New to T4R

[SaanichRunner]

Hello all,

Thought I'd introduce myself and post a few questions. My name is Mark and I live in Victoria, B.C. Canada. I recently purchased a 'Thunder Cloud' 02 (Sport Edition). I could not find what I wanted locally (there are very few for sale around here, or in Vancouver) so I ended up purchasing one from the Seattle area. This truck spent the first 8 years of it's life in W. Virgina and Pennsylvania.

It has around 92000 miles on it. It looks like it's been well looked after inside and out. However, after I got home I took a closer look underneath and saw more rust than I was expecting. I guess those Eastern winters are pretty harsh! In Victoria it seldom gets below freezing and very little salt is used on the roads so rust is not much of an issue, at least on trucks built after '90. The frame looks solid but there is a bit of rust on the shock mounts, differential, axle, brake line connectors etc. Should I be concerned about this? I was thinking of getting under there with a wire brush and scraping off any visible rust and then putting on some sort of rust inhibitor. Thoughts?

I have no previous maintenance records other than what work the dealer performed (new tires, front brakes, battery, oil change). Are there any areas I should look at?

Also, a minor issue but I noticed a slightly larger gap between the metal at the base of the headlight and the front bumper on the passenger side versus the drivers side. I can easily slide a finger in the gap on the one side but not the other. I've noticed this on a few 4Runners...is there a fix for this? eg. adjust the bumper? I've posted a pic of the truck and of one the wheels - I have not seen this wheel on other trucks, does anyone recognize it? Is it a Toyota wheel? Thanks!

Mark

 

[Project99]

Hello! As far as the rust thing goes...its a toyota! But you shouldn't really worry about it. The rust is most likely surface rust, but yes, the best thing to do is use the wire brush. Get all the loose stuff off of there. What i have done in the past on other vehicles is brush it off, wipe it with a rag to get the dust outa the way, then spray it with wd40. It will pull out some more and should turn a orange color. After a day or two i wipe it with a rag again, then spray it with some paint to seal. I would check your brake lines and gas lines though, thats just a safety issue if it gets pretty bad.

 

[rdgt4r]

Welcome! nice truck looks familiar =)
If you like your fender flares with paint i would keep the boards on haha (ask me how i know)

 

[PTY507]

Welcome!!! Cool ride you have there.

Yep, the best thing you can do right now is wipe off all the rust, just like a precaution.

 

[brian2sun]

There are undercarriage protectants out there to prevent future rust, and painting definitely helps. I'm no expert because in CA, we've only "heard" of rust haha. Take some pics for us so we can see the underside and just make sure it's not cancerous rust.

Other than that, you should check or replace all the fluids - engine oil, tranny, diffs, t-case, power steering, etc.. and look at the spark plugs, wires, air filter, vacuum and coolant hoses, all that good stuff. If you're not sure if it has had the timing belt/water pump/idler pulleys replaced, it's due for it now (every 90K). It's about a $600 job at a shop and $750-1000 at the stealer.

 

[99_4Runner]

Hello all,
I've posted a pic of the truck and of one the wheels - I have not seen this wheel on other trucks, does anyone recognize it? Is it a Toyota wheel? Thanks!

Mark

The wheels look like a 4th Generation 4Runner wheel, being from the East Coast definitely make sure the rust isn't canerous clean it off as soon as you can.

 

[Project99]

There are undercarriage protectants out there to prevent future rust, and painting definitely helps. I'm no expert because in CA, we've only "heard" of rust haha. Take some pics for us so we can see the underside and just make sure it's not cancerous rust.

Other than that, you should check or replace all the fluids - engine oil, tranny, diffs, t-case, power steering, etc.. and look at the spark plugs, wires, air filter, vacuum and coolant hoses, all that good stuff. If you're not sure if it has had the timing belt/water pump/idler pulleys replaced, it's due for it now (every 90K). It's about a $600 job at a shop and $750-1000 at the stealer.

HEARD OF RUST!!! thats funny, but true! my first vehicle was a 89 toyota 2wd pickup, was from california and i bought it in 97, not one spec of rust anywhere. everyone was like what year is that, damn thats clean is it new paint. HAHAHA

 

[SaanichRunner]

OK, thanks for the responses. I will crawl under the truck and take a few pics when I get the chance.

 

[SaanichRunner]

OK, here are some pictures from underneath the truck. There is no rust that I can see on the body panels or in the wheel wells etc. Thanks.

 

[brian2sun]

Just looks like surface rust to me, nothing cancerous that I can see so that's good!

