My Tacoma is Literally Disintegrating How Do I Stop it?

So, I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab and I love the thing more than life. It's my second Gen 1 Taco, I had a 2001 Taco before this one I got from my Dad and the frame rotted in half so I got this one with a brand new frame and though I could make it go for another five or ten years.

I've had it for two years and some change but the rot under the bed is just going wild. I live in New York so between the climate, road salt and parking it outside among other probable causes the thing is disintegrating. Mechanically the truck is sound and I'm at 200,000 miles with no serious or looming mechanical breakdown on the horizon.

Is there anything I can do to rectify, stall, delay or fix this issue? Right now I could probably sell it for close or at least as much as I paid for it but I honestly don't want any other truck than a Gen 1 Taco. But if I keep it I run the risk of the thing dying horrifically on me and being stuck with a worthless and unfixable truck.

I would rather die young than outlive my Taco so I don't even know how to handle this. It's like putting down your dog or something.

Here are some examples of the rot.

 

I'm not sure there's much you can do. It would take a lot of fabrication to "repair" everything. A new bed would be your only option really. It's a shame these trucks can capture the plaque

 

Oil it regularly to slow it down. Its a shame no one takes the steps to properly rustproof before their happens. All ways reactive and not proactive.

 

If that's the worst of it, you're not too bad off - in fact the frame looks pretty good considering. Get in there with a wire wheel, go to town on the rusted areas, then re-evaluate. You may have to weld in some plates here and there to brace up structural components where it's rusted through. Then hose it down with rust-inhibiting primer/paint, hit in the inside of the frame with fluid film, etc. If you take care of it now, you should be able to prevent further damage.

 

This is good advice. I think I'm going to tour some dealerships and see if I can find a decently priced 09' Tacoma and trade this one in while people still want it. If I can't find anything I like than I may just go ahead and do just as you suggested and spend a couple weeks doing reconstructive surgery like you described. I really need to buy a newer truck, I keep getting these Gen 1's and they keep biting me in the ass. It's a shame too because as far as I'm concerned they're the perfect trucks if they just didn't have the chronic rust issues.

 

^werd!

I oiled mine from year one in November until Toyota sprayed the frame in 2011 (7 years) so I got a good coating on everything save a few surface rust spots in the rear and the inside of the chrome bumpers.

 

Time for a flatbed and it would look damn good on a first gen

 

Beware though, 2nd gens are no strangers to this problem too.

 

When one lives in the great Liquid Brine belt constant attention under the truck is a fact of life .

I worry more about the top of the fuel tank that is all most impossible to get with the pressure washer.

 

So if I wanted to go ahead and try to save my truck do you guys have any recommended guides on rust treatment?

I'm not a huge do-it-yourself guy but I can learn if I'm interested and this interests me. As nice as a new truck would be, I love my Gen 1 and I don't want to spend the money right now.

So where do I start? Wire wheel and just shave off all the scales and flakes, destroy and pull apart any of the disintegrating components? Than learn to weld and brace any holes and than prime and paint it? Is it worth it or am I really just delaying the inevitable?

My E-Brake doesn't even work at this point. It's completely and utterly seized into place from rust at this point.

 

I am in the process of saving my truck. You can see the thread that I created to see how it is going. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1995-rebuild.404579/

Basically, it is very simple. You are not fabricating a new truck. Some Tips:

• Take the bed off the truck and remove as much as you can (exhaust, fuel tank, spare, bumpers, suspension, etc)
• Use a wire wheel on a grinder to get off as much of the rust as you can. Wear protective gear. You will need a face shield, mask and make sure that your skin is not exposed as you will be bombarded with lots of metal bits and wire wheel missiles.
• Use a hammer and smash the hell out of every inch of the frame. Any weak parts need to be patched over or cutout and replaced. You will get the feel for the parts that are soft and the parts that are good.
• Find and make friends with a good welder who has experience with custom fabricated cars. Welding is an art. When you are learning you don't want your first project to be a frame.
• Use a torch, hammer, impact driver and grinder to get as many of the nuts and bolts off as you can. Plan on replacing most of them
• Plan on replacing a lot of the little things (mounts, fuel tank straps, etc) and some big things like leaf springs -- basically if it is is rusted so badly you can't use it, replace it.
• Find a junkyard that has the parts you need. I found one in Colorado and had the parts shipped to New York. A little pricey for shipping but worth is as there was 0% rust on any of the parts
• Replace as many filters and small things as you can while things are apart (fuel filter, fuel pump, hoses, etc) and us this as an opportunity to lube everything.
  
• Use products such as ChassisSaver, POR15, Rust Converters, etc to convert the rust and to paint over it.
• Flush out the boxed sections of the frame to get all of the dust, rust and debris out of them.
• Spray the inside of the boxed sections of the frame with a rust converter or with ChassisSaver/POR15
• When you are done, cover everything in some type of treatment like FluidFilm. Also spray the inside of the boxed sections.

Not sure if it is worth it - depends how you assign value to your truck and time. You could probably take a trip to New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, etc and pick up a used one that is in nice shape. For my use spending 2k to get the truck ready for the next 20 years was a better option that buying another Gen 1 and having to deal with its problems. Also, I use this truck for my home improvement projects and to goto my beach house when I am not traveling there with my wife and kids. I haul my boat with it. Its not my daily driver -- I only use it for utility so a real restoration was not worth it for me. I am building a soft top Defender as my "nice truck".

I agree with you on the Gen 1 Trucks - Love them. The Gen 2s and 3s look like they need to be put on a diet.

BTW: Where are you in New York.

 

Yeah, that would be what i would do. While it is off you have great access to wire wheel the rust, primer and paint, etc. OR spray Chassis Saver which claims you can put it on OVER rust.

