Yeah, so how is this even possible?

So I went to change the oil on my 06 Tacoma today and was shocked when I got under the truck. Rust. On pretty much everything under the front of the truck.. Yeah I know the whole rust issues with tacomas. This isn't frame rust but rust everywhere and there wasn't any last time I changed the oil in May. There may have been a little but I know there was NONE on the drain plug and very little elsewhere. The only thing I can think of is I drove through a saltwater puddle by the boat ramp. I have never even gotten the rear tires wet when launching the boat. It was just so much so fast I don't understand it. The truck lived in MA with a family member for 8 years before I got it (I'm in FL) and the road salt hadn't done near this damage in that time. Anyone seen this happen this fast? I mean short of submerging the truck I can't see it. I rinsed it off with the hose after the oil change but don't know where to go from here.

 

Damn. When these trucks go, they really go!! That's awful.

 

holy shit bro.no answer for you

 

Bummer man.

 

That looks like a truck that spent 8 years in Mass.

 

Don't dare lay under that fuckin thing, it'll drop on ya sure as shit!

 

Por 15.

 

Things needed for rust are water, a corrosive, [like salt] and high temps to speed the reaction. Even with plenty of salt and water, at 10F rust occurs slowly, at 90f, the reaction is much, MUCH faster. High humidity is all that is needed, you don't actually need rain as the salt residue will hold plenty of water molecules to keep the reaction going. If you drive in salt water when hot out, you need to immediately rinse the vehicle off as soon as possible.

Get salt water under the paint layer and it will loosen up a lot of paint in short order as the rust expands and lifts the paint off the frame. That is why when you clean an area, you have to grind well back from the exposed rust to really do it right before repainting.

LPS 3 is excellent stuff for treating frames.

 

In the time since may have you taken it through mud or on a beach? Are you missing any skid plates? Do you have any more photos? Is there rust in more spots on the rear of the trucks undercarriage?

 

By looking at the bottom picture it's really hard to believe all of that happened since May, damn!
Original frame I assume?

 

Ace hardware sells a spray on rust neutralizer/stabilizer. I would start by spraying the rusted areas with that to stop any further damage and then use a good spray paint to cover the rusted area's to further protect them. POR 15 is another good option but harder to put on as it is a brush on material.

 

May of what year?

But seriously. Salt water puddles have a much higher concentration of salt than seawater.

The puddle sits and the water evaporates. The salt does not.

 

Ouch. Salt plus heat = bad. This is why garaged vehicles rust faster than outdoor parked vehicles where salt is used in the winter.

@Crom found surprising amount of rust in just a few days after crossing a very salty hole in Death Valley. It is shocking how fast it goes in warm weather.

While it looks ugly presumably it is thin and you can get it off and paint/treat the affected areas with no real damage. Another good reason to be doing your own oil changes - you catch this kind of thing!

Hope it isn't too much of a pain to treat and thanks for the reminder and warning for the rest of us!

 

Mass out of all places, we use VEH95 Sodium Cloride it'll rot anything in givin time. Did the owner garage that truck in the winter even more bad.

 

One time in Nags Head there was minor flooding, couple people drove through the water. Within days they were replacing all of there wheel bearings due to rust.

 

Shit I'm in New York and we use tons of salt on the roads up here. Around here a 1 to 2 year old truck looks like that.

 

I've lived in the northeast all my life (Pa) and never heard that garaging a vehicle during winter would speed up the rusting process but I guess it makes sense...

I've owned probably around 20-25 different vehicles in my 40 years of driving. The 1986 Ford F-150 that I had was by far the worst rusted bucket of bolts I ever saw in such a short period of time, about 3 years. I even had it 'rust proofed' when it was new, that was the fad back in the 70s and 80s, and it didn't help at all.

 

Exactly what I was going to say.

 

It definitely did not look like that last oil change. I attached pictures of the back as well as some more of the front just to show what the undercarriage looked like before. There were a few small spots in the front of course, but not much. And as I said before zero rust on that drain plug. My father was good about keeping the salt off in MA. And the frame was coated when I got it, not sure when that was done. I don't have access to a lift and I'm tight on cash. At this point do you think I could hit it with a wire brush and spray on rust converter to stop the damage> I already rinsed it, and I'll definitely not be driving through any puddles by the boat ramp from here on out. So it shouldn't be subjected to more damage other than rain water here in FL. Thanks for all the responses.

On a side note I noticed my 6 month old replacement leaf packs are already flat. Only towing I do is the boat which is a 16 foot aluminum jon.

 

Crazy... I had my Tacoma in Florida for two years and romped around in salt marshes frequently with no rust at all. That being said, I always throughly rinsed the undercarriage immediately after.