pictures of my rusty frame

[Conspearasea]

Mine is not nearly as bad, and has a ton of beach and salt water.

I run steel hull Commercial Vessels as a Sea Captain and spend my life fighting rust ( or at least making sure the deck hands are doing it right ). Ship owners don't like to see their $45 Million dollar vessels waste away, and we spend tons of time and money battling this problem every day.

I plan on getting out the angle grinder with wire wheel to lightly clean it. Next step is a "neutralizer" like "Ospho" which you can get at west marine, this is phosphoric acid that will neutralize light rusting.

There is a better product if you can get your hands on it called "EnRust" that becomes a true primer barrier after conversion for your top coat. Napasco I might be using this instead of Ospho.

For Really tough rust, Rust Bond is a two part converter and sealant that makes a rock hard film....I don't need this much protection at this time.

Another product easily available for small projects at Auto Stores is Naval Jelly.....diluted and gel formed phosphoric acid basically.

Final step for me will be Por 15 paint....I don't think Rustoleum will even come close to the longevity of that stuff, and I dont want to do this project twice. I plan on having this truck for many years to come, and this is worth the time to do right.

I might actually have to do a write up for this project when I do it, I've spent so much time on making this rig look the way I want....now it's time to take care of the part you rarely see.

 

[TechWrench]

I know this is an older thread, but I found it doing a search on frame rust. I had my '03 up on stands the other day to replace the serpentine belt and all 4 pulleys. When I removed the lower engine skid plate I noticed the front frame cross member support that runs under the radiator was rusted pretty badly. On the passengers side, I saw a few holes all the way through, where the tie-down hook is welded in place. I started to check closer, and when I grabbed onto the hook, the entire lower corner of the cross member came off in my hand, hook and all. The upper half of the cross member is still in place, but not sure for how long. Other that providing a place for the front of the skid plate to mount to, it looks like this piece doesn't do much. My main worry is I am due for NYS inspection in November, and worry that this will cause it to fail inspection, which means I can't legally drive it. I called the dealer I bought it from new, and was basically told it was out of warranty, there were no recalls for 4Runner frame issues, and any repairs would be out of my pocket. (I have never been happy with the service dept at this dealership)

I did some searching, and found that Toyota lists many of the frame components as separate items. The front cross member is one of them. It is listed as an Auxiliary Cross member, #51021-35070, which has been superseded by #51021-35071. A lot of online Toyota parts departments list the part as still available, and the cost is around $250.00. My older parts guide book indicates a labor time of 2.0 hours to replace it. Since I don't see any place the cross member is bolted on, I am assuming the old part has to be cut out and the new one welded in place. I haven't contacted any body shops yet, but I am guessing that it might only cost between $500-600, including the part, to have it replaced.

When I first found this problem, I was worried that I would have to replace the vehicle, which I am not in a financial position to do at this time. But, now I am thinking that having the cross member replaced is a much better option for me. Other than this problem, I have been very happy with the vehicle, and would rather not have to replace it, if I can fix it reasonably.


Has anyone had this work done before?

Update: I bought the front aux crossmember a few months ago, and have been waiting for good weather to see about getting the old one cut out and replaced. Well, I have been to three shops, and none of them would take on the job. They all said the main frame rails didn't look solid enough to hold a weld. I finally got the chance to put it up on ramps and get underneath it myself. I cut out as much of the old crossmember as I could, and once I looked closely, I have to agree with those shops. On both sides, the outer side of the frame rail, just above where the crossmember is welded to, have 4-5 inch lateral holes. Since Toyota is still refusing to include the 4Runners in the frame rust recall, I am not sure where I go next. Replacing the frame on my own isn't an option (can't afford it). My only other thought is trying to find a good front end of a salvage frame., It looks like the two ends of the frame could be cut off and good replacements be welded in place. If I can locate them at a salvage yard, and find a frame shop that can handle the job I might go that route. The rest of the frame, though rusted, looks to be solid. I am assuming that the trade in value, with the frame as it is, will be pretty low, and I am not ready to take on a car payment at this time.