 

[theizzardking]

you do need to address this as it will devlop into a problem, but with that said, no one is screaming fire just get ready for some uncomfortable nasty work ahead, bust out the wire wheels and various grits of pads and get to it, remember it's best to remove all of it and coat it rather then just encapsulating it for another time

 

[theizzardking]

this one and the rear axle look worst to me, you really don;t even need to do anything for a bit, but still i'd rather be safe then sorry

 

[SaanichRunner]

OK, thanks for the input. I agree the shock mount looks like one of the worst spots to me as well, but perhaps after I go at it with a wire brush I'll find it's not so bad (lots of good steel still there)...or not. Speaking of shocks, these look like originals...when do you normally replace them?

I remember using some stuff 10 or more years ago on the trunk floor of a 69 Firebird - POR-15, stuff you can paint right over rust, it hardens into a black material and is supposed to prevent further rust. It seemed to work well. In this case I will try and remove all I can with a wire brush before applying anything.

I can hardly believe I'm having to deal with rust on an 2002 vehicle! I will say the exterior of the 4Runner looks great, and it drives well.

I posted a few more pics below.

 

[Ham Sammich]

I just bought a PA rig, too. Mine was a bit nastier underneath than yours..it's a '97. Get what you can now, but you're still in good shape!

 

[96743runner]

That rust doesn't look too bad, I've seen much, much worse! But like others have said, just make sure to address this problem before it gets worse.

In your first post you mentioned something about having a gap between your headlight and bumper. Does your runner have a clear accident history? If not, your runner may have been in a fender bender.

 

[SaanichRunner]

That rust doesn't look too bad, I've seen much, much worse! But like others have said, just make sure to address this problem before it gets worse.

In your first post you mentioned something about having a gap between your headlight and bumper. Does your runner have a clear accident history? If not, your runner may have been in a fender bender.

Hi,
According to the Autocheck report there have not been any accidents. I did notice a scratch on the front bumper that has been touched up. I think someone must have banged into something, not hard enough to do much damage, but hard enough to twist the bumper down a bit on one side creating a slightly larger gap on the one side. Two of the three other 3rd gen 4Runners I looked at on the lot had the same issue. I will post a close up at some point.

 

[brian2sun]

It was probably in a little accident and most people don't report that stuff if it's not that much $$ to fix. Even with big repairs, many people don't go through insurance (so their rates won't jump up) so Autocheck, Carfax, etc.. are only accurate if it was reported to ins. or if it was worked on at a dealership.

Carfax (and the like) would love you to believe they know everything about every car, but they don't.

 

[SaanichRunner]

My main concern with the rust is the rust at the top of the shocks. Could it get so bad the shock would have nothing to attach to? Sounds like it might be tough to fix! It also looks like an awkward place to get to to remove the rust. The rust on the axle etc doesn't concern me as much because I assume the steel is quite thick in those places. As for the rust on the brake components I could just replace the parts as required.

Would Toyota not design the truck so that any exposed steel parts could withstand significant rust (a lot more than on my truck) without losing the structural integrity of the part? It's a 4WD they must realize it will be used in harsh climates.

 

[JohnsD90]

That looks nice underneath, i say buy it, mine looks about the same, that is surface, i have seen rusted trucks and that is not one of them, I bought new rear shocks for mine, one of them wasnt atteched, and the other was rusted pretty bad, got a set of Ranchos for $80, i thought i was screwed too but the mounts on mine werent rusted and i would assume yours arent either. If you were pertaining to the latch shocks then those are about $35 from somewhere online.

Here is my old rear shock. .v.

 

[SaanichRunner]

That looks nice underneath, i say buy it, mine looks about the same, that is surface, i have seen rusted trucks and that is not one of them, I bought new rear shocks for mine, one of them wasnt atteched, and the other was rusted pretty bad, got a set of Ranchos for $80, i thought i was screwed too but the mounts on mine werent rusted and i would assume yours arent either. If you were pertaining to the latch shocks then those are about $35 from somewhere online.

Here is my old rear shock. .v.

Hey, thanks for the input. I already *did* buy it actually...a couple of weeks ago. I looked underneath before I bought it, but I didn't look that carefully and the lighting wasn't the best, I wasn't really expecting to see much rust on an 02, even one from back East anyway...

It wasn't until I got it home and looked more carefully underneath that I saw the rust on the shock mounts etc. then I started to wonder if I had made a mistake buying the truck. Hence my decision to post here and get some feedback. However, people like you are saying it's not too bad so I'm feeling better about it all!

BTW what do you mean by 'latch shock'?