Oh brother, just noticed this frame crack

I love this truck and would hate to not have it but this does not look good. Does anyone have experience with something similar? I've had some rust holes taken care of right around that area about a year ago and I suspect the crack may somehow be related? I've reached out to the welder to ask his opinion on what should be done. I'm looking at the SafeTcaps. I'd like very much to fix it and continue to drive this, such a great truck otherwise!

 

Nothing that can`t be Fixed !

If you or friends can do the work no big deal!!

If you can find someone that will take on the job depending where the Truck lives finding someone might be difficult .

As this type of work is dirty and more often then not much more needs repaired then what can be seen in a fast inspection.


How much can or will you spend only you know ??

Fix one spot as they appear or just go over and do the whole frame .

 

Cut out rot and replace. All cracks should be plated, not just welded back together when there is rotten metal.

 

I just finished plating my fathers frame due to a crack in the exact same spot. The stiffeners for the bump stops and that cross member hold dirt with zero drain, it's horrendous. I'm going to post a thread showing how bad the rot was and the repair. Do you have any welding skills or know anyone who does? Don't give up!

 

It's likely a lot worse then you think. [Always the case with rust] However, if you have someone who is a decent welder, as long as there is good metal nearby, you may be able to get some more life out of it.

 

No big deal... fix it, drive for another 20 years.

 

So what does the rest of the frame look like? Methinks not too far behind this section.

Sure, this can be fixed, but then a couple years down the road the next rusty bit will fall apart, then the next, etc...

Conceptually, a frame swap is the easiest, at least when you consider all the future repairs you're likely to need. The problem is finding a good frame that's compatible. Even less likely is to find one that's nearby. You could probably find one that's 2k miles away, but shipping it would probably cost more than a new frame.

The other option is to just tear into the entire frame now. Cab, bed, everything comes off. Grind and sand until all the rust is found, removed and repaired. Get some frame plates to reinforce the repairs. Then you'll want to take steps now, while the cab and bed are off to rust-proof it.

I'd rather have ONE big project now, than a bunch of little projects (they're still big projects in their own right) over the next decade or so.

 

Ok maybe in Sunny Winter Chemical Free California a frame swap is easy .

Here after cutting the old one all apart replacing all the brake and fuel lines fuel pump bracket and sending unit .and other goodies

All the new parts Shipping from the Sunny Dry Southwest USA Preparing the new frame for rust proofing .etc

More cost effective to build a new frame .

Then if you can`t do it yourself Paying someone Can you afford to spend $5000.00 plus on a 25 year old truck.

Maybe if the rest of truck has just had $10,000.00 worth of work

 

lol. Yeah, I didn't mean that a frame swap is better and easier, start to finish. Like I said, the logistics of getting even a used frame are a pretty tough hurdle.

But, if you're going to go through the trouble of going thru the whole frame and addressing all the rust issues (I'm betting there are a lot), you're already going to need the body/bed off the frame to make all the repairs. Then there's all the other rusty bits that are attached to the frame that need addressing. You start going down that road, and a new frame looks pretty good (except for the shipping/logistics of getting it to you).

A full tube chassis/role cage starts looking pretty good, lol.

 

Welcome to toyota truck owner ship. Get a welder and start cutting and plating the frame. I would get some trail gear frame plates for the outside of the frame rails. Then I would get some 3/16" plate and cut out and rebuild that shock mount. If you want to get real fancy get a shock relocation kit that a bunch if vendors sell. If you dont know how to weld, buy a Hobart 140, it works on 115v, a bunch of scrap metal, watch you tube, practice and flux core that back together.

Last year I patched the frame rail right up against the gas tank, that sucked!! That looks pretty easy.

 

Is 120V welder adequate for frame repair?

 

Yes if you know what your doing !

Welding on Vehicles is about the hardest welding one ever does

Then all 120VAC welders are not created equal.

I would have no problem with The Hobart/ Miller or Lincoln offerings in that voltage

 

Isn’t there a Walmart near by? You can get it in black

 

I did my entire SAS and axle flip using a 115v Hobart 140 and Lincoln weld pak 100. As Wyoming said it's all about how you use it. I was blowing through the stock frame so much in some sections, haveing anything more powerful would have been a PITA

 

Just be easy on it until you can reinforce it. Either have a plate welded onto it or do it yourself, but “overkill” wouldn’t be a bad thing. Personally I’d rather get a new truck than frame swap, but reinforcing is something that should be done first at least until you have time to get the frame swapped if you wanted to do that. I had a crack just like in the fifth pic. I had it welded to reinforce, and then I coated that whole part of the frame with rust preventative after I removed all the rust sediment and dirt with a wire brush. Much more cost effective, and you’ll be able to drive it again a lot sooner.

 

This is after it was welded but before I coated and removed sediment. You can see the weld in the top left corner

 

with the welding craters under that coating in the lower left hand corner of picture 5, it appears that someone already tried to do a partial repair of a previous crack

how long have you had the truck?

 

Yea just noticed the heat affected zone lines burning the paint on the back of whatever is welded on the outside of the frame rail in the other pics as well. Almost wonder if a bad patch led to that frame crack.

 

Technically, sure. The frame material really isn't that thick.

I had a Lincoln 125 flux core, and it did great on thinner stuff. Once I started in on things like my bumper (3/16" steel) it was a different story. It says on the specs it can weld 3/16", but that's pretty much it's max, and there's a lot you have to do to even get close, like preheating, and multiple passes. And because it's flux core, you gotta clean the slag between passes, too. There are some more powerful welders than my 125 that still use 110v, but the increase in power is marginal (a 140 I think is about what you'll get on 110v).

So a 110v welder will do great if you'r ejust welding frames, however the majority of stuff you'll likely build for your truck will have 3/16 and 1/4" material, which IMO a 110 can't do (even though it says it can, lol).

All in all, not having a more powerful welder meant I probably spend 2x as long throwing sparks than if I would have had the welder I do now. A Hobart 210 MVP.

Honestly, this is one of those times I wish I would have gotten the big welder first.

Best thing is this welder is a 110v/220v welder. So if you don't have a 220v outlet, you can use the 110v. Or if you're like me, my 220v extension cord doesn't quite reach where my truck is parked, so I do my tacking with 110, then use my shop's 220 for finishing.