Sorry for the rant, but this whole thing pisses me off. I bought this thing new, had it rust proofed and undercoated at the dealer when new, and cleaned and sprayed the underside as often as I could, and still wind up with this mess at only 124k.

Update #2, Last fall, I finally found a welding shop that does frame repair. They cut the bad parts of the front frame rails out, replaced them with new steel, welded the new cross member in place, and coated the whole area. It looked almost brand new when I got it back. Cost me $275 for new cross member, and $300 for the welding repair. Since then, I acquired another '03 at a really good price. This one is a Limited V8, with 265k. I checked the frame before buying it, and other than normal surface rust, it was in pretty good shape. I finally decided to sell the SR5 and keep the Limited because I really like the V8 with it's additional towing capacity.

It, up till now, has been pretty good to me. Just a few normal repairs, considering the miles. But, about a month ago, I noticed something hanging low under the fuel tank. Turned out to be the tank shield had rusted through some of the support hangers and was coming loose. I was able to pull the front part of the shield loose with very little effort. Since a new shield is about $700, I decided to wait a bit and try to find one from a scrap yard. I should have checked the rest a bit further. Last week, a day before taking a 200 mile trip to PA, I started hearing a strange noise from underneath while driving home from work. I pulled into a shopping center parking lot and looked underneath to find the front of the fuel tank was hanging down. Fortunately, the tank was almost empty (I was going to fill it when I got close to home). There was a Lowes in the mall, so I got some ratchet straps and lifted it up enough to get home. I called two of the local Toyota dealers, and none hade new tank straps in stock. So I picked up two 8" turnbuckles, and with some large "S" hooks and chain, I made two new supports for the tank. The dealer wants about $150 for the two new straps, but I found them online at Partznet for $99 + shipping. The chain straps are working well now, so I am in no rush to do anything further at the moment. Just waiting for the next part to fall off.........................;-(
:frusty:

 

[Ralph Blake]

i wonder if the OP washed off the under side of his 4runner after driving it in the road salt? I had a older Bronco bought in around 1982 drove it each winter with salt and sand covered roads,soon as it was above 32F I was out with hose washing the frame and everything under the body off. People were always commenting how rust free it was after so many years.

 

[geurillawarfare]

Update: I bought the front aux crossmember a few months ago, and have been waiting for good weather to see about getting the old one cut out and replaced. Well, I have been to three shops, and none of them would take on the job. They all said the main frame rails didn't...........................pisses me off. I bought this thing new, had it rust proofed and undercoated at the dealer when new, and cleaned and sprayed the underside as often as I could, and still wind up with this mess at only 124k.

:frusty:

Sorry to revive an old thread - Just adding a datapoint - I just got an 2005 with 104k and didn't check it over like I should have. The body is spotless, no rust on the bottom of the doors or anywhere else. Vehicle was always washed in the winter (in northern OH) and I have every receipt to when it was new. The inner sides of the frame (facing the center of the vehicle) are completely rotted out, especially in the middle at the welds near the gas tank. Crossmember is also completely rotted out.

What's scary is that it all just looked like average midwest surface rust. It wasn't until I got it in the air and started trying to wire brush some of it off so I could POR 15 it that I found my brush/finger/screwdriver/welding hammer just going right through. I peeked inside the frame and it's a nightmare in there. It appears that all the really bad rust started from the inside - The outside layer of steel is more or less intact everywhere - The inside is layer after layer of flake, and it just ate right through in some spots.

WTF? Are you kidding me, toyota? Calling them tomorrow, assuming they will tell me to go away. I will poison their name forever (and keep loving this damn 4runner... because it's a 4runner... dammit)

 

[mkristo88]

Sorry to revive an old thread - Just adding a datapoint - I just got an 2005 with 104k and didn't check it over like I should have. The body is spotless, no rust on the bottom of the doors or anywhere else. Vehicle was always washed in the winter (in northern OH) and I have every receipt to when it was new. The inner sides of the frame (facing the center of the vehicle) are completely rotted out, especially in the middle at the welds near the gas tank. Crossmember is also completely rotted out.

