Fixable?
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tgreenwood75
New member
Definitely fixable, but whether it is worth it will be a question that depends on the rest of the truck. How is the frame in general? Seeing this bracket and the third member, there may be too much rust all around to justify fixing this. In other words, you may be able to have a welder replace this bracket but you will be constantly 'firefighting' and unable to get ahead of the rust in other structural areas.
In terms of fixing this, the bracket itself is a simple one to replicate, but you'll need to break out a hammer, wire wheel, etc to ensure that the crossmember/tube that it attaches to is solid still, these tubes have fairly thin walls and trap sand/moisture/salt. They can be sleeved from the inside, but again you will need an idea of what this will cost and whether the other areas of the frame are solid enough to justify the repair.
Sorry to hear about the bracket failure and best of luck with the repair, I know that having a rusty frame is no fun sometimes! Almost anything is repairable (ask [MENTION=164664]brillo_76[/MENTION] ) but if you'll be paying someone else to do the work there always has to be a line in the sand after which it isn't practical.
In terms of fixing this, the bracket itself is a simple one to replicate, but you'll need to break out a hammer, wire wheel, etc to ensure that the crossmember/tube that it attaches to is solid still, these tubes have fairly thin walls and trap sand/moisture/salt. They can be sleeved from the inside, but again you will need an idea of what this will cost and whether the other areas of the frame are solid enough to justify the repair.
Sorry to hear about the bracket failure and best of luck with the repair, I know that having a rusty frame is no fun sometimes! Almost anything is repairable (ask [MENTION=164664]brillo_76[/MENTION] ) but if you'll be paying someone else to do the work there always has to be a line in the sand after which it isn't practical.
Thanks tgreenwood75. The car resides in NY so I know it has def been exposed to salt. I was planning to to provide some frame protection to help minimize the rust damage.
The truck has 187k miles on it so I think it has a lot of life left. I am the 2nd owner and absolutely love the truck. The rest of the frame seems fine but again I haven' checked the inside to see how much damage the rust has already done.
brillo_76
Elite Member
Yes. I have fixed worse. It can be fixed. The crucial thing is to get that or a new one aligned properly again. I slide steel pipe through the upper crossmember pipe and weld that in so you have good metal to weld to weld to. As your crossmember pipe would be rotted to nothing on that area.
I actually even rebuilt rusted off sections of those coil plates. You can see lots of my projects in my build thread.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
I actually even rebuilt rusted off sections of those coil plates. You can see lots of my projects in my build thread.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
Yes. I have fixed worse. It can be fixed. The crucial thing is to get that or a new one aligned properly again. I slide steel pipe through the upper crossmember pipe and weld that in so you have good metal to weld to weld to. As your crossmember pipe would be rotted to nothing on that area.
I actually even rebuilt rusted off sections of those coil plates. You can see lots of my projects in my build thread.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
U every think about what type of project build u'd b making if u weren't always having to repair rust buckets.....
brillo_76
Elite Member
I just like to tinker with them. In the rust belt, It's cheaper to run rust buckets. Alot of practice I get fixing them and I only started fixing frames to learn how to weld better. Then I got carried away.
I have enough yet for several more years. Then I see what's next.
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RandyBobandy
New member
Before he started fixing frames we would just hang out in the garage drinking popov and smoking pinners
brillo_76
Elite Member
Where do you come up with these things.. lol.. Randy likes to keep things interesting.
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You can get frame repair pieces here (probably other places too), which might be helpful.
4-Runner 1996-2002 3rd Gen Archives - autorust.com
4-Runner 1996-2002 3rd Gen Archives - autorust.com
Thanks everyone for your replies and help!
Will llook at this also but the first place I called seemed very doubtful saying it would be very weak (but I guess thats why Brillo recommended putting in a pipe).
Is an axle housing swap possible or is that overkill? I want to keep this truck as long as possible.
Thanks!
brillo_76
Elite Member
I have one that has an axle swapped. My rear axle housing was really starting to rot up.
Very few places will deal in frane repair. This is why I learned to do it myself.
As they don't want the liability. Which is understandable.
Paying people to do it sometimes can get very costly.
How that one is rotted. It maybe easier to get a replacement new bracket and weld it to the pipe insert.
Luckily, its on the passenger side away from the gas tank.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
Yes. I have fixed worse. It can be fixed. The crucial thing is to get that or a new one aligned properly again. I slide steel pipe through the upper crossmember pipe and weld that in so you have good metal to weld to weld to. As your crossmember pipe would be rotted to nothing on that area.
I actually even rebuilt rusted off sections of those coil plates. You can see lots of my projects in my build thread.
Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
Thanks Brillo for your advice and spending the time to find the replacement perch I need to have the welder put on!!! You rock!
RandyBobandy
New member
I had a failure like that on mine when I first got it, but over by the gas tank, I didn’t weld at the time so I had a guy I know make a new bracket and weld it in for like $150. Usually frame repair of any sort is several times more than that because of how much of a liability it is.
The good news is if you’re dedicated you can keep all but the rustiest shitbox on the road for a long time, once you get that welded up get the rust scale off the frame, hit it with a rust converter like Ospho then give it a nice coating inside and out with fluid film, oil, grease, etc
The good news is if you’re dedicated you can keep all but the rustiest shitbox on the road for a long time, once you get that welded up get the rust scale off the frame, hit it with a rust converter like Ospho then give it a nice coating inside and out with fluid film, oil, grease, etc
Just wanted to close this out. Was able to find a welder and he was able to put a new part on. Now time to tackle the frame rust!
Attachments
And another pic...
Thanks for that. Yeah was going to take a look at everything now and not even sure why that shock boot was ripped down like that.
Appreciate everyone's feedback!
brillo_76
Elite Member
Good to see you got it fixed up. Yes definitely paint anything you weld as the welds always change the metal enough that rust at the weld beads. Its just how it is. For some reason your second photo was a pdf instead of a jpeg but I did see it. Most likely being the photo too big for the forum. On my photo posts. I use a cell phone app called tapatalk that will connect into the forum and actually resize the photos for you when you post. Its the easiest way to do it.
If your shock plate hole gets too big have them weld a washer in there. As the rust belt is just hard on the steel in this part of the world.
Yes definitely paint anything you weld as the welds always change the metal enough that rust at the weld beads. Its just how it is. For some reason your second photo was a pdf instead of a jpeg but I did see it. Most likely being the photo too big for the forum. On my photo posts. I use a cell phone app called tapatalk that will connect into the forum and actually resize the photos for you when you post. Its the easiest way to do it. If your shock plate hole gets too big have them weld a washer in there. As the rust belt is just hard on the steel in this part of the world.
Good to see you got it fixed up.
If your shock plate hole gets too big have them weld a washer in there. As the rust belt is just hard on the steel in this part of the world.
Got it! And yes, the 2nd photo would attach and I kept getting error messages so I just sent a pdf format. Will use TapTalk more often.