Rust Advice/Suggestions

[daprotege5]

since i was under the truck today replacing the fuel guage sensor, i decided to take pictures of the rust damage i have. Thoughts/suggestions of how to go about this would be greatly appreciated.

also the picture of the driveshaft, found a drop of might be tranny fluid as was red, coming from that spot, i dont have any drops on the driveway that i know of, so gonna keep an eye on it. any ideas suggestions?

 

[MikeinNH67]

Pictures 1,2,3 & 6...ouch. That looks terminal to me as it would take lots of time and $$$$ to fix it properly. I've welded up multiple places on mine but did it as I found the holes when they were smallish so wasn't too bad. Pull off your rear bumper and I'll bet the frame corners are gone too. Also look at the front crossbar where the tow points are.

You can look into SafTCaps, maybe give you an extra year or two. If you can find a southern frame and have the time and knowledge to swap it that would be best.

4 Runner 2003-2009 4th Gen Archives - autorust.com

 

[Shiftless Joe]

Personally, I would junk that thing if it was mine. It's beyond the norm for rust, and likely unsafe to drive,

 

[Syr4RinNC]

AGree with above. Im generally not an alarmist with rust and think most who dont deal with it worry way too much about it - but with significant rust holes like that its time to move on- i know in NY that would not pass inspection and most repair shops wont want to put that on a lift . Certainly other concerns about the structure of the vehicle in a crash etc

unfortunately, may be time to trade it in

 

[Too Stroked]

since i was under the truck today replacing the fuel guage sensor, i decided to take pictures of the rust damage i have. Thoughts/suggestions of how to go about this would be greatly appreciated.

also the picture of the driveshaft, found a drop of might be tranny fluid as was red, coming from that spot, i dont have any drops on the driveway that i know of, so gonna keep an eye on it. any ideas suggestions?

Speaking as one who has lived in the rust belt for his whole life, the fluid leak is the least of your problems. Sad to say, but that frame is beyond economical repair and is actually unsafe to drive.

 

[daprotege5]

Crazy it had a 21 pt inspection, 2 yrs ago at Toyota dealer, where they definitely would have seen that damage. As it had the transmission serviced and cooler lines repaired.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

Yea - I had a shop pass my state inspection, then 3 months later told me they wouldnt put it on a lift to do a repair because of the rust

 

[Too Stroked]

Crazy it had a 21 pt inspection, 2 yrs ago at Toyota dealer, where they definitely would have seen that damage. As it had the transmission serviced and cooler lines repaired.

Point number 22 must have been to "Check for massive amounts of clearly visible corrosion possibly leading to frame failure." Heck, anybody could have missed that. Not!

 

[MikeinNH67]

Crazy it had a 21 pt inspection, 2 yrs ago at Toyota dealer, where they definitely would have seen that damage. As it had the transmission serviced and cooler lines repaired.

I think they failed to do their own inspection properly. These often rust from the inside out so what you see is the tip of the iceberg.

Curious, are you in Florida? Just going by the Altamonte Springs in your info section. Maybe the former owner liked to drive it in the ocean?

 

[daprotege5]

Yes in Florida but records from the car from New Jersey.

 

[dskof]

That looks pretty bad, I'd look into a replacement frame.
I had a few spots that a local place welded up for me. Wasn't cheap though.
Here is an option - SafeTCap(R) Kits - autorust.com if the rust is confined to only an area or two.

 

[Nitrosanity]

New here, is there a sticky rust repair group? Just got my 4runner this past weekend and for sure need to clean and treat ASAP.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

New here, is there a sticky rust repair group? Just got my 4runner this past weekend and for sure need to clean and treat ASAP.

no but theres plenty of threads on it. shoot some pics and people will help out. I assume if its a texas truck - it probably just surface rust and will mostly be cosmetic as opposed to an actual problem, but let us know.

general is wire wheel/ sand/ sand blast what you can, apply a rust converter, paint/ undercoat as deired and then use fluid film or rust prevention going forward