Yet another rust story - how screwed am I?

Pretty close to the current strategy. Didn't pull the bed yesterday (Orange CA became Hades with temps over 105F). Once pulled we'll hammer it to test for weak spots, grind/blast/sand to clear it up, reinforce/patch where appropriate. Next will be POR15+paint coats. My brother feels it's worth boxing the rear of the frame and going as far under the cab as we can without actually pulling it - trying to avoid a full cab pull at this point but we'll know more once the bed is off and we can see the top of the rails.

 

I think there are a number of people here who will be interested to follow your adventure. Keep posting.

 

Anybody here know how much POR15 is needed to treat a Tacoma frame? I heard it goes on pretty thin. I'm thinking two coats. Worth buying a full gallon or is that overkill?

 

I would get the full gallon, remember to spray the inside of the frame too...that's where the real bad rust hides. These frames tend to rot more from the inside out. Have to get a special hose attachment and spray inside the factory frame holes.

 

After banging the frame with a hammer, you'll have to remove as much loose rust as possible then use a rust killer/converter, then grease the hell out of the frame. I don't think it is worth painting over such an already well rusted frame, because in case of rust coming back, it will be hidden beneath the paint, making it harder to treat, and you'll have to remove the paint.

If you still want to paint it, be sure to use a rust killer before applying the paint, as just painting over rust will not stop it. Then have it greased

Very important to do the inside of the frame as well, as these frames have a tendency to rust and rot from the inside out.

also, in case you need it, this company makes frame repair parts for rusted out frames
http://www.autorust.com/product-category/toyota-tacoma/

Don't forget to keep us posted on your progress

 

Thanks! Given this, what are the implications with boxing the frame? Would it just permanently hide the problem? I'm concerned that it's impossible to get all the rust out, especially from inside the rails. Once it's boxed, it's not getting unboxed.

 

I'm curious as to why you want to box it?? Unless you want a heavy duty offroad rig
It is not going to solve the rust problem. It will hide it, but won't solve it

Boxed frames are both a blessing and a curse. Much more solid and heavy duty than C-channel frames, but the downside is that they rust from the inside out. Moisture, mud, or any crap that can get in can make it rust faster, from both the inside and the outside.

Even if you don't go river crossing or mudding, you can't avoid moisture in the frame. Actually, it is caused by a phenomenon called condensation. It happens when we switch form hot to cold and cold to hot temperatures (spring/summer - fall/winter - spring/summer - and so on). Much more pronounced here in the north, as we have larger temperature changes between seasons. It never really gets to dry because the frame is never exposed to the sun, so with time, it eats the frame. But the real killers are the salt and chemicals. It goes everywhere. It's nasty bad stuff. It can go in and it is hard to wash it off, making the frame rust even faster.

Anyway, that's why it is important to rustproof or grease the inside of the frame as well, to protect it from anything than can get in and to prevent moisture from forming.

To clean the inside of my frame, I use a long flexible tube taped to the end of a shop vac hose, then I insert it into each of the square holes on the frame, until I stop getting anything. Also, if you have a pressure washer, you can blast through the square holes and the water and stuff inside is going to get out though drain holes on the bottom of the frame (if you have any. If not, drill some)

You can't completely get rid of rust, but you can help your truck by removing as much as you can. If you don't, the paint or grease won't stick to the frame itself, but on the rust flakes and layers, allowing rust to spread and progress. Well, you could sandblast the frame, but it requires dismantling the truck :/

 

i think a lot of people don't realize this.You could spend the rest of your life painting the outside of the frame thinking its gonna solve the problem but the problem with boxed frames is the rust festering on the inside.Pretty much impossible to fix properly once it has gotten that bad.ive been building/restoring vehicles professionally for 25+ years now and have seen it too many times.Its impossible to properly prep and clean all the crap out of a badly rusted boxed frame.And even if you do, its probably lost so much material/structural integrity already.ive used por15 on a lot of frames and its nice.On my last few toyota builds i sprayed a few cans of fluid film in the boxed frames to prevent corrosion.Old school method was so spray motor oil or gear oil in the frames.