What's scary is that it all just looked like average midwest surface rust. It wasn't until I got it in the air and started trying to wire brush some of it off so I could POR 15 it that I found my brush/finger/screwdriver/welding hammer just going right through. I peeked inside the frame and it's a nightmare in there. It appears that all the really bad rust started from the inside - The outside layer of steel is more or less intact everywhere - The inside is layer after layer of flake, and it just ate right through in some spots.

WTF? Are you kidding me, toyota? Calling them tomorrow, assuming they will tell me to go away. I will poison their name forever (and keep loving this damn 4runner... because it's a 4runner... dammit)

yikes!! keep us updated...I had a similar situation, but mine was pretty much all surface rust, Thank God!! it still pissed me off though. already coated it with rustoleum

 

[wadle5]

Sorry to revive an old thread - Just adding a datapoint - I just got an 2005 with 104k and didn't check it over like I should have. The body is spotless, no rust on the bottom of the doors or anywhere else. Vehicle was always washed in the winter (in northern OH) and I have every receipt to when it was new. The inner sides of the frame (facing the center of the vehicle) are completely rotted out, especially in the middle at the welds near the gas tank. Crossmember is also completely rotted out.

What's scary is that it all just looked like average midwest surface rust. It wasn't until I got it in the air and started trying to wire brush some of it off so I could POR 15 it that I found my brush/finger/screwdriver/welding hammer just going right through. I peeked inside the frame and it's a nightmare in there. It appears that all the really bad rust started from the inside - The outside layer of steel is more or less intact everywhere - The inside is layer after layer of flake, and it just ate right through in some spots.

WTF? Are you kidding me, toyota? Calling them tomorrow, assuming they will tell me to go away. I will poison their name forever (and keep loving this damn 4runner... because it's a 4runner... dammit)

Yeah wondering what they say? Since it is the Tacoma frame it should be recalled as well.

 

[geurillawarfare]

Yeah wondering what they say? Since it is the Tacoma frame it should be recalled as well.

After talking to toyota corporate, I've decided this will be my last toyota. What a joke. I'll keep on loving this one, but the company is clearly going downhill. The only point of customer contact is completely useless, and rude to boot. I was so nice to them and all the lady wanted to do was get me off the phone so she could get rid of the next person in line. I'm done.

 

[geurillawarfare]

yikes!! keep us updated...I had a similar situation, but mine was pretty much all surface rust, Thank God!! it still pissed me off though. already coated it with rustoleum

I have welds literally missing - It's bizarre - It's as if the weld itself vaporized but left the exterior metal behind. I'll post a pic this week. The interior metal (inside the frame) is flaked out and the metal in the affected areas has been reduced to less than 1/16" thick. I found a half dozen spots without even trying. It blows my mind. The topside is mint, no rust on the body, not even on the undersides of the doors or the pinch welds on the hatch. The frame looked like surface rust until I started chipping away with a welding hammer. Toyota corporate customer care is a joke. The call ended with me promising them that I will use my automotive industry influence to poision their name. The lady was rude from the moment she answered the phone.

Time to start welding. If they recall these frames later and try to void a replacement for mine due to customer weld repairs... I will be a "very unhappy" person.

 

[castint]

Sorry to revive an old thread - Just adding a datapoint - I just got an 2005 with 104k and didn't check it over like I should have.

I've looked at a dozen or so in the past month. The last two...so much rust. Found an 05 limited with 89k on it. All records, amazing condition. Pulled into his driveway to look at it and the entire hitch assembly was brown. My daughter (teens) said "ugh, that doesn't look good". Got out, crawled under, the the frame was more or less delaminating - I poked one corner of it and a 1x3" flake fell off. Up front was almost as bad, there were holes on the passenger side. The owner kept it under a carport, never drove it offroad (he was an older guy). I think finding one in NC is going to have me going to CO or somewhere.

Toyo should just fix these. :\ My DD is an older BMW that has seen a lot of crappy roads and there is no rust on the frame.

