My damaged 4runner dilemma

[Monty87ls]

Hi all, i have a 2004 sport with about 127k on it. Body is worn from sun damage from the original owner but overall decent shape. Mechanically its fine with some stuff needed but nothing I cant handle. Just put 2 new exhaust manifolds which are OEM and a new carvan exhaust which im mixed about sound wise.

Good cooper off road tires, just replaced the tailights that got broken with OEM led replacements.

3 big issues right now. Most of the frame is good besides the rear where the body meets the frame and the hitch. Swiss cheese and gonna be about $3500 to repair at least!

Brake lines are starting to fail so gonna have to replace a good portion of them, one of the lines above the gas tank went so its been sitting while I decide how I wanna tackle it.

Had a major storm here and the truck took a bit of a beating from tree branches and/or hail. 1 being quite large and put a sizable dent towards the back of the roof which will need paint work too so it doesnt rust.

Trying to decide what to do, dont worry about the dents, and fix the paint so no rust. Contact insurance who will probably total it which leads to 2 options. Let them take it and fight for every penny I can or total it but buy it back and have everything fixed using the money they give me including the frame.

I am concerned the rest of my frame isnt good but I cant see it yet. I am in NY which eats frames.

What would you do?

 

[rdruss]

This is almost always a personal decision, but I think the overall frame condition will be a big factor.

 

[fourwd1]

Frame rust can be a major issue on Toyota trucks. They rust from the inside out, so you don't see it until it's really bad. It got so bad on my '83 I ended up doing a frame replacement, which is a lot of work.

Unless you're able to repair the frame yourself, finding a good shop to do it might be a problem.
A lot of places tend to shy away from that type of work due to liability issues.

 

[Monty87ls]

This is almost always a personal decision, but I think the overall frame condition will be a big factor.

Got busy with some other things forgot I posted this plus took almost a month to get insurance to move! Decided to let it go. It should be gone in the next week or 2. Ive decided to move to a tundra so I assume ill be shunned from this forum soon enough! Lol

Frame rust can be a major issue on Toyota trucks. They rust from the inside out, so you don't see it until it's really bad. It got so bad on my '83 I ended up doing a frame replacement, which is a lot of work.

Unless you're able to repair the frame yourself, finding a good shop to do it might be a problem.
A lot of places tend to shy away from that type of work due to liability issues.

I was looking into doing a full frame replacement or having someone just doing the back half but ive decided to let insurance take it. Its shame but the frame work is alot and not sure its worth it.