Sooooo bad....

[afg10000]

Got under the Runner Yesterday to mock up the sliders and weld them. Found this. The pic will be below because I still can't figure out how to separate pics and text where I'd like them to be be on the post (ChildrenofBodom or JayRolla or can somebody tell me how to do this?) I feel so sad. This truck is is beautiful otherwise. At the the same time, my wife's Acura has an oil drain plug problem. -

 

[Doc2012]

Fix it before it gets worse.

 

[afg10000]

RonMaiden or any of you Colorado people or Mods. Please help me. I'll be there in a few weeks. Any advice would be awesome -

 

[afg10000]

Fix it before it gets worse.

is it salvageable?

 

[Doc2012]

Everything is. Just depends in how much work you want to put into it.

Go get some 1/8 steel, make a template out if some cardboard, transfer it to the steel, cut it out, cut the rust out, and weld in the steel.

I had a buddy down here that has his SNAP OFF because of rust, and he was able to weld it back together in my driveway using steel from Home Depot.

If you need to be talked through it, give me a call.

 

[BrianSD_42]

time to do a search on keyword 'rust' ......... but seriously there have been some pretty detailed threads in the last year.

that rust looks absolutely terrible. I'm surprised you haven't seen it until now.

I don't think it is safe to drive at all. You will need to find someone who can weld and willing to take on the project. That may be a hard thing to do because they will probably be concerned about liability.

The inside of the frame is likely rotting as well.

Sorry to bring the bad news but its unsafe right now.

 

[UnderFire]

Everything in the pics, plus probably more on other parts of the frame should be chopped out and replaced for it to be 100% safe again.

 

[denvertoyota]

and I thought it was only the tacomas that had the rust problem/recall. Im sorry to hear it man. Maybe there is a way to claim it on your insurance. i think my truck's ebrake failed and it rolled into a steam roller. :frusty:

 

[slowpoke99]

time to do a search on keyword 'rust' ......... but seriously there have been some pretty detailed threads in the last year.

that rust looks absolutely terrible. I'm surprised you haven't seen it until now.

I don't think it is safe to drive at all. You will need to find someone who can weld and willing to take on the project. That may be a hard thing to do because they will probably be concerned about liability.

The inside of the frame is likely rotting as well.

Sorry to bring the bad news but its unsafe right now.

like he said, the inside of the frame is probably gonna be pretty bad. you might have to section it out and weld a new chunk of frame in place depending on how much of the frame is affected. rust is like cancer. if you don't get it all, it's gonna show its ugly face again. just plating the outside of the frame isn't gonna solve your problem. well, it will temporarily but like i said, it will come come back out. sorry for the bad news. just trying to keep you and your family alive! good luck! please let us know how it all turns out.

 

[afg10000]

Everything is. Just depends in how much work you want to put into it.

Go get some 1/8 steel, make a template out if some cardboard, transfer it to the steel, cut it out, cut the rust out, and weld in the steel.

I had a buddy down here that has his SNAP OFF because of rust, and he was able to weld it back together in my driveway using steel from Home Depot.

If you need to be talked through it, give me a call.

F*$%- Thanks to everyone for responding. I did talk to my friend who's a welder and he said he could get some folks to fab a "C" plate piece and custom fit it on there. It seems the frame got bent upwards in that spot. I have no idea how or why. It wasn't from me and the previous owner didn't wheel the thing at all. It's never been in a wreck and that's the only spot that's like that. BrianSD, I'm surprised I've never seen this as well. The outside of the frame has some rust, but nothing I'm too concerned about. The only way I would have found that is if I was replacing the muffler or knew better about pre-purchase inspection. I don't feel the vehicle is that unsafe to drive for the moment. Lesson learned. I just feel terrible. This truck is in awesome shape mechanically and I've done so much work to it. I love the thing. It's the nicest vehicle I've ever owned. It doesn't even have 125k on it! The worst part is I'm finally taking a vacation in 3 weeks to Colorado and lake Mcconaughy. I will be doing some wheeling regardless of the frame. I don't know about Tacoma rust recalls, but my welding buddy's '98 is way cleaner than mine underneath. I was just under there a few days ago replacing end-links. At this point, I'm of the mind to weld the sliders on and go on vacation. BrianSD, unfortunately I don't have any Moog jokes, unless they make a frame, but here's my buddy Herb Tack welding the sliders for fun -

 

[BrianSD_42]

Definitely a sucky situation.

Btw, when I say it is unsafe I mean I don't think it is safe to crawl under with. That frame beam looks like it could go out at any minute, definitely wouldn't trust my life to it.