 

[mkristo88]

I've looked at a dozen or so in the past month. The last two...so much rust. Found an 05 limited with 89k on it. All records, amazing condition. Pulled into his driveway to look at it and the entire hitch assembly was brown. My daughter (teens) said "ugh, that doesn't look good". Got out, crawled under, the the frame was more or less delaminating - I poked one corner of it and a 1x3" flake fell off. Up front was almost as bad, there were holes on the passenger side. The owner kept it under a carport, never drove it offroad (he was an older guy). I think finding one in NC is going to have me going to CO or somewhere.

Toyo should just fix these. :\ My DD is an older BMW that has seen a lot of crappy roads and there is no rust on the frame.

Yea this definitely isn't normal..I'm tired of ppl saying "well, mine doesn't have rust because i take care of it"..I've always treated all of my cars the same and the 4runner is the only one that's had a rust issue, and i've driven my other cars/trucks through all sorts of stuff

 

[Ralph Blake]

Lets face it anyone who is planing to buy that 4runner, and sees the rust, then says so long i must be going, it's just not going to be sold.

 

[MrRoo]

Almost every super clean 4runner I looked at in the Midwest area had frame rust. Some just surface crap and other rotted like a 3rd gen. This the reason i bought a plane ticket and bought my current 2004 in Arizona. I got sick of looking at all these rusted out 4runners. No way I was spending good money on a used truck that had a rusted frame. Both my 3rd gens had frame rust. Neither had "rot". My brothers 2001 had a nice 2 foot long rotted section that we had repaired. Body spotless. Go figure. So sad Toyota is not fixing the 4runners. I think i've seen way more 4runners with frame rot than other Toyota's.

 

[wadle5]

So how come we haven't started a petition to get the frame covered like the Tacomas?

 

[mkristo88]

So how come we haven't started a petition to get the frame covered like the Tacomas?

Exactly!!! I'm ready to sign!

 

[geurillawarfare]

So how come we haven't started a petition to get the frame covered like the Tacomas?

I'll stand out in front of toyota HQ next time I'm in Japan and picket them if I have to. This is ridiculous. The toyota name is forever poisoned for me if they don't fix this. I'm welding a couple spots and covering as much of the rust as I can in POR 15. This had better not void any future replacement. It just makes me sick that I didn't notice this. The frame paint just looked a little funny, and it wasn't until I chipped at the underside with a slag hammer for a few hours that I understood how bad the vehicle really was.

I have also found severe corrosion on anything attached to the frame - Brackets, bolts, crossmember, braces, etc - I'm sure there is some galvanic reason for this. I wish I could get to the top of the frame but I don't have time to take the body off right now so that rust will have to stay, and I'll just slather on the POR 15 the best I can and hope that it helps more than hurts.

Anyway, after paying $12.75k for the thing (NADA book is $13.5k) I now have about 16.5k in it. $500 in rust treatment supplies, literally $350 in hardware (every bolt I removed is being replaced), $900 in exhaust manifolds and heat shields, $350 in cat back exhaust that fell apart in my hands, alternator, engine mounts, and other misc. I feel like I got totally screwed but maybe it could be worse. It just sucks that even after all of this, my frame will still be slowly rotting inside, and in some areas is so thin from the flaking that I am wondering if it could break if I stressed it too much

 

[97hb]

Makes me glad I live in Texas, that frame is jacked up!

 

[TechWrench]

Update: I bought the front aux crossmember a few months ago, and have been waiting for good weather to see about getting the old one cut out and replaced. Well, I have been to three shops, and none of them would take on the job. They all said the main frame rails didn't look solid enough to hold a weld. I finally got the chance to put it up on ramps and get underneath it myself. I cut out as much of the old crossmember as I could, and once I looked closely, I have to agree with those shops. On both sides, the outer side of the frame rail, just above where the crossmember is welded to, have 4-5 inch lateral holes. Since Toyota is still refusing to include the 4Runners in the frame rust recall, I am not sure where I go next. Replacing the frame on my own isn't an option (can't afford it). My only other thought is trying to find a good front end of a salvage frame., It looks like the two ends of the frame could be cut off and good replacements be welded in place. If I can locate them at a salvage yard, and find a frame shop that can handle the job I might go that route. The rest of the frame, though rusted, looks to be solid. I am assuming that the trade in value, with the frame as it is, will be pretty low, and I am not ready to take on a car payment at this time.

