Rust has ruined my good running truck!

So not too long ago I bought an access cab 2006 Tundra 4.7l V8 4x4 sr5. The rust was hidden from me with spray paint, cardboard, foam, you name it (I now know to bring a hammer inspecting a vehicle)! So I'm trying to do the best with what I've got now. I've been turned down from frame repair shops as the truck is "too far gone". So I'm considering buying a blown engine Tundra (it's a 2002 but everything else checks out) and essentially transferring the good out of mine into it. The engine, trans, the rear end Is all good. So if I replace all major parts in that truck should it be relatively compatible? I'm not scared of fabrication and welding work, but don't want to have 2 unusable trucks either lol

 

I mean, I would honestly contact the seller to notify them about this. And regardless how long it's been, I'd contact your state's AG CPD (Consumer Protection Division) to see what recourse you may have against the seller. Plenty of folks have taken sellers who hid major safety problems to court and won. You just need to be willing to put in the effort. As for compatibility, you need to read this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

It'll cover compatibility, warnings, what kind of $$ you're looking at, etc. tl;dr is NO the '00-'04 don't interchange engine-wise with '05-'06 and you're asking for a world of pain and misery.

 

Oh man, that’s going to be a heck of a lot of work. You’ll probably have to gut the entire interior and swap everything single bit of body wire harnesses, under dash harnesses/ECU’s, ect. Not impossible, but it won’t be fun.

 

Thanks for the quick and informative responses, I do still have the dude's contact info and it would definitely be worth checking what I could do legally. As he had to have known the condition of it, as it was covered up. But I am in a lucky position if I'm stuck witj it, my dad is a mechanic and has a large shop we could work in. I may just look for another 06?

 

'05-06 will share the VVTi drivetrain. For most pain-free frame swaps, cab type and drivetrain (V6/V8 and 2WD/4WD) should match. For engine swaps, it's worth trying to match drivetrain just the same, as long as you know some things, like the radiator size, is different between the DC and the AC/RC trucks. If you don't know what those two-letter acronyms are, read the thread I linked.

 

Just to throw it out there, you could potentially fab and weld the frame back together. Not the "best" answer but it saves you the effort of swapping all the different components. Take heed of shiftys advice, compatibility among DC/AC/RC and VVTI stuff is important.

got pics of how "too far gone" the frame is?

 

DarkMint brings up a good question. Rust tolerance is different to everyone, especially Toyota owners. Mine looks like a sunken barge underneath and I still drive it.

 

x2

The safe-t-caps from www.autorust.com is a possible solution if you can’t get anywhere legally.

 

.....

 

Without what? That emoji gif is chopped off on my phone.

 

You don't even need a hammer. Just bring a decent magnet. The more powerful the better feel you get on how much steel is there.

 

As mentioned...pics! Ha

 

That’s a good point. Some potential use for those Rockauto vehicle sticker magnets of cars you don’t admire.

 

Yeah I've never said it myself but for anyone (I think) on mobile it's cut off for some reason.

OP some frame pics would help immensely here for us to determine your best course of action.

 

turn your phone sideways...

and yes to the op, post pics so we can access your frame better.

 

Yeah, I often forget how much extra info it shows when you do that.

 

Front left wheel well, I slapped a big plate over where a bunch of rot was (grinder it out 1st)


Passenger side section near the wheel well, did my best patching a spot here but it was extremely thin

 

This is right past the passenger wheel well neear the motor. There's even more but it's very tedious sending pics on mobile lol. I live in VA too which has strict frame repair stuff

 

Pretty major spot here as well, gutted the crap out beforehand but still I didn't do it properly so it won't pass inspection

 

Looks like decent patch work and doesn't look "too far gone" at all, I've seen trucks with worse frames than that still kicking around. So the crown won't "approve" that frame for inspection? This is beside the point but that's infuriating and total BS. What everyone in VA has to be a bougie new car driver?? Fuck anyone who doesn't play the trade-in-every-two-years game?

I suggest you try and take it to a less stuck-up DMV, or do a mail-in out of state registration with south dakota or florida or something similar. But getting a new truck because the state won't LET me reg it based on a DMV worker's opinion? F that.

 

It is very frustrating, I'm stuck driving a little pontiac vibe buggy around now . I may get it inspected in nc as my dad lives there, and it's much more lenient . So it's theoretically possible I live there on paper lol. But I may atleast take the frame from that truck since it's pretty cheap and has a camper and stuff on it too. So it's still a good deal. And it would be a fresh slate instead of chasing the rust. Would be a lot of work though

 

I'm kinda stuck on this, you could just swap the frame only from the 02 as long as it's the same configuration no?

Edit: looks like you posted about that 3 seconds before I posted

 

That's what I'm thinking Nick

 

Is it the exact same configuration as your truck AC V8 4X4?

 

Yes, it may not be 4x4. The listing says it is but no badging. I'l look for the buttons and stuff. But I plan to use my parts anyway and can fab cross members I think

 

Yall are awesome btw, extremely fast respond times and always helpful stuff

 

Maybe it's because I don't live in a rust prone area so our DMV doesn't inspect vehicles at all when registering or renewing a registration. But this is what I'd be doing if my state asked me to do it.


And yeah your rust is bad, but we've all seen worse and those trucks are still kicking. Keep us in the loop if you decide to do frame swap. As you've already seen there's a ton of helpful peeps on the forum that will always give advice on your process. Hell, check out @Cruzer's thread. He's swapping bed frames totally out. It's all about the community here.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/skunkworks-dcsb.125799/page-6#post-3665494

 

Holeee sheeeeit, that is a mess. I know that's not helpful to hear but yikes man.

 

Deleted.

 

If all the sheetmetal is rot free, i’d buy a rust free west coast 2000-2006 access cab frame. Then either cut it all up into little 12” lengths and weld it all right back together Safe T Cap style, or just keep the frame in one piece and transfer over your cab, bed, sheetmetal, complete drivetrain, and suspension. Sure, the shipping will cost quite a bit, but you’ll have a brand new looking frame. I see good frames here in Oregon for around $200~$300.