Opinions On The Frame Rust?

Good Afternoon All,
I'm new to this forum, but I've done some research and looked at the buyer's guide for a 1GT. There's a tundra here at the dealership I work at that has been a fleet vehicle since 2016. It hasn't been used much or at all in the last year to year and a half. Before being a fleet vehicle, I'm not sure what the history is. It runs and has 250k miles. However, I wanted to see what you guys thought of the frame rust before I considered making an offer.

Thanks!
-Thomas

 

Not horrible but definitely needs to be cleaned up from the rust scaling and peeling of the metal. Seems like there’s still a decent amount of metal integrity. See if you can tap it with a hammer and see how much comes off. I’m guessing just the top layer.

Once descaled, you’ll need to apply POR15 or chassis saver. Not a simple job as it gets on your skin and clothes and doesn’t come off so you’ll need protection.

 

I'm certainly not an expert but I do live in the rust belt and from what I can see it doesn't look too bad. There appears to be some light flaking in one of the shots but personally. I think a little work with a wire brush and of of those rust inhibitors, then an undercoating I think you would be ok. I'm assuming you've gone over it well and probed a little to see how solid it is overall. You're probably going to need a water pump and timing belt also if it hasn't been done recently. Welcome to the forum.

 

I just hammered the driver's side frame rail where next to the rear wheel and some rust flakes came off, but underneath it felt pretty solid. The driver's side is definitely worse. How much of the rust inhibitor do you typically need for the frame? Thank you!

 

Yikes. Seeing what's under it doesn't look appealing. I used 2 quarts of the semi-black as I recall of the POR-15 for two coats on the frame.

Once you grind that off in that area, you may be down 1/3 in thickness. I was being more optimistic about it but I'd personally pass on it and look for a better vehicle.

 

Good to know. I'm in no rush to get one, so I'll take the side of caution and pass. Thank you both for the feedback!

 

Yeah, that last picture looks pretty bad. I'd avoid it.

 

Kinda looks like it got Toyota’s spray on coating, which mostly seemed to make them rust worse long term.
If it’s cheap enough might be worth it, depending on the rest of the truck.

 

@PippyT before totally passing on it, if it's a 2000-2002 model, you may want to run the VIN on it to see if it's been in for frame warranty work. If not, there's always a chance a new frame may be in its future. If 2003+ I agree with the others. It's not the worst we've seen, but untreated, I'd give it another 6-8 years before the frame is probably in dire straits. I'd probably pass, unless it was well-optioned and the price was right, and you'd be cool with casually hunting a frame to swap in the next few years.