You need to brace the frame in such a way that it can't collapse on your head, then grind away all the rust down to the bone, then probably spray some type of rust stopper inside the frame, then weld on the new metal.

The really dangerous part is that when you grind away the rust there is a chance, a definite possibility that the frame could snap or collapse. You don't want to be under it when that happens. How do you brace the frame ? I can't say for sure.

Also you may want to consider a better thread title and definitely look up those other rust threads.

Good luck.

 

[KidVermicious]

I'd be considering getting a new truck and swapping my mods, or finding a clean frame and doing a frame swap. With rust as bad as yours, I'm betting the entire frame is rotten and you'll be cutting and patching half of it anyway.

 

[thor999]

Man that is so sad bro, so sorry... hope the rest of the members decide to check out their undercarriage more frequently as a result of this thread. I wonder how involved a frame swap would be?

 

[slowpoke99]

Man that is so sad bro, so sorry... hope the rest of the members decide to check out their undercarriage more frequently as a result of this thread. I wonder how involved a frame swap would be?

I just spent the last 3 and a half months under mine doing my build and you still got me to go out to the shop and take a look! Lol!!!
Maybe we should sticky a "pray for me" thread for our members who run in to these critical situations.

 

[afg10000]

Definitely a sucky situation.

Btw, when I say it is unsafe I mean I don't think it is safe to crawl under with. That frame beam looks like it could go out at any minute, definitely wouldn't trust my life to it.

You need to brace the frame in such a way that it can't collapse on your head, then grind away all the rust down to the bone, then probably spray some type of rust stopper inside the frame, then weld on the new metal.

The really dangerous part is that when you grind away the rust there is a chance, a definite possibility that the frame could snap or collapse. You don't want to be under it when that happens. How do you brace the frame ? I can't say for sure.

Also you may want to consider a better thread title and definitely look up those other rust threads.

Good luck.

I'm not so good with thread titles. I'm too cynical. I'm really bummed about this. Already talked with my friend and he's on it with the steel fabricators about getting a custom plate build. I thought about the frame swap KidVermicious, if it comes to that, so be it. I don't even care if the truck has a bunch of miles as long as the frame is clean. The rest of my frame is in decent shape. There's some rust under there but nothing I'm too concerned with. Around here, there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Period. Bottom line is I have to drive it. It's my only vehicle. It must have been like this for quite some time. I took it to CO twice last year and wheeled it, came home just fine. I understand what you're saying BrianSD, but I'm not that worried about it immediately. Trust me, I'm a giant worry wort. I'm more concerned with the longevity of the truck. There no reason why I shouldn't get 400k+ out of the motor and drivetrain considering how good of shape it's in. I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and help. I always do. This is the only forum I've ever been on and it's always great. I do agree this should perhaps be a more common topic for folks to watch for. I've definitely learned some lessons with this situation. Money comes and goes but I'll always have a Toyota in my garage. Again, thanks for the help and condolences -

 

[BrianSD_42]

Definitely agree. I just wanted to urge you to take extra precaution when going underneath the truck, to make sure it cannot collapse on you, especially when you sand/grind/weld.

 

[audiness]

Wow that is pretty bad. But that is the same place that all 4runner seem to rust out, just before the rear suspension mounting points on the frame rails.

:grouphug:

 

[woodro]

thats a easy fix , i had the same problem in the same spot , they all rot in the same spot . plenty of threads on this issue just do a search on rusty frames .
i cut all the rust out with a grinder with a cutting wheel , then i boxed the frame with 1/8 '' plate [inside, outside and bottom] , went past the rust a few inches and welded it . took about 6 hours total , hardest part was dropping the fuel tank to weld new plates on the inside of the frame .

 

[GladeRunner]

That's some serious rust. Agree with BrianSD and be careful working on it. Hope you get everything all fixed before your vacation.

 

[white_n_slow]

Btw, when I say it is unsafe I mean I don't think it is safe to crawl under with. That frame beam looks like it could go out at any minute, definitely wouldn't trust my life to it.

While this case is pretty bad*, I think you might be being a little overly cautious here. Keep in mind that more than half the trucks on the road don't even have a boxed in frame, just an open C-channel. If the rust is not apparent or visible from the outside of the frame, I don't think there's any risk of the frame collapsing. That said, can't hurt to be careful. The control arm mount looks like it could let go some time soon. If you have to drive anywhere, keep an eye out for pot holes!

*Pretty bad is a relative term here. A lot of folks from the land cruiser crowd would consider this a run-of-the-mill rust repair. Cut it out, weld it in, and keep an eye on it. If you're concerned about rust on the inside of the frame rail you can also inject ATF or some other oil-based rust protector that should slow or somewhat mitigate future rust.