Is this frame repairable

I'm going to go with NO. That last pic shows how bad it really is.

 

My frame is pretty similar, but I dont have AS much. I am bringing it to a Safe-T-Cap authorized installer on Monday for repair. Everything is repairable. Just know that it will be a temperary repair (but that temp repair can likely last another decade.

A lot of people on here will give you the whole "Frame rusts from the inside out" or "part it out" stuff. Yes they do rust from the inside out. and perhaps you should get a new truck, but if you are in the ame boat as me, maybe the truck has sentimental value to you. It is definitely fixable. I would get a quote from a fab shop. Check your area for authorized installers of Safe-T-Caps. Link below! Good luck!

https://www.autorust.com/safetcap-installer-network/

 

Welcome to the site. It's fixable but to what amount are you willing to spend is the real question.

 

Also if I may add, there are likely other spots that are similar looking as this..

 

I've been welding for 30 years, I wouldn't touch it.

The cost would kill you vs. what you have when your done.

 

Most professional welders wouldn't, and shouldn't touch that. Too much liability...

That's not to say you can't fix it. Anything is possible with enough and

I would seriously look into a frame swap, though. If you have a basic set of hand tools, some wood blocking, and some time, it's not that hard to DIY. You'll end up cutting probably all the bolts off, so just plan to replace a hole of of small hardware too, and you'll be fine. There are several threads where this has been done.

Get your frame from a desert state like CA or AZ, and your frame should be in great condition. Rent a trailer and make a road trip out of it, shipping them is expensive. Then, once you have your frame, clean the crap out of it (easy when it's a bare frame), and take extra precautions NOW to protect it: better paint, POR15 type stuff, etc... Then reassemble.

After that, you'll have a great truck for another 500k miles as long as you keep the road salt off it.

 

I think it would be more of a liability issue for anyone hired to try to fix it as they can be faulted if anything happens. Personally I would source a frame if I absolutely want to keep the truck and do the work myself because if not, it would be costly and probably better off finding another truck.

 

A frame swap is not a DIY project for most people on here. If the OP is asking if the frame is fixable in the first place I'm going to guess he's NOT going to do it himself and he will be looking at some serious $$$ to have an almost 20 year old vehicles frame replaced....all is just my opinion though.

 

@Sperrunner has an extra 1st gen frame that he's trying to get rid of in CA, if you could arrange shipping

 

True. Regardless, it will cost $$$. I always consider vehicle value before spending a certain amount on it.

 

Yes the frame is reparable, but you would spend a TON of $$ to fix it and would better off with a new frame.

 

But that's the rub. It CAN be a DIY.

If a guy (@BartMaster1234) can do a pre-runner to 4x4 conversion with absolutely no prior mechanical expertise, anyone can do it.

Like I said, you just need some basic hand tools and an internet connection to read up on how others have done it.

Is it a fairly complicated project? Of course. But take it one step at a time and read up, and it's totally doable. The largest expense aside from the frame itself is going to be the beer you use to bribe a couple friends to come over and help for a few nights.

Is it worth it? Only OP can answer that. If there isn't any sort of sentimental value attached to the truck, then just scrap it for parts and buy another truck.

 

If my truck were an investment, you shouldn't let me within 100 miles of the stock market, lol.

Cars are terrible investments, especially the ones you plan on driving. You WILL loose money on them.

I mean, have you seen the kind of money some people spend on building their mid 80's toyota pickups? Clampy (dirteveryday) has more in just the axles than the entire thing is worth. Hell, the shattered fiberglass fenders are probably worth more than the chassis is/was.

 

Friend of mine restored and old Chevelle, he ask me once "you know how you get $25,000 out of a car like that?" I said how, he said "put $50,000 in it"

 

Toyota replaced my frame (2004) for free under the recall.....I assume you are not eligible for some reason?????

 

OP has a 2000 Tacoma. Frame warranty was only good for 15 years from the in-service date, so his Tacoma would have only been warrantied through 2015

Only a handful of 04's are still eligible for the frame warranty now


edit - and actually I don't know if the 2000s were part of the frame warranty program, they may have been part of the buyback program instead, where Toyota gave you 1.5x KBB value for your truck and then crushed it. Lot of Tacos were crushed in the early 2000s. Many angles lost their wings

Of course that program ended a long time ago

 

They only did frame replacements on the 01-04 models

 

lol

exactly.

 

Poor angles