Rust on Frame... is this a concern...

[pjbrownva]

So... I'm shopping for a new 4th gen.

Here's a shot of the undercarriage of on of the cars that I'm considering.

My questions are:

Is this amount of rust normal?

Should I be concerned about it? (I plan to keep the truck for 20 yrs... seriously!).

What, if anything can I do to mitigate it?

I don't have much experience with this topic, but I don't want to purchase a vehicle if it's likely to have serious rust issues a few years down the road.

:artist:

-Phil

 

[chitown40]

it's not too bad. I've definitely seen worse.

 

[Theo85]

Thats probably what my runner looked like when it rolled off the assembly line :lmao:

Up here in canada we get the undercarriage rust stopped or sprayed with oil to stop from getting worse.

 

[pjbrownva]

Thats probably what my runner looked like when it rolled off the assembly line :lmao:

Up here in canada we get the undercarriage rust stopped or sprayed with oil to stop from getting worse.

I'm not familiar with rust stop or oil spraying.

Are there any threads on this, or can someone enlighten me on what is done, how much it costs, and how long it lasts.

Also, I use my 4runner to launch a boat, so the frame sometimes gets submerged. Will the oil treatment or other rust stop solution be damaged the the frame is submerged during a launch?

 

[Freyer]

Look into the fluid film...Although in VA you probably don't get much salt on the road. It doesn't hurt though. You can apply it by yourself if you don't mind making a bit of a mess. Hit everything underneath with it before winter (do you guys have winter?). I'm definitely going to be fluid filming the bottom of mine. That undercarriage looks about the same as mine. One thing to do is make sure to wash the vehicle frequently...this always helps.

 

[blackoutt]

This looks about normal for a 4th gen that's seen some light salt/humidity. The welds seem to get a surface rust color if not coated on ALL of them. You can go all out like some of us have and wire wheel/phosphoric acid/and seal with products like POR 15, Chassis Saver, or a good old enamel. You'll rack your brain reading peoples success and failure stories but the key things to remember are prep work is most important and whatever you do on the outside of the frame to make it pretty, remember that they usually rust from the inside out so it's not going to make it bulletproof.

 

[pjbrownva]

Look into the fluid film...Although in VA you probably don't get much salt on the road. That undercarriage looks about the same as mine. One thing to do is make sure to wash the vehicle frequently...this always helps.

Thanks, Freyer. I will look into the fluid film. We sometimes get snow and salt here, but it's usually only a hand full of snow storms a year, and after it snows, once the roads clear, I always try to get the undercarriage cleaned at a drive-through car wash as soon as the weather is warm enough for them to open. Around here, at least, the car washes close when the temperature gets too cold. I guess they're afraid the water might freeze or something dumb like that. :frisky:

This looks about normal for a 4th gen that's seen some light salt/humidity. The welds seem to get a surface rust color if not coated on ALL of them.

Thanks for the reassurance, blackoutt.

You can go all out like some of us have and wire wheel/phosphoric acid/and seal with products like POR 15, Chassis Saver, or a good old enamel. You'll rack your brain reading peoples success and failure stories but the key things to remember are prep work is most important and whatever you do on the outside of the frame to make it pretty, remember that they usually rust from the inside out so it's not going to make it bulletproof.

So, yesterday I bought a replacement for my totaled T4R.

The car I posted the photos of was a really nice, clean, low mileage car, but I decided to go with a higher mileage Florida car. It has no rust at all!

I'm gonna start a (non) build thread for the 4Runner to address issues and/or concerns.

I would like advice on what, if anything, would be easy and economical to seal the frame... both inside and out. Since it has no rust, maybe I should clean the bottom well (would a pressure wash with soap be a good idea or a bad idea?)

and then give it a good protective coating that will last... if that's necessary.

I hope to keep my new one (an '08) for at least 20 years, so I'm in it for the long haul!

-Phil