Sorry for the rant, but this whole thing pisses me off. I bought this thing new, had it rust proofed and undercoated at the dealer when new, and cleaned and sprayed the underside as often as I could, and still wind up with this mess at only 124k.

Update #2, Last fall, I finally found a welding shop that does frame repair. They cut the bad parts of the front frame rails out, replaced them with new steel, welded the new cross member in place, and coated the whole area. It looked almost brand new when I got it back. Cost me $275 for new cross member, and $300 for the welding repair. Since then, I acquired another '03 at a really good price. This one is a Limited V8, with 265k. I checked the frame before buying it, and other than normal surface rust, it was in pretty good shape. I finally decided to sell the SR5 and keep the Limited because I really like the V8 with it's additional towing capacity.

It, up till now, has been pretty good to me. Just a few normal repairs, considering the miles. But, about a month ago, I noticed something hanging low under the fuel tank. Turned out to be the tank shield had rusted through some of the support hangers and was coming loose. I was able to pull the front part of the shield loose with very little effort. Since a new shield is about $700, I decided to wait a bit and try to find one from a scrap yard. I should have checked the rest a bit further. Last week, a day before taking a 200 mile trip to PA, I started hearing a strange noise from underneath while driving home from work. I pulled into a shopping center parking lot and looked underneath to find the front of the fuel tank was hanging down. Fortunately, the tank was almost empty (I was going to fill it when I got close to home). There was a Lowes in the mall, so I got some ratchet straps and lifted it up enough to get home. I called two of the local Toyota dealers, and none hade new tank straps in stock. So I picked up two 8" turnbuckles, and with some large "S" hooks and chain, I made two new supports for the tank. The dealer wants about $150 for the two new straps, but I found them online at Partznet for $99 + shipping. The chain straps are working well now, so I am in no rush to do anything further at the moment. Just waiting for the next part to fall off.........................;-(
:frusty:

Well, I found a salvage yard in S. CA that had both front and rear tank straps listed on ebay. The front strap was listed for $36, which wasn't bad considering it looked almost brand new in the pics. But they wanted $52 for the rear strap, which seemd a bit high even with the free shipping. I emailed them an offer of $75 for both with shipping included, and they counter offered $80. Considering a new set was $100 + shipping, I figured I might go for them. Then, by chance, while searching for the lower fuel tank shield, I found one at the same salvage yard listed for $100. Which I thought was a good deal, since a new one was almost $700 + shipping. So, I emailed them, asking if they would consider combining the shield and straps in one bundle deal. We settled on $175 for all three items, + $75 shipping ( from S. CA to upstate NY) Which, considering the size and weight of the shield, I thought was fair. I placed the order with them on Monday, 7/11, and the parts arrived today, Tuesday, 7/19 via FedEx ground. These parts are in almost new condition. Very little minor surface rust. The look like mine on the '03 probably did in '05. They were from an '06 vehicle, so they look real good for 10 years old. I hope to install them this weekend, once I locate new mounting bolts.

One problem solved, just waiting for the next piece to fall off...........:redbrick:

 

[mikeferg]

Makes me glad I live in Texas, that frame is jacked up!

that truck must of been on the beach in salt water, towing a boat in the ocean, no other way to explain. thats the only time I seen rusted trucks like this.

 

[RunnerAK]

So how come we haven't started a petition to get the frame covered like the Tacomas?

In addition to that, you all need to start petitions to your state DOTs to use less corrosive deicers. Yeah salt is cheap, but think of the literally billions of dollars in corrosion damage it causes to vehicles and infrastructure every year.

 

[groverdill]

Sorry to see such a bad frame.