 

That was a friend's suggestion. It's why I raised it as a concern. Rust is like cancer. Don't get all of it out and it will come back even if it's sealed.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

If after toyota dealer hammered and no perforation and no replacememt frame then DIY last option...
The route I took was wire brush andspatula tool to clean flaking old paint and gross rust areas
degreaser inside out, water pressure, let dry 2 weeks
Air pressure inside frame, blow residual dust
Eastwood Internal Frame 4 cans
Eastwood Rust converter 16oz
Only apply converter where's rusty
Let dry 72 hours
1/4 gallon of Chassis Saver with sponge brushes
60 plus pictures, two weeks of work,&125 dollars

 

OK, truck is at my brother's shop and they pulled the bed off. Here are a couple shots of it - looks and feels (to my brother) like surface rust. He banged it with a hammer and was trying to loosen a lot of this with a screwdriver - he sent me a video, going to see if I can just upload that here or if I need to use Youtube for that.

He's got a guy that has a portable sand blasting unit that can come to his shop; that way they can put it on a lift and the guy can work on it without pulling the cab as well. Still very much in progress here but wanted to keep you folks in the loop as we deal with this.

 

And yes, before anyone mentions it, those shocks are going to be replaced

 

Now that we have a better view of it, it does look like well settled surface rust. But still, the hammer will tell you the answer.
Did any holes appear? And how is the inside of the frame? poked a finger or something in there?

Also, how is the gas tank filler tube? They sometimes rust through at the base

 

OK, hoping this video will work properly:

 

Also, is it recommended to use the POR15 Metal Prep before applying the POR15 Rust Preventative coating?

Thanks onakat, the video above was just right after they pulled the bed. Thanks for the suggestion on the gas tank filler tube - I'll ask them to look at it really closely. If you spot anything else that we should pay close attention to, please call it out!

 

The most important thing about POR15 (or any paint, actually) is the surface preparation. If it's not prepared well, the paint won't stick. It will just peel off after a while. In your case, that's why you must remove as much loose rust as you can, or else it won't stick.

Never used POR15 metal prep nor POR15, but the metal prep formula does look like some sort of primer?? In this case it will help, as the paint will be more durable. Does not look to be rust killer/converter, though...

The preparation steps would be

1. remove loose rust (wire brush, sandblast, needle scaler, or any other way)
   
2. apply rust killer (very important because painting over rust won't stop it)
3. apply primer
4. paint (more than one coat)
   
5. grease

Now, about the video, that looks encouraging, but he should not be afraid to hit it hard. Especially on the boxed portions of the frame, as it is most of the time rusted though but from the inside

About the gas tank, again, poke a screwdriver at the base of each of the plates the stuff connected to the tank rest onto. Sometimes the area under or around these plates is rusted through as well. Same for the filler tube. Poke around the base with a screwdriver

Also, just curious, but with your rear proportioning valve being this rusty, it is still working?? Got any brake problems? If so, it might be your culprit.

Oh and about these rust flakes all over the frame, maybe power washing it will help removing most of them? making it easier to remove the rest??

 

Interesting that you mention that - I had noticed an odd behavior when stopping the truck. It was almost like there was a slight give after I had braked moderately to even a little hard; wondering if that's the culprit. Awesome feedback onakat - thanks so much.

 

You could also be feeling axle wrap, which is tension in the leafs built up when breaking as the axle twists slightly, usually due to weak leaf springs. The tension is released when you let up on the brakes, either as a clunk or slight jolt. The drive shaft yoke at the differential may also need grease.

 

Great thread, great replies/info.

The frame of the OP's truck looks really good compared to some I have seen, a good cleaning inside-out and a rust converter inside-out should preserve it for years to come.

Check out this video, not so much for frame replacement, but for being able to repair the frame under the cab and snout in extreme situations.

 

Looks like decent rust, but no where near how bad some of the ones i see at the dealer are... this one came in a few weeks ago...



Just get a descaling tool/ needle gun, get all the heavy stuff off, then coat the hell out of it with por15, then id go a step further and coat the inside of the frame with the internal frame coating from Eastwoods. These frames do like to rot from the inside out.