Frame Rust

I think the outer portion of the rail is still intact and not delaminating/peeling apart at the edges which is awesome. You can replace the stiffeners. Someone on here did it recently and took lots of pics.

 

Thanks a bunch. It’s happening on the other side but luckily not as bad. Glad to hear you believe that if the delaminating issue is isolated this truck is salvageable. I appreciate the insight

 

I appreciate all your replies. So I finally went over every bit of the frame and dropped the spare completely. Luckily the majority of the frame seems fine apart from the shackle mount areas we talked about. Even the section below the AC drain is perfect. However the X crossmember above the spare does not look good, someone did a less than ideal repair. How dangerous is this? Do you think this entire cross member be replaced? Damn I wish I would’ve spotted this before buying it.

 

I believe that was @N84434 ’s thread….

https://www.tundras.com/threads/my-2001-trd-access-cab-repair-modify-thread.71679/

 

It’s definitely regional how all of us would describe the frame differently. Over here in the PacNW, that frame would be considered a total rust bucket. We don’t salt our roads, so my 2000 tundra’s frame still looks almost new…as in actual zero point zero rust. That being said, i crawled under my friend’s 2005 Tacoma last week and his frame looks very similar to the rusty one that we’re discussing. Undoubtedly the truck must have come to the PacNW from out of state.

 

Honestly i don’t have any problems with the weld job. It looks like it will outlast the other portions of the frame that are delaminating from rust. I would though wire wheel the black paint off of it and then start over with a rattle can primer then paint it.

 

Agreed it’s all about perspective. I’m also on the west coast so that’s maybe why this scares me a lot more than others. That being said I still don’t know if I’d consider this a total rust bucket (maybe I’m being over optimistic?). But my friend also has a 01 Tacoma and damn, that thing had holes everywhere before he basically redid the whole frame. We were on a trail last year and the whole frame snapped in half. That was definitely a rust bucket.

Glad to hear you’re okay with the weld job. I’m not experienced with this type of thing so it helps to have others insight. Going to see what my mechanic thinks about everything Monday and I’ll decide then if I want to repair these problem areas and treat the whole frame, or cut my losses and start fresh. I’m hoping it’s salvageable though as I love everything else about the truck.

 

Before you take it to a mechanic, i’d put on rain gear and some safety glasses, and crawl underneath and blast away at it with a 3500psi pressure washer. It will blast away a lot of the loose stuff, which will allow the mechanic to get a better idea of what’s going on. I’d spend 30 minutes to an hour blasting away at everything.

 

Oh yeah, nothing wrong there, right? A little welding and cover up in black paint and she’s as good as new.

 

Yeah I assumed when I first noticed it that it would be best to replace that entire crossmember. I don’t know much about welding or metalworking but I would think this comprises the strength of the member greatly?

 

Well I’m no welder or structural engineer but I would guess under a lot of stress, the weld would crack where normally the metal would deform. I don’t know how much that member assists in carrying a bed payload. I would think it’s mostly for the spare and to keep the frame rails from twisting. Again, just a guess.

 

Yeah my thought was it’s really mainly for the spare but of course it obviously provides support to frame as well. I’ll see what the guys at my shop think when they inspect it in person. Thanks for the insight. I’m really hoping if I address this, the spring mount areas that are delaminating, then wire brush/rust converter/epoxy my truck will be solid. Fingers crossed

 

I mean, I’d you’re worried about it, and you can find a truck with major front end damage, then cut out its x-member, you can use an air chisel to chisel off then pound out the rivet heads, brace your frame rails by bolting or welding or otherwise forcing the rails to stay in parallel, repeat riven removal on your frame and use grade 11 hardware to bolt the donor x-member in.

 

Have you verified for sure that this truck won't qualify for frame recall? I don't think it appears to have rust in the right places and it is an 03 but it may be at least worth checking for open recalls.

 

This is good to know, I’ll see if it comes down to this. Thanks again for all the info

 

I haven’t verified myself because I didn’t think it would apply. I read that it needs to have holes of a certain size in key areas and I haven’t been able to find any actual holes at all anywhere (been hitting everywhere with a hammer). Maybe there was something like that on the crossmember above the spare but now that that’s replaced (or whatever happened) I doubt I’d be eligible. I also see “no open recalls” on my Toyota Owners dashboard. Could be worth a shot though?

 

Definitely. Your truck was eligible, but not every dealership will give the green light. Some just don’t want to do the work and will say “no”, regardless.

 

So you think it’s eligible even though I can’t find any holes anywhere? I thought I read there has to be “marble sized holes” in key sections of the frame. Can I basically just call up all the Toyota dealerships in my area and tell them the situation or is it recommended to go in person and have an inspection done prior?

 

Nah, I wouldn't attempt it if there aren't holes. The exact areas included are in the recall docs, if I recall. That info is in the sticky thread near the top of 1st gen forum involving frame replacement, I think?

 

Okay good to know, that’s what I figured. Yeah that’s where I read the info about the recall. My trucks in the shop right now and they’re assessing the current state of everything. Hoping nothings too far gone to make safe and solid again without having to do major work. Appreciate all the info.

 

I’m pretty sure i have a 100% rust free X member on my donor truck. And when i mean rust free, it means zero rust, not rust-ish free (kinda like saying, kinda pregnant). The only problem is that the shipping would be silly expensive.

 

It’d still cost about 90% less than Toyota would charge for the part. They’re super proud of their frames!

Whoever initially did the work is foolish. They should’ve scabbed plates over the repair line, so that single weld wasn’t the only thing holding it. IMO, at least, but IANAW, BTAL (i am not a welder, by trade at least)