Serious Frame Rust Questoin

I tried to open the fill plug this evening but it wouldn't budge. I can see at least 2 pinholes on the underside of the axle cover plate but I can't tell how much fluid is still in the diff.
 
I used a 12" long 24 mm box end wrench. I tapped on the end with a hammer until the wrench started to move, but the fill plug never moved. I think I removed the rust from the plug and that's it.

I think I'll try removing the breather next. Seems like I should be able to use a makeshift dipstick in the breather hole to determine how much fluid is remaining. That's assuming the breather plug isn't also rusted to death.
 
I took a dremel and a grinding wheel to the faces of my filler plug. I ended up fittinig a 22 on there. It was tight and I had to tap it on, but it got it off with a breaker bar no problem. I would clean it up and take the plug off right.

If you have pin holes, I would definitely plug them.
 
After reading through this thread I definately need to check my vehicle for rust. I noticed that people with rusty frames are located up north. Here in Houston we don't get snow or ice, so we don't have are roads salted. I know this must be a major contributor to vehicle rust. But, that doesn't mean I won't get any. I know my exhaust has started to get speckles of rust on it. Every now and then I'll spray it down with WD-40.
 
Satter said:
After reading through this thread I definately need to check my vehicle for rust. I noticed that people with rusty frames are located up north. Here in Houston we don't get snow or ice, so we don't have are roads salted. I know this must be a major contributor to vehicle rust. But, that doesn't mean I won't get any. I know my exhaust has started to get speckles of rust on it. Every now and then I'll spray it down with WD-40.
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Yeah, spray your exhaust with WD-40. That will end well... :flamethrwoer2: Haha.

Yeah, I really don't think that you need to worry about it.
 
I have an appointment with a welder in Malden tomorow to get an estimate on how much to repair the frame. Once I know how much it will be to fix that I'll calculate my differential ratio and start shopping for a new rear axle from the Southwest.
 
I called Toyota today to see if they were willing to do anything to fix the problem. The Toyota rep said no recall or buyback now, but it could happen in the future "if Toyota sees that frame rust is a pattern in these vehicles." Everyone who has a rusted frame should let Toyota corporate know, and also the NHTSA. If enough of us with rust problems come to their attention then maybe Toyota will do something about it.
 
Mine has alot of surface rust, been treating it tho so its not bad. The rear axle housing on our trucks is worse than our frames.
 
I have a wrecked 4runner. Is there any interest in the rear frame? I mean, I would split the frame rail in quarters and the potential buyer would take those pieces and weld them over their existing frame.

I ask because i wouldn't want to do any extra or unnecessary work in cutting it up if nobody has an interest in it and it would be easier to send the frame off to the recyclers.

Mind your. I was thinking 4' sections with the Lower link mount being in the middle. Easy to ship UPS but if there are special request, i can be accommodating.
 
Ok. Then I think we should start with...
Everyone with frame rust/rot should post pics on one separate thread, we could call it the "Rot Pack". There are thousands of us that have it. And then get a group letter out to Toyota and the NHTSA(?) requesting or demanding Toyota do something about this issue. Our trucks insides are outlasting the outsides. I mean some of the rigs are B A D!!!!! And someone is going to get hurt, if not killed, when the rear end comes flying out from under us. I know this weekend, I am going to take pics of mine and then start the process of prevention. It is not terrible yet... but getting there. Plus my rear hatch has an extra window beneath the license plate. I had to replace both bumpers and rear bumper ends because of the quality of the metal used. Which is odd, I am thinking a couple things on this one. Either they skipped a process with the chroming or all the "steel" they used had either too much phosphorus or sulfur in it. Which in my opinion, would cause it to "rust from the inside, out". And I do believe the latter since the frames and body panels are rusting out as well.
I definitely feel there is a case here and I do not think we should slack on it, otherwise nothing will happen to fix the issue.
 
Izanewman said:
If you just paint over it, yes. You want to use a rust treatment like "rust doctor" or the Rustoleum product for converting the rust. This should, in theory, convert the rust to iron oxide. Then you can paint over it with no future problems.
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Any luck with this working?

