A guy I work with inherited a 4runner and is looking to sell it. 2010 Trail edition with 95k miles. It has some rust, more than I'd like to see, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.
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- Thread starter ASUMTNEER
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Let me put it this way, that looks like your run of the mill 4Runner from the North East that has not had any sort of rust prevention (Fluid Film etc..) applied to it. the welds at the shocks are most concerning, but from the photos this does NOT look rotten, aka the frame is completely rusted out.
This said, you're going to get a lot of people from TX or elsewhere without salt that will tell you to run for your life from this. I would personally look for one that has less rust as a starting point, but you can always hire someone to blast off the rust thats visible and spray the whole thing down yearly with Fluid Film, will get rid of 90% of that surface rust. will need to keep up with it every year though.
This said, you're going to get a lot of people from TX or elsewhere without salt that will tell you to run for your life from this. I would personally look for one that has less rust as a starting point, but you can always hire someone to blast off the rust thats visible and spray the whole thing down yearly with Fluid Film, will get rid of 90% of that surface rust. will need to keep up with it every year though.
Humble Leader
Senior Member
typical for 13 year old vehicle. I'd be more concerned about power steering line condition, valve cover gaskets leaking, AC still working etc. than that rust. it looks like a clean trail with barely any miles. I would be interested assuming it was taken care of but would take it to a mechanic and have them put it on a lift. pictures sometimes are hard to judge
I definitely think that spare tire hoist is rusted stuck. $400 to repair that. I spray the hell out of my hoist once a year with fluid film because mine got stuck a couple years ago when I got new tires/rims after 10 years of not using it once lol
I definitely think that spare tire hoist is rusted stuck. $400 to repair that. I spray the hell out of my hoist once a year with fluid film because mine got stuck a couple years ago when I got new tires/rims after 10 years of not using it once lol
Humble Leader
Senior Member
AC job will probably be $1000 minimum at a dealer so factor that in if cold air is important to you. those trails are a nice rare find but I think just because of its age things will need attention. probably suspension soon, you mentioned brakes, AC, spare tire carrier if that's important. tires look OK. no signs of oil or fluid leaks from the pictures. typical old car stuff when buying an older car. as a safe estimate I'd set aside $5K for first year of ownership stuff that comes up. if it hasn't had transmission, diff, transfer case fluid done yet, those should be done too I would think. Make sure the H4, L4 and rear locker work too
it's a nice find for sure but with any car that age stuff will likely come up
Charlievee
Senior Member
Loctite 633877 Extend Rust Neutralizer and a fluid film like product, will go a long way.
I bought the 4runner and am starting to get to work on it. I bought some of the rust converter and am going to work this weekend on knocking the loose rust off of the frame and converting the rust.
I had a can o AC PRO at home, so I hooked up the gauge to the low pressure port last night and it was at 0. I went ahead and charged it back up and will see this evening if it's still holding pressure.
I had a can o AC PRO at home, so I hooked up the gauge to the low pressure port last night and it was at 0. I went ahead and charged it back up and will see this evening if it's still holding pressure.
Curious what "rust converter" product are you using?
In the "old days", I used a lot of navel jelly. (Named that because the navy used it to dissolve rust on ships). It was a jellied phosphoric acid which eats and dissolves rust without affecting the underlying steel. Water based so it was easy to work with and wash off. Of course, you had to treat the steel with rust preventative after that. I used "cold galvanizing compound" which was really a powered zinc undercoat. I never had anything rust again after doing that.
Using Loctite 633877 Extend Rust Neutralizer and a fluid film, as recommended above. I use fluid film, and have for years, before ever winter. I haven't used the rust neutralizer product before though.
Jakeepoo3
New member
No go. Don't buy. I see rusted through welds everywhere. Especially the ones breaking free on the edges . A lot of that isn't just surface rust. The seamless areas of the frame may be fixable but all the welded joints rusting through would require a lot of work. Grinding out bad welds and rewelding joints if they're not too far gone. Recoating probably sucks too. Good luck
I crawled underneath it last night and started wire brushing the loose stuff off and it's really not bad at all. I sprayed 2 coats of the rust neutralizer on it last night and am letting it cure today. I will spray fluid film on it tonight and move on toward the front of the truck.