Consider fluid-film in the body of the cab. And consider fluid-film as a protected everywhere after you mitigated the rust.

I always struggle with the inside of the boxed frame. I have no clue if this is wise but it is what i might try on mine (which has no rust): Inside the box framing try a phosphoric acid based rust dissolver. Rinse. Dry. Spray inside with chassis saver or paint.


EDIT:
Try asking the dealers about buy backs and recalls. most expired long ago. most are not applicable. But it seems like people finagle some impressive swaps while others get only cold shoulders. it must be largely up to the motives of the dealer. Worth a try.

 

Why did you choose that year in particular? '09?

 

You can paint over surface rust with Chassis Saver - if it doesn't come off with a wire wheel you can paint over it.

 

That is what they claim. they have been around a LONG time and i know many people toot great praise towards the product. a little can goes a long way. spraying is better than painting i hear because a thinner coat holds better than a thicker coat. google the product. tons of stuff out there.

http://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp

(EDIT: note that it must be thined with magnet paint's special thinner. it is a water cured maybe urethane like product, so not like most paints.
normaly i would call this type of product snake oil. but it has been around a long time so it stood the test of time. maybe? )


I have never used it, so i make no endorsement yet. but i will install it this spring. then i will fluidfilm religiously.





Most body shops would say you should removed all rust, use an epoxy primer then paint. and that is true, it you have the time to remove all rust with a wire brush, grinder sander and phosphoric acid. It is hard to get into all tight spots.

 

Yep - I just used it. Good stuff, but you still need to do a lot of prep work in getting off as much of the scale as possible. It actually works better over light surface rust. You should not use a rust converter and then paint over it with Chassis Saver. Just use Chassis Saver.

Its also important to get the surfaces as clean and free of oil and grime. You also need to make sure the frame is bone dry before painting.

 

Good points.
It is counter intuitive about the surface rust thing but that is what many people say. mmgcny, do you feel it is because they want the scale to attach to? Or something more chemical in nature?

If you brush or spray on a high humidity day it sets up quicker than on a low humidity day, i hear. so pick a dry day so you have more working time.


Above i say phosphoric acid alot. that is the most common ingredient in chemical rust converters, just google Fenton reactions to see how it works. I found NAVAL JELLY to be the cheapest phosphoric acid based product and it really is not advertised as a rust converter, more a stripper/preper for steel boats. But you can not spray it in the jelly form, obviously. But the jelly lets you spread it on and keep it from evaporating or dripping.

 

Wash it religiously. Mine gets the bath treatment every week during wintertime here. Then get some fluid film and coat the entire underside as often as you can. It's not cheap, but in the long run, it's cheaper than body work.

New York is a very bad place for cars, the average lifespan is about 5 years before people dump them and buy something new. I worked on a 2014 Dodge Cummins not long ago that came all the way from NY and the undercarriage looked like a 30 year old farm truck it was so bad. I wish you the best of luck, you're going to need it to make that truck last. Toyota engines run forever if you maintain em, but it's usually the truck and frame built around them that disintegrates before the engine is even close to dying.

 

I'm not sure how it works - I know it cures with moisture and not by evaporation (like paint for example). They tell you that surface rust helps it "bite" better. That is why you should not convert the rust, then apply chassis saver. It does seem counter intuitive as most people would think to "neutralize the rust, then cover it".

I think that it works best over light surface rust better than scale because if you leave lots of scaly bits on the frame the chassis saver will stick to them and then be more susceptible to chip off.

The stuff is like glue. If you put it between two metal pieces, they will not came apart.

If you want to see some really nice stuff check out Dinitrol. It is not easy to get in the US, but it leaves a beautiful finish that looks like it came from the factory. Chassis Saver is very goop-ie. Its very functional but not too pretty. I would not use Chassis Saver on a true restoration. Nice video of it here -- http://funrover.com/guides/how-to-use-dinitrol-to-rustproof-your-land-rover/

 

I live in Southern NY in Orange County. Like maybe ten minutes from the PA border hour and a half from NYC or so. It's kind of a debate for me. Because, these are things I'd have to learn as I go. I think I could manage a wire brush and a chisel to knock the frame down to good metal if there is even any but than that's where things would get alien to me. Taking the bed off, removing springs and that sort of thing is something I'd have to do without royally messing something up and meanwhile this is my daily driver and it's getting pretty cold to be working outside. My Brother-in-Law welds though, but he works too so I don't know if I have the time.

Well, I want another Taco because I think they're probably the only attractive trucks. The new Gen 2's are way too big for my tastes but I can live with it if I had too. It's time I get a "New" car and 09-11 is as new as I could probably afford. I need 4x4 in the Winter here, and I like to have the height and utility of a truck. And thankfully Tacoma's have excellent resale value so I shouldn't have any problem selling it if I need too.

The reason I picked 09-11 specifically is; and I know this sounds stupid; It's the last Tacoma they made before they ruined it in my eyes with 'modern' car designs.

Like for example the speedometer is 10, 20, 30, 40MPH etc. with notches for 5MPH increment. I just recently was driving my Sister's car around and her's was missing every other number and I couldn't even imagine why anyone thought that was a good idea. My Brother in law has a 2012 Taco I think and they did the same thing.

Also the controls are still tactile buttons and the didn't completely ruin the interior (minus removing extra cup holders) so from a comfort and drive-ability standpoint I figure 09-11 is as new as I'm willing to go personally and that I could even afford financially.

If I lived in a State that didn't have Winter I'd probably buy a Crown Vic at a Police Auction and drive it until it died but I don't want to get stranded at work all Winter long.