Disappearing front cross member due to rust
- Thread starter radlynx
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
I had a similar rust problem with my cross member. Mine looked just as bad. I was worried about MA inspection as well. I ended up removing the skid plate and taking a sawzall to the vertical section just above the nasty rust.
My plan was to weld in a replacement, but got sidetracked on that. Your mileage may vary, but mine passed inspection without any issues. I will take on the repair in the spring, probably adding an aftermarket skid as well.
chili
New member
Can't say specifically for the 4Runner, but someone I know paid about 1k to have the equivalent piece replaced on an Expedition because it required sourcing the part from a wreck, cutting out the rusted piece, and welding one in. If mine ever gets that bad I'll do the cutting and welding myself since it only really holds the transmission cooling lines and skid plate. I suspect he overpaid at that price.
As for passing inspection, in MA (and I'm sure most states) it completely depends on the shop. One place won't even look at that, and another place will tell you the car is unsafe and should be scrapped. Best bet is to find a place that isn't too picky, or just find a good fabricator and get it fixed beforehand.
That sucks that yours has it's rusted out that much, but seeing that on a fellow MA-hole's runner makes me wonder how mine, which has lived 13 years in MA, isn't that bad. My factory skid plate, on the other hand, has disintegrated compared to yours. At least that's just an excuse to get a nice aftermarket one...
Good luck!
T4RNightHawk
New member
You can just cut that off and make new skid plate. You only have to move like two oil lines up a bit.
HOJeepster
New member
Wow, that's insane. I'm so glad I don't live on the east coast where it chews up your underbody.
TechWrench
Senior Member
I did that repair on my '03 SR5 two years ago. You can get the cross member from Toyota (I think I paid about 275 for mine), and I had a shop that does vehicle frame repairs cut the old one out, repair the rust damage to side frame rails, and weld the new cross member in place for 250. It came out nice. I finally sold it when I acquired an '03 Limited V8.
As for the inspection, it depends on the state involved. In NY, I had no problem getting it to pass inspection prior to the repair, because that cross member does not support any suspension components, it only serves to hold the skid plate and transmission cooler lines in place. Other states may have different requirements.
As for the inspection, it depends on the state involved. In NY, I had no problem getting it to pass inspection prior to the repair, because that cross member does not support any suspension components, it only serves to hold the skid plate and transmission cooler lines in place. Other states may have different requirements.
Nickortizzle1035
New member
fellow M******* here. I have the exact same problem on my frame. if yours is that bad, you may want to check the transmission fluid cooler lines that run along the top of it. while i was inspecting my frame rust, my lines disintegrated in my hands and i had to replace them on the spot. that sucked!
You are right. That cooler lines are so rusted too. It's just a matter of time before completely failing and end up damaging your transmission due to oil loss. I replaced that too and now confident it will last another long time. Thanks.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
camp332
New member
Cleaning underneath our cars/trucks, as well as undercoating is a must over here if we plan to keep the vehicles for a while.
Dirtlife207
New member
How much does having the frame coated typically run? I live in Cincy, my 06 4runner only has 119,000 miles and the frame is already starting to look a bit sketchy. Nothing like posted above, but I would rather be proactive about the situation.
camp332
New member
Never priced the work out. I'm a do it yourself nutjob, who loves rust flakes in my eyes, and undercoat stuck under my finger nails kind of guy.
Dirtlife207
New member
haha same here. Just don't have a garage large enough to pull the body off the frame and roll the frame out to do the work.
that's a lot of work if you do that. lol! I just paint whatever the paint brush can reach. removing the rust alone using a chisel takes a lot of time.
camp332
New member
Oh man! You're hardcore! I don't pull the body off my vehicle. I do like [MENTION=78662]radlynx[/MENTION] said. Get it the best you can.
I'm in the same boat. 2003 T4R started loosing that piece at 120k miles. It's mostly gone on the passenger corner now. I hit it hard with a grinder and flapper disk and rust reformer when I got it 2 years ago. Basically stopped the loss hard, but it's not something I'd use to pull the truck out of a ditch from.
Dirtlife207
New member
I may have to go this route. I was down there saturday replacing the sway bar bushings and end links and noticed a lot of surface rust. I am one of those perfectionists types and when it comes to repair work, just painting what I can only see grinds my gears haha. But anything is better than nothing at this point. I just like peace of mind knowing that it is all patched.
Similar threads
