Frame Fabrication questions

[MrRufusP]

Hi All,

I've been trawling the Forums here for a couple years since I bought my 3rd gen 2000 SR5 w/5speed, but this is my [second] post (posted a couple days ago in an old frame issue thread, to no avail). Not to beat this dead horse that is 3rd gen frame rot discussion, however I have a genuine issue.

The other day while driving home, my passenger side rear suspension linkage disconnected from the frame, leaving the transfer case floating. This happened due to the fact that the frame has rusted completely through, as you'll see in the picture (you can also see where there was some apparent "reinforcement" work done to the frame in this area).

I'm the second owner of the vehicle, and unfortunately the first owner did not take proper enough care of the frame and underbody (as I also have pumpkin/rear diff issues and have rebuilt it, however that's another story).

As of right now I'm upside down in the 'Runner as I still owe just shy of $1200 on it. I really love the truck and am not sure what do do with it.

I was quoted ~$800 to repair the issue I've posted, however I need to get under it and decide if it's worth keeping when I get it repaired (as that's the only way to obtain any sort of trade in value for it and not take an immense loss imo)

I called Toyota National and discovered that my vehicle had been declared by Jordan Toyota to be unsafe/unroadworthy due to frame issues in 2010. I bought it in 2013, from an entirely different dealer. These issues/declaration did not show up on the carfax report that I purchased prior to getting the 'runner.

So now I need to get in touch with a lawyer prior to calling the dealership that sold me the vehicle, as I want them to make this right.

If all else fails and I do end up needing to repair the frame, I'm looking for opinions. Those of you who have done the weld repairs, (Wallace) how are they holding up? How much did you end up spending in entirety on the frame welding jobs? I absolutely love the truck and don't want to lose it, however there comes a point where I need to cut and run, so right now I'm deciding if I'm there or if it's salvageable.

I picked up a little beater Honda to get me from point a to point b in the mean time, so i'm not in a rush thankfully.

I'll add some more photos in the next day or two when I get back to the truck and gather more.

Thanks in advance

 

[LookAtThatDog]

That sucks. I had some welding done on my frame in that same spot and it's held up fine - you can see it in the link in my signature. I did mine preemptively before it snapped. $800 is probly what some automotive professional quoted you I assume. I had some good ol boys do it for $200. It's probly the strongest part of the frame now.

You and I obviously won't be owning these things forever, but a couple hundred bucks and some welding will give you time.

PS: Everybody on this forum is from arizona/colorado/california and has never seen rust- They'll all tell you to ditch the truck and move to a desert climate.

 

[CO-4R]

I would continue to look into if you have any legal recourse, although you may not. If the car has been on the road since then, the dealer you purchased it from may have had zero knowledge of that issue and may not be liable at all. As far as repair goes, personally I wouldn't repair that. If that section is that bad, then so are other parts and you're just waiting for more failures. This time it seems like you got lucky since the failure didn't cause an accident but you never know what could happen with a suspension failure like that. Your best bet might be to try to find a frame form a salvage yard that's in better shape than yours and do the work to swap it out.

 

[gamefreakgc]

That sucks. I had some welding done on my frame in that same spot and it's held up fine - you can see it in the link in my signature. I did mine preemptively before it snapped. $800 is probly what some automotive professional quoted you I assume. I had some good ol boys do it for $200. It's probly the strongest part of the frame now.

You and I obviously won't be owning these things forever, but a couple hundred bucks and some welding will give you time.

PS: Everybody on this forum is from arizona/colorado/california and has never seen rust- They'll all tell you to ditch the truck and move to a desert climate.

Haha, that's very true. If I see even the slightest corrosion on my truck I get worried.

I don't know if declaring the vehicle unsafe by the dealer is an "official" statement or if it was just an opinion. A lawyer will be able to tell you that though so you're on the right track.

It would be good to examine the entire undercarriage and look for any other trouble spots, or have a fabrication shop look it over. You don't want to drop $800 and then after next winter have something else fall apart.

 

[MStudt]

Know someone with a welder? That's about a 2 hour job, and materials cost about $20.

 

[absalom]

That sucks. I had some welding done on my frame in that same spot and it's held up fine - you can see it in the link in my signature. I did mine preemptively before it snapped. $800 is probly what some automotive professional quoted you I assume. I had some good ol boys do it for $200. It's probly the strongest part of the frame now.

You and I obviously won't be owning these things forever, but a couple hundred bucks and some welding will give you time.

PS: Everybody on this forum is from arizona/colorado/california and has never seen rust- They'll all tell you to ditch the truck and move to a desert climate.

Yes, do that. Lol, the signature, I'm dying.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I agree with the rest on that Jeep thread, you should change your avatar photo to the one somebody photo shopped in that thread

 

[T4Tools]

Looks like it rusted out a lot of the frame. It'll be hard getting to the top of the frame if there's a place without rust to weld to. just be careful around the gas tank.