frame rust on 3rdgen runners?

[david.b]

I've been looking for a while now to find a new vehicle and have bounced between new tacomas, old tacomas, old tundra's and have now settled on a 3rd gen 4runner. One of the main reasons for these switches was the rust issue, which through research, i have found is very prevelent between the tacoma's and old tundra's... is this also an issue for the 4runner?

my understanding was that the frame being assembled in the US for the tacoma and tundra wasnt treated correctly, therefore.... rust. not sure about the 4runners....

 

[Clemsonfan15]

No that was only for Tacomas. I believe Toyota bought a lot of them back.

 

[toytech76]

The reason for the issues with the tacoma's was the bed portion of the frame is only c channel frame and not fully boxed. When the frames rusted, mainly back east and whereever they use alot of salt on the roads for the winter, the c channel had a tendency to be very weak and quite a few trucks had the frames crack and/or break. The 4runners have a fully boxed frame so it isnt an issue. I havent heard anything either way with the tundra's. I would say whatever you get if you live in an area that uses alot of salt, treat the frame with an undercoating to hel keep it from rusting

 

[david.b]

thanks for the reply guys... bottom line, the 4runners dont have this issue!?

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Nope. Now go buy one. Lol.

 

[Stick Figure]

I would say whatever you get if you live in an area that uses alot of salt, treat the frame with an undercoating to hel keep it from rusting

have you ever lived in a state that salts the roads and had an "undercoated" vehicle? That is the worst thing ever.... if you don't 110% coat everything, it is actually worse, the water can get in through a pinhole, and the undercoating traps it in.

as far as the actual frame problem, i've heard it had to do w/ the way they were treated from the factory, 4runner in japan, and the tacoma in the states. So the 4runner is not suppose to have the problem. i don't know from personal experience as mine hasn't spent much time out of southern california.

 

[02T4R]

I used to work at a dealership and if you use the black undercoating (SHIT) it will trap the water in encouraging rust. If you use an oil based rust proofing it is constantly moving and repelling water. So definitly undercoat it but not with the black tar crap. Go with the oil based

 

[blk runner00]

oil based is right on the money. my dad and i have always used kerosene in a pressure sprayer and it works awsome just try not to get it on exhaust i didnt do it on my 00 runner i just got but next winter it will get treated as well as rest of our trucks. we had alot of snow and highway dept. put down straight salt at end of the season.

 

[KSG]

tacoma rust 99

frame

 

[KSG]

frame

 

[KSG]

after dealer "fixed it" lmao

 

[KSG]

after

 

[KSG]

tacoma frame rust

http://s696.photobucket.com/albums/vv327/ksg807/

here are the rest of the photos.. crazy story when my brother bought a tacoma in Toronto. He drove it 1400 km after he bought it. Its amazing that it stayed togeter for the trip back home.

Whats even more crazy is that he bought it WITH a safety.. The dealer that sold it to him should be shot and pissed on. the frame had been sprayed with a heavy undercoating to cover up the rust. After he found out he sent the truck back to get fixed. I dont know what this dealer was thinking when he told him it was fixed by a professional frame guy. He used metal that was the thickness of a beer can. Thank god for forums like this one, otherwise he wouldnt have known

Im looking at buying a 98' 4 runner soon... i hope they dont have this problem!!!

 

[KellyJ]

4Runner frames are fully boxed so no need to worry about frame rust through 3rd generation 4Runners

 

[pat161]

Blaming it all on the fact that the Tacoma frame is unboxed after the cab is a little too simplistic, IMO. There are thousands of trucks running around w/o fully boxed frames that do not rust completely through and fall apart. The problem, as Toyota has admitted and is the only thing that really makes sense, is the lack of proper protection on the metal. The frames were not treated properly to begin with and therefore did not last when pitted against road salt. If the fact that they are unboxed is the sole culprit then anyone who buys a new Tacoma must be a great fool, as the frames are still boxed, or unboxed, exactly the same, and the same goes for the new Tundra as it now seems here in New England earlier Tundras are beginning to rot and fall apart as well.

 

[KSG]

Blaming it all on the fact that the Tacoma frame is unboxed after the cab is a little too simplistic, IMO. There are thousands of trucks running around w/o fully boxed frames that do not rust completely through and fall apart. The problem, as Toyota has admitted and is the only thing that really makes sense, is the lack of proper protection on the metal. The frames were not treated properly to begin with and therefore did not last when pitted against road salt. If the fact that they are unboxed is the sole culprit then anyone who buys a new Tacoma must be a great fool, as the frames are still boxed, or unboxed, exactly the same, and the same goes for the new Tundra as it now seems here in New England earlier Tundras are beginning to rot and fall apart as well.

I live in Canada where everything rusts no matter what. The 4 runner I`m looking at has 250km on it, and I would expect some rust on any brand. I am feeling confident about purchasing it as long as nobody else has had any problems with road salt rusting a gen3 runner. From what everyone is saying, the gen 3 has a boxed frame, but did Toyota`treat`the 4runner frame properly?

 

[KSG]

also, is there anything else I should be on the lookout for other than regular maintenance items? Im buying the 4 cyl manual bare bones model.

 

[pat161]

Yes, the 3rd gen frames are holding up fine, remember it was 95-00 Tacomas that started the whole fiasco, the 3rd gen came out in 96, so you would think if they were going to experience a similar issue it would have started to show up by now. I am on my second 3rd gen here in MA where they love to salt the roads and I have never had issues with excessive rust, as you mentioned a little surface rust is almost unavoidable. 4Runner frames are sourced from Japan while the Tacoma frames came from America, not saying that's bad, just saying they are completely different.

Not much maintenance on the 2.7 and aside from cracked exhaust manifolds not many issues either. The exhaust manifold was changed in 00 so if yours is older and cracks source a newer one to replace it. The 2.7 uses a timing chain which will last a long time and they do not tend to leak at the water pump. Also newer 2.7's use 4 coil packs on top of each plug so there are no wires to worry about. Some report burnt valves in very high mileage 2.7's, but we are talking close to 300k miles, so I wouldn't worry about that. The only tough spot is the fuel filter, Toyota calls it lifetime, its on the side of the block and not easy to get to, but you only have to change it every few years, so you'll have time to forget what a pain it was in between swaps.

 

[KSG]

Yes, the 3rd gen frames are holding up fine, remember it was 95-00 Tacomas that started the whole fiasco, the 3rd gen came out in 96, so you would think if they were going to experience a similar issue it would have started to show up by now. I am on my second 3rd gen here in MA where they love to salt the roads and I have never had issues with excessive rust, as you mentioned a little surface rust is almost unavoidable. 4Runner frames are sourced from Japan while the Tacoma frames came from America, not saying that's bad, just saying they are completely different.

Not much maintenance on the 2.7 and aside from cracked exhaust manifolds not many issues either. The exhaust manifold was changed in 00 so if yours is older and cracks source a newer one to replace it. The 2.7 uses a timing chain which will last a long time and they do not tend to leak at the water pump. Also newer 2.7's use 4 coil packs on top of each plug so there are no wires to worry about. Some report burnt valves in very high mileage 2.7's, but we are talking close to 300k miles, so I wouldn't worry about that. The only tough spot is the fuel filter, Toyota calls it lifetime, its on the side of the block and not easy to get to, but you only have to change it every few years, so you'll have time to forget what a pain it was in between swaps.

Alright then.. looks like I will be a 4 runner owner by the end of the week. Thanks for all the info. It is much appreciated. I cant wait to get rid of my honda cr-v!