20’ CPO tundra frame rust

Hey everyone, first time Toyota owner here. I recently made the switch due to needing an engine replace on my 07’ f150. I was super excited to get this truck but found this a few days after purchase.

this is a 20’ certified tundra. What do yall make of it? It supposedly spent its whole life here in Houston. I was pretty disappointed to see it. It appears that all the welds on the frame have this surface rust, as well as the leaf springs and some on the rear diff.
Try and treat it at home and move on? Make a fuss at the dealership and see if they do something? Shut up and just drive it?

 

Normally I would say just drive it, normal. And to a degree it is. But you said Houston. They’ve suffered some flooding there from time to time. I would just check to make sure it’s not a flood vehicle. My truck has similar rusting at the seam welds.

 

Wire brush the welds and spray paint flat black. Spray frame with Fluid Film spray can. Otherwise looks pretty clean. You can do it yourself wouldn't bother with dealer.

 

Looks pretty minor to me. My truck also has rust on the weld seams, in the middle of cleaning it up right now. It cleans up easy with a wire brush. Do that, prime it, then paint it flat black.

 

im more worried about the other side of the weld I can’t access or get to. You would think being certified, that would raise some red flags. Is it worth spending the time going over it? I don’t see how it won’t pop back up down the road.

 

Looks like surface rust to me. That axle breather looks suspect but I don’t think is any more than surface rust. They all seam to rust at the welds. Could it be residue from weld flux?

 

Welds rust, it's normal. If you're concerned about the inside of the frame, you can stick a borescope camera in some of the holes to see what it looks like. Might look perfectly fine, you never know. You could spray fluid film (or equivalent) inside the inaccessible parts of the frame, can't hurt.

 

Thanks for the replies. I think I’m going to pas so. The dealer and just touch up spots that are visible

 

As a former habitual weekend fisherman in Galveston and Trinity Bay Area, I can tell you that going to the beach or launching boats frequently can absolutely do this, especially if you don’t wash the salt spray off in a timely manner. My F-150 has very similar rust patterning and I was pretty careful to wash the under carriage.

Nothing in those photos though are really alarming.

 

I think the part that gets me is a just bought it last week. It would be one thing if I had it a year or two and it popped up, but it obviously had this and still got certified somehow

 

Doesn’t it being certified give you an extended warranty that would include the frame? I understand being a bit worried about it but seems like an easy fix. Wire wheel and hit it with some rust converter, fluid film or spray paint. I wouldn’t be concerned one bit unless you put the camera in the frame hole and found the same on the other side of the welds…..

 

Only a year bumper to bumper. I don’t think the 7 years covers frame. I’m headed to the dealer this morning to see what happens

 

Would yall treat the seams with something like rustoleum or just wool wax it?

 

Either will be fine. I actually wire wheeled a good portion of the fram on my wife’s 1999 wrangler and have been spraying PB blaster surface shield and it has been working really well

 

I am a big fan of one of the rust converter products, can be found just about anywhere. Reacts with the rust, turns black. Then either leave it or paint over it, your choice. Abrasives like wire wheel or steel wool just removes what you can see, and adds additional scratches which IMO can promote later rust.

 

Get rid of the lose flakes and hit it with fluid film, wool wax, corrosion free, rust check, crown, surface shield etc etc. that is so minimal the aforementioned products will seep into the metal and you’ll have no issues.

 

It's minor surface rust. Why in the world would this prevent it from being certified?