Check my frame please

Hey everybody!

New to the forum, just bought a 05 DC TRD V8 4x4 with tow and LSD yesterday, with barely any research done , from a private sale with no maintenance paperwork, but a few key things said to be done in the last few years.... yea I know, I know. Also, its got 179k miles ( 289k km) , its a Canadian truck originally from Alberta, now in BC.

In the last 24 hours I have done thorough research on these trucks, learning about timing belts, lower ball joints, and of course, frame rust. I would like your opinion on this frame, I took as many shots as I could to cover as much as I can.

How bad is it? Its definitely been coated before. I really like the truck and would like to keep it, but not if the frame is pretty bad... anyways, thoughts?

 

It's been coated by toyota as part of the limited service campaign/recall

For a Canadian truck I'd say it's not bad, but it's pretty rough. Looks a lot like my frame did before toyota replaced mine.

I'd be worried about safety at the point you're at.

 

You can plug in your Vin into toyota owners dot com and see what service work has been done at TOYOTA dealerships which would include services such as the coating.

@shifty` should be along any time now to link that info , and to link in his thread.

 

Yea ive tried that , unfortunately it gives me a processing error when done on PC. For some reason when I do it on my phone, it kinda works but has nothing listed under factory installed equip or standard installed equip... just some stuff under basic vehicle info

Maybe because its a Canadian VIN? The canadian toyota site is no help either for VIN lookups, I may call the dealer and ask for more info

 

Just curious , which part / pic is most concerning to you from a safety aspect? Ive checked alot of it and everything is still really solid, no perforations / holes or anything like that

 

Hard to tell with the coating on there, but we've seen worse. Take a ball peen hammer to it and make sure there are not weak spots.

 

I would get under it and knock off anything loose that you can, hammer, scraper, wire brush wheel, etc. once that’s done see what’s left.
I did that when I got mine, it wasn’t bad but needed it, then I treated it with rust converter for anything left, then painted over that, then undercoated that ( it sure if that was a good idea or not), then fluid film over that. I honestly haven’t done anything since and it’s starting to show some rust here and there, that was about 4 years ago, I just intend to wash and fluid film it.

 

Contact Support at the Toyota Owners site and tell them the problem you're having. In my case they ultimately wound up just sending me a PDF of my records

 

This ^^^

With the coating being so thick, it's almost impossible to say at this point. I'd be most concerned in the spots where the frame is "chunkiest" like in this pic and this pic. That's where I'd start hammering. It's possible that coating is 3rd party, also...

In theory, at the Toyota Owners website, you should be able to click on Owners > Service History

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And get a list of any time this vehicle has been into a dealership, including the frame treatment if it's happened. If there is no frame treatment showing, you may be eligible for replacement. As you can see, my previous owner virtually never went into the dealership for anything (they opted for 'JiffyLube' places). The last three entries on the truck are in my ownership timeframe.

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Kk thanks guys I appreciate, I'll go play whack a frame later today and see what happens. Since I'm not having luck with the Toyota owners page, I'll call the dealer today and ask them to look it up

Sam

 

Looks like it was treated with the Noxodul 300 crap. Get rid of it! I'd scrap it/bang it or burn it off.

The rusted frame just corrodes under that stuff. Best to get it exposed and treat it properly with a rust encapsulator. You might still have time to save it.

 

A good pressure washing would also help you get a better look at it. Dirt can also cause rust just like salt.

 

You can’t get anything from Toyota Canada like you can in the US, I tried, you can find out if there are any recalls and that’s about it.

 

Good. Doesn't look terrible to me, but definitely needs some further investigation. Will probably suck to wrench on unless you've got experience with rust. I had to learn the hard way a few times when I twisted off a couple of skid plate bolts. The idea is not to check with a wrench to see if it's rusted on, but to assume it's rusted on, and take precautionary measures before you ever slap a wrench on a nut or bolt.

 

That’s insane! Although everyone bringing in their trucks for new frames probably would put Toyota in a financial hole.

 

Yeah, kinda sucks, not sure why either as I think they used to have the same info as you can get in the US

 

Looks fine to me.

Which doesn't say a lot, as its coated and literally anything could be going on under that coating. Scrap the coating off and then we will all know more.

 

Not aware of the used tundra market in Canada but curious as to why decided to go the no research/maintence instant pull the trigger route? I’m leaning on the fact you bought it first then found out forums like this existed