How much rust is too much 2011 Tundra?

Hey everyone,

I was hoping to hear your opinion on these pics. It is a 2011 Tundra SR5 double cab I am looking at, 120,000 miles. The owner lived in Wyoming and then Virginia. I have seen a lot of talk about rust on these trucks, but this one doesn't look too horrible to me. The dealership says it is in good shape but I am somewhat skeptical. I would love to hear your thoughts. Is this type of rust normal for a truck this old, and can I take steps to prevent the rust from getting worse?

 

So this looks clean.. you need to look at the rust at the frame and not the exhaust components which will look a lot more rusted than the frame part even in no rust regions.

So at the below picture.. you want to see how bad is the rest in the area shown in red.. the blue arrows area exhaust components will rust. But even here these components look great...and you do not see any rust flakes anywhere.. this look like a good truck to me..

 

So which is it?

 

It looks OK to me, but I am not an expert by any means. I do not trust the dealership and want more than just their word on it, so I posted here.

 

From the pics, it looks like a little surface rust. Nothing to be concerned about

 

Remove the bedliner and check the bed! It's probably rusted over the crossmembers which isn't the end of the world but is something to be aware of.

I bought an 08 with more rust than this and spent probably 20 hours total cleaning and brushing the rust and then applying Corroseal to convert the surface rust. 2 years later it still looks great. I'd do the same with this truck and keep it forever.

But even if you don't it'll still last many years. Enjoy!

 

For its age it looks pretty good. I would second the inspection of the box. Make sure that is not swelling over top of the cross members.

I have had good luck spraying the frame with Fluid Film. This soaks into the rust effectively stopping it from growing. The black will look great but honestly that frame looks good for a truck of that age.

 

Does not look too bad to me, but I am from Pennsylvania. Crawl underneath the rear to inspect the bed, because they rust from the bottom up! Not the top down.
What motor?
What’s the asking price?

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I was paranoid about rust after seeing pics of first-gen Tundras with rotted out frames. I am happy it doesn't look too bad.

It's a 4.6L V8. Asking price is $20,000. It also comes with a Leer topper in great shape. I've been looking all over and this was one of the better deals I've found. I'm planning on building a little camper in the bed and doing some traveling this winter.

 

Do you know if the timing belt, plugs, etc have been replaced?

 

I am planning on getting it inspected by a mechanic to get a better idea of the condition. I know the dealership did some pretty basic maintenance, changed the oil, filters, etc. But they didn't change the plugs, transmission fluid, or replace any of the original components other than a headlight and battery hold down.

 

The rust does not look too bad. I would treat it immediately, of course. Inside the frame channels, too.

Had much worse rust INSIDE the subframe welds on a 2 years old Ford-era Volvo, which I bought new. Those could not be treated properly of course.

 

I second this @WeirdCave. Poke your head up and look inside the C channel. My 2010 looks similar to yours from the pics you have shared, but much worse up inside the frame. Here are a couple examples of mine:

 

Noxudol 700 comes with a long tube that sprays the channel all around while the tube is being dragged. 700 is very agile and creeps up a few inches from the point where it was applied directly, filling all the porosity and cracks. Domestic brands may have similar products, though I personally switched over to Swedish stuff (Noxudol) after a few Rust-Oleum failures to treat rust properly.

Here I did wife's new Sequoia while it's new and mostly rust free: Undercarriage Treatment?! Yay or Nay?! Pros & Cons?!

 

Jumping in with another look at a 2nd Gen with a similar level of rust. This is a 2013 regular cab long bed 4x4 with 107k miles. One owner in New York and New Jersey, but it's being sold in North Carolina. I haven't had a chance to see it in person, so these are the best photos I've been able to get from the dealer so far.

Not nearly as clean as I'd like to see but overall it's as good an option as any RCLB 4x4 I've found in several months of searching so I've scheduled a pre-purchase inspection with a local mechanic tomorrow. Told him I'm primarily interested in a close examination of the extent of the rust, and based on what I've learned on this site, I know to focus specifically on where the crossmember above the spare and the leaf spring mounts connect to the frame rails, and along the inside channels of the frame. Based on what I see here, I don't see any reason to walk away, just good cause for a closer look, but I know I've still got a lot to learn.







Does anyone see any particular causes for concern here?

 

Not bad for where it's from, nut if it were me and I was already starting out in NC I'd be looking at something from that area or south vs something from the NorthEast.

SPP

 

From the pics provided, looks pretty clean to me. Definitely worth taking a look at in person. Good luck.

 

@slowpokepete Yeah, I would jump at the chance for a truck from the south or west, but turns out RCLB 4x4 Tundras are extremely rare. I think I've seen almost every one of them that's gone up for sale across the US over the past three months and with the exception of a few that had other red flags, they've all had this much rust or more. Please lemme know if you notice a cleaner one though!

 

Find one with no rust on it much better choice

 

I’d say if you’re not in a hurry, Pass and look more regional too NC.

 

Just look south and southwest are your best bets

 

Just to re-iterate because it seems like several recent commenters missed it, I'm not just shopping in the northeast. I've been looking for months all across the country, and definitely prioritizing the south and west, but there aren't any low-rust RCLB 4x4s popping up anywhere. Happy to be proved wrong if you find one though!

 

Yep. They are rare because only a few people wanted one. The flip side of the coin is that the people who want one, really want one. You know that, of course, so my advice is to check the truck out in person as soon as humanly possible and be prepared to pull the trigger if you like what you see. People who haven't hunted one of these things don't realize how few of them exist and come up for sale at any given time.

 

Y’all telling him to keep looking, over that amount of rust, are really making me queasy about the rust on my frame…

 

That truck is pristine! The spare isn't even rusted.

 

Yeah, that was close to my initial reaction too, but among other areas, there's a significant amount of rust around many of the bolts and to a lesser extent, along the frame welds, so I want to be sure I'm not missing more severe spots. Seems like most of ya'll would at least agree that it's promising enough to merit a closer look.

 

Nothing wrong there that I can see. Get the truck coated with fluid film or NH oil, that should take care of the minimal rust shown here.

 

Well I didn't get the most detailed report back from the small shop that did the inspection this morning, but they say that other than needing a better battery cable it's in good mechanical shape. As for rust, they said the bolts on the trans pan should be replaced but the rest of it is fine. Sent over these additional pics. Still more than I'd like to see on a 2013 but I guess it's all surface.

 

Ditto. X2

 

Most of what you see could be cleaned up with a wire brush by hand or die grinder and coated with semi-black POR-15 to make it look new again.