with 127k. I'm pushing 142k now and getting ready to start the mods if I don't find any other surprises.
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Well that seems all too familiar!
:I guess I forgot to post a follow up, so I'll do that now!
The repair went well. I took the 4Runner to a professional welder to get it patched up. To prep, he emptied the piles of loose rust inside the frame (which likely held water, accelerating further rust) and sprayed a rust inhibitor.
He patched the passenger side frame rail in 3 separate places, each patch much larger than the damaged area to ensure the patches were welded to solid frame material. The steel used is similar in thickness to the frame steel. Two of the patches were flat steel plate on one side of the frame rail, but for the rear section that supports the control arm, he wrapped the rail. A single sheet of steel was bent to cover the outside, bottom, and inside of the frame around the rear control arm mount. Additionally, most of the perimeter of the mount was welded to the new material.
The patches were finished with some kind of rust preventative spray paint (not sure of the brand used) and drain holes were drilled.
While I'm pleased with the work and my concerns about structural integrity have been appeased, I would have preferred to cut out the rust entirely. The welder advised against it, because it would add significantly to labor costs with negligible difference, and that this truck probably only has a couple good years left in it anyway.
Obviously convention is to _always_ remove rust before repairs... Assuming I want to keep the truck for more than a couple years, I'm thinking this plating could be a good temporary fix. I'll revisit the problem in a year or so, when I have a garage to work on her myself :boxer:
Loose rust from inside the frame:
https://flic.kr/p/N9nuAWPlate welded to bottom section (mid frame):
https://flic.kr/p/MKedCbRear frame and control arm mount:
https://flic.kr/p/MKebVo
https://flic.kr/p/N9ny6m
https://flic.kr/p/N9nznQ
https://flic.kr/p/N4SqWPNegroTundra
New member
Nice. Hope it works out for you in the long run.
That looks a heck of a lot better than it did and should hold up well. I'll post some pics of my repair when completed. I'm about 75% done (tail to up to the front wheels) with cleaning up the surface rust. So far my guy at the body shop says it looks great and is ready for paint. Just debating using some rust reformer and VHT frame paint vs the POR-15 products.
