Frame Question Part 2

Hey all, sorry for another rust post…After the feedback I got the other day, thought I would see if you all could weigh in on this one as well (started a new thread so people don’t get confused with the pictures from that first one). Looked at a 2005 Tundra with 160k miles on it today priced pretty fair. Overall it drove and looked decent.

I got a pre-inspection done today to get the vehicle (mainly frame) checked out. Generally the mechanic said the frame looked ok. There were about 3 areas that do have rust - pictures here. The mechanic mentioned that this was surface level rust but if I were to purchase the truck, the rust would have to be treated ASAP to prevent further damage, which I would do. We were not able to poke holes in the rusty areas with a screwdriver and frame was still strong in those places.

This vehicle was undercoated by the previous owner a few years back.

What do you guys think? Thank you in advance again!

 

Clearly it's treated w/something, w/undercoated to boot, hence the overspray on the painted areas. That complicates things a bit, and I'm not confident giving an opinion.

 

From what I can see that does not look all that bad.

 

I’d be concerned about the undercoating trapping moisture underneath. If you can pressure wash it off and treat it properly, that wouldn’t be so bad, just a PIA.

 

I would pass on that one too. What part of the country are you in @DJC94? There are plenty of 1st gens here in Tennessee that don't have rotted out frames.

 

I was going to ask this too. Where yat?

 

This one has the beginnings of significant rust problems. If you are confident that none of the rusted areas is structurally compromised, are willing to put the work in to strip that undercoating off and properly treat it, it’s a candidate. But that’s at the right price. If they want big money, I’d pass.

 

Thanks everyone! That makes sense. I’ll consider all of that and think it over. I really appreciate all of the input here. I’m somewhat handy but don’t have a work space to handle that personally. What do you all think stripping the coating and treating properly might cost if I had a good shop do it?

I live in the DC area. Hard to find with minimal rust here. Thought about looking in more western states or down south but I want to see the vehicles in person and take it to a mechanic to inspect etc. I know there are ways to do it tho!

 

More than you'll want to pay. It'll be a lousy, labor intensive job that will only get you to a starting point in repairing any rust areas.
With the money it'll cost to travel 3-400 miles south to find a clean truck, I would think you'd be money ahead buying a southern truck.

In retrospect, that's probably what I should have done 3 years ago.

 

And that's only if you can find a shop to work on it.

I suspect a lot of your problem is, you probably live in the rust belt, and you're searching in a sea of trucks that have lived in the rust belt.

If you want a structurally sound truck, you'll need to hunt in areas which lack salted roads. And even then you're not guaranteed - I've seen a few trucks down here for sale that clearly spent most of their life up north.

The best way to tell, from a distance, without a CarFax, whether a truck has seen a lot of rusty winters is to look at the steel fasteners under the hood. If there's clear signs of rust under the hood, in the engine bay, the frame is likely going to be trashed, no need to look any further. (If you can get CarFax on it, look at where it was registered year to year)

If there's no rust under the hood, then I'd continue to look at the frame. Carefully.

This is a decent example of rust under the hood I'm talking about from a "clean-looking" low mile 1st gen on fleaBay right now (the frame is literally fucked). Note virtually every clamp and most bolts are rusty. At first glance, you might look over it - this type of stuff DOES NOT really happen in the south unless the truck stays near the ocean frequently. Some are WAY worse than this, and the bolts holding the fenders and stuff on are horrible too

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I am surprised that DC vehicles would be victims of rust via road salt...

SPP

 

The DC area is very weird...although it rarely snows, the people freak out at the mere mention of snow. They close the schools because it might snow, and everyone rushes to the market to hoard bread and milk. But to your point, the same PTSD applies to the roads. They coat the roads in salt in case it snows, ultimately resulting in a salty slush-brine that coats our cars inside and out.

 

@shifty` Super helpful, thank you! That'll save me a lot of time

@w666 Spot on hahah

 

Also - definitely passing on this one too. Thanks again everyone!