Mid West 1st gen BS thread...

Place for?

 

a place that would know a thing or two because they have seen a thing or two about the ills of the 1st gen Tacoma frame
and have the proper knowledge, tools, equipment, etc.

as you probably know the Toyota 'expert' service department are clueless and i don't know why exactly, i would think they would know a little something unless they have never seen an older Toyota before but i find that hard to believe
the 1-800 customer service is pretty clueless as well and are not of much help with my situation
this one local dealer that I was telling what I have found was going on inside my trucks frame (that I was unaware of until TW came along)
and what the best course of action would be to stop anything further from happening
he looked at me puzzled and befuddled like he had absolutely no clue what i was talking about!
He has been at the dealership for more than 10 years! probably at least 15, and I thought at least he had seen a thing or two or at least had taken an interest in the situation that has gone on over the past 10 years.
i've done what i can to keep it relatively clean on the top in the winters but underneath there I have been found to be a bit clueless. Thanks to TW i now have knowledge of other areas that i was unaware of for over 2 decades

its nothing serious that i can tell yet, ..just trying to get on top of it to prevent it from getting any worse and looking for somebody or someplace that has more knowledge than I so far have accumulated

i just feel that i am chasing my tail like a dog anymore going in circles

 

you should go here

https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/body-chassis/1603-toyota-tacoma-rotted-frame-fix/


Here’s the company

https://www.autorust.com/

 

i have encountered the autorust.com and their SafeTcaps, which i do not need at this point as far as i know! everything is solid as far as i can tell on the outside, just some 'minor' surface stuff that blasted right off, no problems!

the fourwheeler.com is a new source to me and i shall look into it to see what they have to say and give an update to any new findings
thanks again

 

its a very VERY long drive to Rhode Island east on (and then the drive back!)

road-trip or what do you think

 

Not that bad, then you can see the east coast

it’s the same distance as my drive to Phoenix which I’ve now done like 5 times, usually in 2 days.

 

just the crappy tollways out east

 

this is what i am trying to figure out how to prevent right here
https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/body-chassis/1603-toyota-tacoma-rotted-frame-fix/

 

found this video of frame inspection from another TW member

https://youtu.be/rXnxtRFMLow

 

its December! the last month of this decade (in most cases since there was no year zero)

 

So what do you need, or want, to know about the 1st gen frames?

 

do you have some 'insider' knowledge?
i had been getting the runaround it seems from the supposed 'Toyota experts'

you are currently in Edwardsville?

 

Correct....in Edwardsville.

I’m just wanting to see what kind of information you’re looking for. I worked for Toyota dealers for years and still have a lot of good friends in various dealers, as well as being a previous 1st gen owner.

 

cool! my truck started out its life in Edwardsville while on a year long project there during 96/97
for many months i have been trying to figure out exactly how the frame rots by the fuel tank area, behind the spring perch going up the incline to the rear wheel. the only 1st gens that are so far gone with rot back there for examination i have found to do my own digging are at the salvage yard locally here. was able to score plenty of juicy pics there before they crushed it
recently i was underneath tapping around with my finger like TW told me to do around the fuel tank, it sounds like solid metal but there are a couple of spots that seem softer, it maybe just the loose paint and the creep going on underneath the paint

 

Well known issues with the frames. Dana Corporation made the frames for Toyota. They used a bad seam sealer on them that deteriorated and pulled away from the metal, allowing contaminants like salt to get inside the boxes section of the frame. High salt usage states like IL had more plentiful and severe cases of rot. Toyota launched a campaign in high salt states to replace the frames on the first gen trucks. The campaign went out in 2 phases, broken out by model year. Both phases of the campaign have expired so Toyota won’t do anything for you any longer. The campaign went well beyond their normal rust perforation warranty period. Since then, they’ve done the same for Tundras and Sequoias I believe and they’ve also started working through at least some 2nd gen trucks as well, if I’m not mistaken. If you see 1st gen trucks around here for sale with no rust, they’re bringing good money. Aside from finding a fabricator to replace sections of the frame with new material, there’s not much you can do with them. My uncle is a diehard Toyota guy. He had a beautiful 02 (I believe) Tacoma that was immaculate....no rust on the body and damn near perfect interior. Low miles on the drivetrain too. He bought it after the campaign had expired. Apparently the idiot that he bought it from never took it in to have it checked. Figured it was fine since it was low miles and there wasn’t rust anywhere else on it. Well, the frame was crap. My uncle bought it not knowing about it but was informed when he took it to his normal guy for service. His guy told him to take it to a dealer to have the frame replaced, not knowing that the campaign had ended. He never did get a new frame. Not sure what he ever did with that truck either? I need to hit him up and find out.

So that’s the long and short of the frame deal. Better find someone that is an excellent metal worker and fabricator if you want to keep your truck.

 

thanks, i don't think mine has serious problems yet, but will if i don't get on top of the situation i find it in. All i have pulled out from the inside are medium to large paint chips, which would probably end up clogging the drain holes if i did not find them in time and launch this obsessive crusade
the Toyota mechanics that have looked at it say it looks good and they have seen much worse locally

 

The campaign called out a specific procedure for how to test the structural integrity of the frame. It basically called out a specific size hammer....no joke....and described how hard to strike the frame. The techs just walked the length of the frame banging on it to see if it deformed or punctured. That would determine whether the frame got the rust preventative applied or whether it got a frame replacement. It got one or the other. The rust preventative was applied to the inside of the frame.

 

my truck got neither of those when inspected in 2o11, all they did was pass it and send me on my merry way with NO further instructions of any sorts
i recall having to near force the local dealer here in NE to check it because at the time they had not ever heard of this campaign and neither had I (chatroom source from a guy with a taco in Indiana was how i first heard of the problems then)

 

Josh, a certain comment came up in the 1st gen forums recently about paint failing over time
does Toyota have a recommended maintenance or replacement interval for the frame paint coating. mine basically is failing and delaminating in spots but I am not sure if its due to age OR the total lack of it preventing seepage right on through it from road chemicals just sitting on it and never washed off thoroughly. I washed what i could over the decades

i need to goto the dealer that sold this to me and do some inquiry

 

i may have found some new-to-me knowledge yesterday that there is a part in the frame, where the C turns to boxed section, up the incline to near the rear wheels that allows for water and perhaps other buildup to trickle down inside of the boxed section and it tends to accumulate in this area of this pic. It perhaps does not fully drain and/or evaporate by itself.

i will not know any more deets until I can pull the box on my tacoma and inspect it better without any obstruction.
so far I have poked my fingers around that area by the exhaust and am not sure of what hole there would allow for the seepage into the frame and not just a runoff down the outside of the channel



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/undercoating-a-95-for-the-first-time.643356/page-2#post-22268983