How bad did I screw up...... Frame experts needed

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Fezzik

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I think I really screwed the pooch on this deal. Flew to PA to look at a one owner 01 4Runner with tons of extras. Checked out the car and found some surface rust in the rear, but for the most part looked good. Spent some time going over it looking for any red flags and I missed one..... a big one.

Found this today when I was under the car doing some wire wheeling ofthe surface rust


Very annoyed with myself for missing this. What's the opinions on next steps?
 

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Ouch. Deceptive how clean it looks otherwise. There is a guy on Youtube who welded on some new sections to his Tacoma frame. If you don't know how to weld it will be a good excuse to.

 
Meh.....

Cut out the bad area and weld in some reinforcing plates.

Since this area is bad, you need to thoroughly go over the rest of the frame. If this area has holes, there may be other soft areas also. Take a hammer and big screw driver and poke around.

If this is the only bad area, it can easily be fixed.

If there is one thing I have learned on this forum, it is to thoroughly inspect any and all toyota frames......
 
Agree with gipper. If that's all the frame damage there is, and the rest of the truck is in good condition, weld in a patch and enjoy the truck. But, there may likely be more damage.


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how bad is it? its bad. And its dangerous. But it can be fixed. Take a hammer and go around THE WHOLE FRAME and make sure nothing else is about to rust through.

Find a good reliable fabricator and get it fixed.
 
Have a dealership check for frame recall, my son in law is toyota tech, he inspceted mine and told me they have done some of the 4runners depending on how bad the damage was. Yours looks like recall
 
hallcs said:
Have a dealership check for frame recall, my son in law is toyota tech, he inspceted mine and told me they have done some of the 4runners depending on how bad the damage was. Yours looks like recall
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How recent was this? I called my local dealer and there were no open recalls with my VIN
 
We have been hearing promises of frame recalls for years. Its never gonna happen. Better off repairing or swapping frames than waiting for a magical recall.
 
If that's the only spot, a good fabricator could repair that no problem. If it's got the cancer all over, it could be pricey to correct.
 
Concur. If the rest is clean, fix it. If you find any more, going to need to do cost benefit on it. How long have you owned it?
 
BADCLOWN said:
How recent was this? I called my local dealer and there were no open recalls with my VIN
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Recalls have only been for Tacomas....started in mid 2000's for 95-00 trucks...then got extended to 01-04, then kept going... Still nothing for 4runners.

My 04 Tacoma got a new frame last summer....now I debate selling it or touching up the slight body rust and replacing the chrome bumper and keeping the thing.
 
tystaco said:
Recalls have only been for Tacomas....started in mid 2000's for 95-00 trucks...then got extended to 01-04, then kept going... Still nothing for 4runners..
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Curious, but what's the difference between the Tacoma and 4Runner frame such that they can justify a recall on one but not the other? Other than the rear suspension mounts, I thought everything is nearly identical.
 
nobb said:
Curious, but what's the difference between the Tacoma and 4Runner frame such that they can justify a recall on one but not the other? Other than the rear suspension mounts, I thought everything is nearly identical.
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Taco frames were made by Dana in the US and used a different coating. 4Runners were entirely built in Japan.
 
Until some Federal organization publishes a report that says "X" number of crashes involving 4runners were caused by excessive frame deterioration necessitating a manufacturer recall of those defective parts, nothing will happen. Toyota would have to publicly acknowledge the manufacturing defect and offer brand new frame to however many 4runner are still on the road. It would be interesting to see some statistics on how many are currently actively registered.
 
Cree said:
Concur. If the rest is clean, fix it. If you find any more, going to need to do cost benefit on it. How long have you owned it?
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bought it on 5/25, so not even 2 weeks. Got a bad vibe, didn't trust my gut, distracted by all the bells and whistles and overlooked the number 1 thing on my list....the frame
 
OP, you live in Alabama and bought a northern vehicle?

Mistake #1 unfortunately. We have plenty of 1 owner low mileage cars up here but even I wouldn't buy one up here because of rust potential.

Next time be patient and wait for a southern or west coast vehicle. I drool at the frames from those areas on how clean they are. The frame is fixable but there could be more problems in other areas.
 
Fezzik said:
bought it on 5/25, so not even 2 weeks. Got a bad vibe, didn't trust my gut, distracted by all the bells and whistles and overlooked the number 1 thing on my list....the frame
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Check laws in PA. You may be able to take it back.
 
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