Frame coating from Auto Rust Technicians

Hello everyone, this is my first thread, so please bare with me.

Since I live in the Northeast, and my truck came from southern NH and northern MA, there was of course surface rust on the frame of the truck. So me and my father tried to wire-wheel the frame, and then use Rustoleum undercoating from a can. Well, it did not last one winter. I don't have any pictures of what the frame looked like before I brought it to Auto Rust Technicians.

Here is their website if you want to read up more on these guys:
http://www.autorust.com/

And another note, one day after I brought my truck to them to have the undercoating done, I saw that Toyota had released the LSC for 05-08 Tacoma's . But since I had already brought the truck there, I was just going to stick with it.

Here are pictures of how the frame looks after they sandblasted and then undercoated the frame (don't mind the dirt, it has been raining here the past couple of days:



































And as a bonus , they undercoated my skid plate, which does look a little better than the grey:


As you can see, they got almost everything, including the wheel wells, skid plates, rear axle, under the cab, and even the bed (which I don't think they knew was plastic ). And from a couple pictures up above, they did not get into the boxed part of the frame, which is disappointing, but they did say they typically don't spray into there. I also found that there was a lot of blasting media on top of the skid plates and dust everywhere in the engine compartment, which I just cleaned today. If you do go here to get your frame coated, take off anything underneath the truck that you don't want to be coated, or they will coat it (found out by my skid plate).

So overall, I am happy that I went this route than going to Toyota for the LSC. The big reason is that they sandblast the frame, rather than just powerwashing it. If you live in the Northeast, and don't mind taking the trip to Rhode Island, to get your frame coated, I would definitely call to make an appointment.

EDIT: If you do decide to go this route instead of using Toyota, you should take off your skid plates and the rubber flaps in the front wheel well. They will hit those spots better if you take those off first (and so they don't undercoat them as well).

 

looks like they did a really good job. Shame they can't inside the frame.

 

I wanted them to, but they said their tools could not reach far enough inside the frame. I guess I will try out fluid film for the boxed section.

 

Just curious what something like this cost you?
I was quoted around $800 from Zeibart in Rochester NY. I think that includes being able to come back each year for re-coating if needed.

 

This does look great. They seem to have done a nice job.
Thought about having this done too with our NE conditions but figured the risk of locking rust under a seal would not be good.
I have been hitting spots with Fluid Film as I go. Seems to have been working well.

Looking forward to hearing more about it later.

 

It was $757 for everything ($650 labor, $100 for materials, and $7 tax on materials). They have a warranty for (I think) a year, where if you get any chips, it can be touched up by them for free. After that, it would be $100 to do a touch up. Does Zeibart do any sort of prep to get rid of rust?

 

They sandblast places that have rust, so you wouldn't have to worry about rust be trapped underneath the undercoating. I need to buy fluid film, so I can do inside the boxed part of the frame.

If anybody has anymore questions, please ask!

 

I am not sure if Zeibart does any prep or not. I started using Fluid Film last fall instead. it seemed like a more cost effective way for me to go.

 

If it works well for you, then I would keep applying it. Many people on the forum like using fluid film. I just need to find out where I can buy it locally.

 

I ordered my kit from http://www.kellsportproducts.com/ and had it within two days. The only negative is having to roll around on a crawler under my truck. It would be ideal if I had access to a lift. I think they still offer a discount to Tacomaworld members.

 

Looks great. Would haved liked to see the before pics.
After sandblasting, do they paint then undercoat, or just undercoat.
It looks like a really good paint job.
Are u going to use fluid film on everything, including the inside/outside of the frame?

 

Cool, thank you for the link. I wish I had a lift too, it would make working on the truck so much easier .

 

I wish I had taken pictures before I had this done, but I forgot to . But yes, they paint the frame before they use the undercoating. The company also fixes body panels if they rust through, and they use the same paint to keep the new panels from rusting.
I actually wasn't going to coat everything with fluid film, as it seems like their undercoat repels water really well. I was just going to spray the inside of the frame, and parts of the frame that are exposed under the hood.

 

Well today I received my LSC letter from Toyota. And I'm happy to say they might be able to reimburse the $750 I spent on this frame coating!

 

UPDATE:
I went today to my local dealership to have an inspection done, per the reimbursement rules sent out with the LSC. The mechanic that looked over my truck was impressed with the undercoating put on by Auto Rust Technicians . I also found out more info on the LSC from the same mechanic, which I posted in the LSC thread in the 2nd gen forum.

 

I Nickonfire ..... I'm curious. What did the dealer say about the undercoating you had done with respect to the recall / warrantee? Did they still honor the warrantee/LSC ?? Did they say you voided your chance to get it fixed/ reimbursed / future frame rusting???


Thanks!

 

Well, they still "honored" the LSC because per the LSC, if you have had the truck undercoated or the frame repaired, you need to have it inspected by the dealer, to make sure it is safe. Well, it passed with flying colors, and I have already sent in all the required info to Toyota.

I shouldn't have voided anything, because we just followed the list Toyota provided to get reimbursement. But since I did have an inspection done by a dealer, under the LSC, if I have any problems down the road, I should be all set.

Now if I am unable to get reimbursed, I am going back to the dealer to "have the undercoating put on". I put that in quotes, since I already have an undercoat done, they won't spray the frame again (as there might be some sort of chemical reaction to the two undercoatings). But, the mechanic would spray the wax substance inside the frame, and be able to get the plug kit, to fill in all of the holes.

Hopefully I answered your questions. But if you have anymore, please ask!

Also, I tried fluid film on the portion of the frame under the hood, and I am impressed.

 

When you said

" But since I did have an inspection done by a dealer, under the LSC, if I have any problems down the road, I should be all set. "

Did you have the inspection specifically done right after you had the undercoating - or - was the just performed LSC inspection is what you mean?
Thanks! and good luck with the vehicle and inside frame coating (let us know how u make out !)

 

I had the inspection specifically done right after I had the undercoating done, per the rules to getting reimbursement.

I am hoping that Toyota will come out with the plug kit, so owners can do it on their own, but that's wishful thinking . And when I tried fluid film, I did my best to spray inside of the boxed parts of the frame as well. I hope that stuff does what it says its supposed to do.

Also on another note (but with LSC), I was up at Boch Toyota South ordering parts, and you should have seen how many Tacoma's where near the service department. I think they had almost 20 ! And I also saw a couple of old frames they changed out. When I go to pick up my parts, I am going to get pictures for everyone.

 

I've already posted this in another thread but here is a fax from my local dealership that shows all the plugs and par #'s on a 2013 Tacoma. If someone would be so kind as to look this over and see if they can tell which plugs pertain to the wheel wells, that would be great There was no diagram of the frame, showing what plug goes where

Hopefully this will be universal for 2013 back to 2005.