JohnsD90 said:
Once you have the rust off and the jagged pieces cut and new pieces on, you then coat the frame in POR-15 or Wax-oyl, they are 2 well known rust prevention coatings.
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Personal experience with either/both?

theizzardking said:
here is a run down of different rust treatment chems, from restoring old rusty vw's that are from the 60's-70's i have a fair amount of experience with this sort of thing, first thing to do like said above is to wire brush everything you can reach off back down to shiny metal, once there see how bad the steel is pitted,weakened and all of the rest, check the general condition of that beam,
if it looks as if it's far more then surface rust, i.e. there are cracks,holes, gouges, ect in the beam you have to weld it, like others have said go to a welder, this won't be cheap, if it looks like it's surface rust get as much of it out as you can and then use a rust encapsulater, followed by an inhibitor these do different things and you must do them both and in that order ,otherwise like others have said it will start to rust underneath the rust-o and whatever else you throw on there and then you have a even bigger mess on your hands.

TheSamba.com :: View topic - Rust Prevention Product Testing
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Great info!

My T4R has several surface rust spots and once I get into treating them I would like to hit the whole underside with a plan to eliminate any further spread.

Has anyone done something like the following?
1. Brush, sand, grind off all existing surface rust
2. Use a rust encapsulator on all existing spots (will it hurt to use on the whole under-body?)
3. Use a rust inhibitor on the whole under-body
4. Use Line-X, Rhino Lining or any similar coating material to prevent further damage
 
Nelsonmd said:
Yeah, spray your exhaust with WD-40. That will end well... :flamethrwoer2: Haha.

Yeah, I really don't think that you need to worry about it.
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LOL! Yes, sir. You're probably right. I remember when I posted advised on how to take care of a rusting exhaust pipe. You had suggested to just let it rust and replace. That's probably what I'll end up doing.

I had a chance to look under my truck this past weekend. It's almost entirely rust free. Everything looked good and clean. The only rust I did notice was the exhaust pipe running to from the cat converter to the muffler. It's entirely rusted. Well, it's black and the metal pipe is ridge, not smooth. So, I assume it's rust. The muffler has some patches of rust on it, but nothing really bad. The exhaust pipe leaving the muffler has a few speckles of rust. All in all, not bad for an 11 year old SUV. :)
 
Just a little FYI.
I was in the local Toyota dealer last week picking up oil filters and they had a Sequia in 2 bays replacing the frame. So they are doing more then just Taco's and Tundra's.
As said if enough complaints are made to NHTSA they will have to look into it.
 
Thanks for the information, Gonzo. Was that Sequoia frame replaced at the owner's expense, or Toyota's?

I got one estimate to fix the frame yesterday of $700+ per side. The welder suggested that it was not worth fixing on a 1999 with 205k. I'll get a few more estimates before I decide what to do.
 
1997 4runner Rusted Frame

My 97 4runner rusted out where the rear drivers side control arm meets the frame. The dealer said the same thing to me! Call Toyota!!

They should start a program whereby they replace the frames on the rusted 4runners (like the TUNDRA) or buy them back (like the TACOMA!).
 
Singtoe said:
I have a wrecked 4runner. Is there any interest in the rear frame? I mean, I would split the frame rail in quarters and the potential buyer would take those pieces and weld them over their existing frame.

I ask because i wouldn't want to do any extra or unnecessary work in cutting it up if nobody has an interest in it and it would be easier to send the frame off to the recyclers.

Mind your. I was thinking 4' sections with the Lower link mount being in the middle. Easy to ship UPS but if there are special request, i can be accommodating.
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X2, I still have the '96 that NelsonMD got the rear axle from. The rear frame looks good. I'd have to look to see if it got bent any from the roll over. I know the front did.
Here are a couple of shots I have on my work computer showing some of the frame and not seriously rusted up. The truck is from south florida, so there is some light surface rust in spots from being near the beach. Of course, the axle is under Nelson's truck now :)
The squirrel is my buddy and he was coming over to say HI.
 

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I got a quote from a local welder to fix my frame for $750. He said he thinks he can repair the pinholes in the differential housing, too. I'll post an update when I get the truck back.
 
My frame and rear axle were both fixed by a local welder (Al at Cambridge General Welding in Allson, MA) for a total of $1200. The welder put a 1 year warranty in writing for me, too.
 
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