Wish I could take the running boards off

L

laureena23

New member
A few weeks ago I attempted taking the boards off and guess what? I found so much rust underneath them, I wanted to cry! I was told it would cost about $200 each side to fix which I don't have to spend right now.

Just bummed about it today for some reason..looking at everyone else's pics doesn't help! :cry:
 
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you could try soaking the bolts with sum corrosion fighting stuff... at work we use toilet bowl cleaner to get corrosion and rust off of rods and reels... what would they have to "fix" that it would cost 400 bucks? plus i think your truck looks good with the running boards on.
 
The rust is on the actual body. I was thinking maybe I could just sand it down and put some rhino liner stuff on it? I dunno. I'm just itching to take them off..lol
 
Is the rust just around the brackets and bolts? Or is the part of the body that would be exposed rusted? If it is just the bolts and brackets, and you are trying to get them loose, spray them real good with PB BLaster and let them soak overnight. If it is the part of the body that will be exposed, and unless they are rusted through the metal, do the same and try removing as much as you can by hand - then invest in some good rock sliders to cover it up with as much as possible.
 
laureena23 said:
The rust is on the actual body. I was thinking maybe I could just sand it down and put some rhino liner stuff on it? I dunno. I'm just itching to take them off..lol
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I think removing the running boards is one of the single most simple things you can do that dramatically changes the appearance and stance of your vehicle, ....., and very practical if you do some off-roading.
 
Laureena if you could take a picture of where the rust is on the body we can give better suggestions.It has been a while since I had my running boards on so cant remember them covering the body, I thought they were under. Is it where the Plastice trim touches the body behind that? If so sanding it down and using POR or a Rust stopping eliminating primer and then Rhino lining type product would work.
 
Buy a grinder from Sears for $50 and cut the brackets off. Or just rent a grinder from Home Depot and cut the brackets, or cut the bolts out.

BTW the Running Boards dont cover much of the body.
 
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I would take a pic but its about 18 degrees outside with tons of snow..and no garage to pull it into..lol

I'll describe it as best as I can: when I took the board off, the rust was along the body that the board covered up. Under the door (obviously) but not on the door? I guess it would be the frame.

Since the truck is white, the rust is very visible with the boards off. It might look clean in the pics but its starting to rust very badly, but there is already a good amount of rust formed.
 
depending on teh size of the hole and how bad it is $400 for both sides welded,grinded,sanded,primered and painted isn;t a bad deal, if your seeing holes do this instead of some cheap por-15 fix (which isn't that cheap maybe $80 total for all supplies then time to do the work) the weld job should look better and out last the rest of your truck.


it all really depends on how much longer you plan on owning the truck and what you plan todo with it later,
 
A temporary bandaid would be to spray some Fluid Film all over the rusted areas. My undercarriage is extremely rusty due to all the salt on our roads and I recently read about the Canucks' secret weapon - Fluid Film.
I used two spray cans to do the entire underbody of my rig. Axles, suspension, frame rails, skid plates, everything. No prep, just spray over all the crud. The stuff absorbs into the rusted metal like butter on hot toast.
Supposedly it gets all the way down to the base metal and prevents further rusting. It turns the reddish surface rust into a very dark brown, almost black. And it stays on the metal looking wet until something takes it off.
There are no solvents so it is safe to spray on just about anything. The stuff will even waterproof your work boots. Not kidding.
 
SkidPalace said:
A temporary bandaid would be to spray some Fluid Film all over the rusted areas. My undercarriage is extremely rusty due to all the salt on our roads and I recently read about the Canucks' secret weapon - Fluid Film.
I used two spray cans to do the entire underbody of my rig. Axles, suspension, frame rails, skid plates, everything. No prep, just spray over all the crud. The stuff absorbs into the rusted metal like butter on hot toast.
Supposedly it gets all the way down to the base metal and prevents further rusting. It turns the reddish surface rust into a very dark brown, almost black. And it stays on the metal looking wet until something takes it off.
There are no solvents so it is safe to spray on just about anything. The stuff will even waterproof your work boots. Not kidding.
Click to expand...

This intrigues me. Now that its been a year or so, how has that stuff worked out in the long term? That would be something im interested in - we have bad road salt too.
 
thatoneguy said:
This intrigues me. Now that its been a year or so, how has that stuff worked out in the long term? That would be something im interested in - we have bad road salt too.
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I really like Fluid film. I have no proof or test data that it is halting the rust but it has to be doing something. It keeps your rusty metal parts wet looking and it seems to "travel" and completely coat everything. I will continue to use it until someone debunks it.
I use it on pretty much everything as a general lubricant. And yes, I did waterproof my boots with it!
I get it at McMaster Carr for a good price. I don't know why but I can never ind it on the website. I have to put in the part number directly to get it: 12055K74
 
You recent posters are missing the point. OP wasn't saying they wouldn't come off, OP was saying the rockers are rusted. (it needs body and paint work.).
 
Ive had great results with Plasti-Dip. You could prime the areas to deal with the rust and then spray the bottom with Plasti-Dip...They make white and a gloss coat. I dont know if that is advise your looking for, but taking off your running boards is a great step forward in the 4Runner. I personally don't like them and are bound to get tore up on even the mildest of trails.

Great customer service and prices here -----> dipyourcar.com

BTW, I have no affiliation with them, they were just great when I ordered from them.
 
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