New to Tundras. How bad is this rust?

I am shopping for tundras, I am close to buying a 2005 Acces Cab V8 Tundra. I have slight concerns about the rust on the truck. I've read the buyer's guide so I'm well aware rust is not to be taken lightly on these machines. For those who know these trucks well, can you tell how bad the rust is from the attached photos? What is your advice? The truck has had two owners and has had about 150k miles done on it, all in California.

 

For me, that's a no.

 

You've got to crawl under it and get some better photos. Inside of frame rails, cab mounts, shock mounts, cross members, above the spare tire. Really need to see the WHOLE under side to make a fair assessment.

 

From what you’ve shown, it doesn’t look horrible being mostly surface rust but you would still need to treat it if you live in an area where snow/salt are common. You also need to check up front the boxed areas of the frame in front of the doors and the reinforcement bracket in the rear just in front of the rear wheels. Those pics aren’t going to tell you much other than you need to look further.

 

Being from Minnesota it looks super for an 05, seems like just light surface rust on frame and paint still on upper control arm. When you flake off quarter size pieces of rust from frame that's when you give it the raised eyebrow. Bettor pictures frame would be nice.

 

Pictures are inadequate. The buyers guide tells you where to look.

But generally speaking, you need to carefully check (inside and out) the upturned section of frame between the bottom of the driver door, up to the upper control arm (the entire section below the brake booster, basically).
You'll want a shot from behind so we can see the diff, and above the spare tire where the X-shaped crossmember connects into the front-to-back framerails.
We want to see the reinforcement plates inside the C-shaped framerail (like, get under the driver side, shoot toward the passenger side and vice-versa) from underneath the cab.

What I see isn't terrible, but it's not great either. It looks like the bed wheel well edges have been repainted or repaired with bondo, or they're bubbling/rusting. Those wheel well trims aren't stock.

 

Thanks for the insight! I got a bunch more photos and from my limited knowledge, it looks pretty good. What do you experts think?

 

It’s definitely been rattle canned. But 4 year old trucks look worse than than where I live. Seller saying all California or verified by running vin?
It does look like all surface but if it’s been ran on the beach and the c channels and rails have been soaked in ocean water that’s a different story.
I’ve put many hours into rust prevention on my vehicles in Maine so that wouldn’t concern me but from California I would want a cleaner frame cause that’s still a decent bit of work for long term. Just my .02
You still need to get under it with a light

 

Looks like a Colorado or Washington truck to me. i.e. may've seen some salt here or there, but not a hell of a lot. Or could've been a coastal truck, I suppose, and went to the beach a few times a year.

Still haven't seen enough with those pics, but there's nothing I'm seeing in those pics that scream "you need to see more, dude" so I guess that's good. I would probably be open to buying it if the price was right.

Note it has LSD rear end, which means you need to be cautious about what diff juice you choose. More info in the megathread.

 

Honestly that is nothing when it comes to rust that can occur on a vehicle. Out here on the East Coast that is considered basically rust free by our standards. I had a 2004 Tundra that fell into the frame being when they had the major recall but the frame was not in bad shape when the owner at the time had it checked and it was not replaced. It did develop a couple of small spots later that were repaired when it was inspected. I think that overall the amount of rust on this is normal and it is still in pretty good shape considering it is 20 years old. Is it mechanically sound would also be another thing to consider. Good luck in your search.

 

Looking at the lower lip of the frame, where the brace is, the lower lip of the frame is NOT pooched out. This is a good sign, the whole passengers side looks mint compared to the drivers side. However, regardless of the surface rust on driver side, the frame isnt pooched outward and downward from the frame stiffener brace delaminating. This is a great sign, as well as the stock exhaust being completely intact. The welded on hangers start delaminating and getting thinner and thinner. These are all completely intact and look good.
While yes, i would get under it with a pressure washer and clean it thoroughly, and come back a day or two later with rust converter in a spray bottle, and then come back in 10 more days with another coat of rust converter, followed by a nice coat of epoxy paint to seal it up. This would / should ensure this frame lasts as long or longer than the rest of the truck. This frame from what is shown, isnt hurt at all.

 

Looks pretty good to me. I would be totally ok with that. Looks like my 13. Not a concern

 

Be sure to check the crossmember under the bed.

 

Here's the million dollar question: How much are they asking?

 

Thank you for all the advice, I think I will move forward on the purchase, and look further into rust prevention to stop further development of the rust.

 

Good luck and I am sure that you will be pleased with the purchase. Hopefully the price is right. Look forward to seeing more pics and any mods that you make after purchase. One thing I forgot to mention is ask when the timing belt was changed. It is recommended by Toyota to change it out and do a coolant flush at the same time at 100k. If it has the 4.7L like my 04 then you will want to check on that. Otherwise those motors run great.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!