How my Tacoma beat cancer. (A Saga)

So, as I am sure many of you have dealt with owning a Gen 1 Tacoma, they rust. A couple of years ago I was unable to pass inspection due to a sizable hole in the side of my Tacoma's frame. Up until this point in my ownership there had been little to no issues with Russel (Rusty for short) outside of a bad axle seal and typical maintenance.

After going back and forth with the dealership, and even Toyota's corporate offices, I was left option less on getting a replacement frame. The previous owner hadn't had a warranty coating done, and I was told by multiple dealers that there was nothing they could do. Out of desperation I started looking at other treatment options. Donors were difficult to find, and try as I might I couldn't find a suitable candidate. Rusty wasn't looking so hot either. Investigative surgery and a biopsy showed the true extent of what we were dealing with.







I'll be honest, I didn't think that we were going to beat the cancer. At this point I had given up hope on finding a transplant. Most options were out of our coverage amounts. I thoroughly considered having Rusty put down.

I talked to a friend of mine about this, and he suggested some alternative treatments. He told me of others that had beat this. I did some more research and found there were some viable options out there. A company called Safe-T-Cap. It would be difficult, but not impossible.



So, I bought a welder second hand off a friend, and decided that Rusty and I would tackle the cancer head on. We could beat this.

Rusty would end up being under the knife for most of the summer in 2017, extensive work was done to prevent the spread of this cancer again. First, we had to cut it all out.





The cancer had spread further than initially expected. Getting back to the clean metal was our only option. During this time it was also discovered that removing Rusty's leaf springs would be impossible from the front mounts. Prior to cutting them off, multiple measurements were taken from hard-points on the frame. While we were here, it would be necessary to get replacements for those as well. After a quick test fit of the replacement frame caps, we could trim the rest of the cancer out, and properly prevent this from happening again.






The horror of what was inside Rusty's frame.



The only way to prevent further damage in the future was to completely disassemble the back of my truck, wire wheel all of the old coating and rust off, then coat with rust converter and weld through primer.



The new frame caps have drain holes. DRAIN HOLES TOYOTA!! Everything was later painted and sealed.






This next bit was the most difficult part. I learned a lot more about welding on this project. Some of these aren't the prettiest, but compared to some of the factory welds they are miles better. The replacements were finally getting attached.




Over time my welding improved, everything was painted, and the light at the end of the tunnel started to shine!






With everything back together, all we had to do was wait for Rusty to get some new leaf springs and hardware. I also decided to replace the front strut/shocks. Everything was looking great. I was pretty proud of myself.

Those of you very familiar with the Tacoma may have noticed something though. Something looming, that would cause me to rush and make a mistake. A mistake that would almost cost Rusty his life.

After receiving the new leaf springs I excitedly installed them. It had been two months of surgery for Rusty, and soon I would be able to drive again. We were also closing in on the end of summer, and while commuting on my sport bike was great for now, I didn't want to do it in the cold and rain.

When I got to connecting the leaf springs to the axle, something wasn't right. As much as I tried nothing would line up. It was then that I realized, after looking at reference pictures, that I had installed the front spring mounts backwards. Instead of being offset outboard, they were offset inboard. There would be no way to ever line up the springs.



Side note: My 240z also needs surgery. I plan on completing it some day.

What happens next was completely my fault. I knew better, and yet I proceeded the way I did and almost paid the price.

Enthused by the near completion of my beloved Tacoma, and rushed on a Sunday to get to other commitments, I dropped the tank down and placed it in the middle of the frame. Next I planned on quickly buzzing off the mounts to flip them around. I knew it wouldn't take long, and I would have my truck drive-able again. The mounts came off without issue, and I started with the passenger side. My welds actually turned out pretty nice too!





Afterwards, I was working on the driver side. While finishing up the last run on the inboard part of the frame, I was leaning up against the tank.

It moved, fuel sloshed, and an errant spark ignited what was on the floor/ tank, and any vapors coming out of the lines.

I got EXTREMELY LUCKY. I immediately dropped the welder, and got out of the way of the fire. I am lucky that I heard it catch, and moved as fast as I did. In my panic I couldn't think of where the 10 lb extinguisher was in the garage, so I sprinted into the house grabbed the one from the kitchen, and sprinted back. However, this was only a 5 lb extinguisher. My garage is about 70 ft. from the side door. By the time I had gotten back, flames were at the ceiling, and gas was now pouring out of the tank due to the heat/ vacuum.

This could have been MUCH worse. It was extremely stupid of me to do what I did.

Someone driving by had seen the flames, and stopped to see if I needed help. At the time I was still working as aircrew on helicopters, and one of our yearly training classes was firefighting for fuel fires. If it weren't for being able to rely on this training I don't think I would have gotten the fire out so quickly. This was also one of the pre-recall Kidde extinguishers, I am so glad it worked. I now always keep the 10 lb in the same spot.

I live in an area with all volunteer firemen, most of which are Amish, I'm not sure how long it would have taken them to get there, and what the damage to my truck/ garage/ other cars/ tools would have been. Things are just things, but it would have been rough.

This is the only photo I have of the damage, I had recorded a video, but now I can't find it.



For those that don't know, many of the formed hoses for this system are expensive, and can be hard to find. This resulted in needing to replace a lot of this system, and the fuel pump bracket.

Rusty's battle with cancer was prolonged due to negligent surgery.



I was lucky that I found a good used charcoal canister.

Finally after sourcing all the parts, Rusty was back together. It has been a couple years of driving again now with no issues. I passed inspection just fine, and am confident that the frame is much stronger.

I plan on keeping Rusty for many more miles. I am approaching the 200,000 club. Definitely not planning on playing with any more fire though.

 

that is some major surgery!

i should probably cut some bigger drain holes into mine

whats the diameter on those

 

Wow, quite the adventure. Kudos to you for all that work, hope Rusty takes you many more miles.

 

Very Impressive!!

 

Holy moly that burnt charcoal canister and knowing that it sits on the tank basically and realizing you had a fire under your gas tank......
Wow. Just wow man.
Great job on the rust repair with those caps

 

I keep an extinguisher ON my welding cart at all times. I have a few other stashed around the shop/garage, too

 

Nice work! I did same thing on my 2001 DC but also had to repair frame metal under the cab to the front trans mount using the safety frame repair. Big job that may not have been worth if I had to pay someone else told o it.

 

Major overhaul GladI"am in Cali.

 

You could sue yourself for malpractice on that fire injury and recoup all your costs, plus pain and suffering, of course. Throw in "loss of spousal consortium" too. That play's well with the juries.

Nice work. One of my trucks is worse, but I have been doing the work a little at a time. I recommend your method of tackling it all at once.

 

BTW, you may want to pop your fuel and brake tubes out of those clamps along the frame and check their condition. They tend to rust through along the backside, in the clamps, where salt and iron rich dirt particles get trapped.

 

can you please talk to me about this set up, it appears to be just what i need to safely get underneath mine on my knees with headroom for mildly dangerous activities
been at this for more than six months now and this is the first time seeing anything like this!

 

fuel lines attach to the frame?
i have only noticed brake lines so far

 

Well done OP! Takes quite a bit of sand to tackle such a huge restoration. Congrats!

 

What rust converter and primer did you use?

 

I got the primer and converter from Easton. I plan on getting under the truck again soon to do some touch up and probably will get some undercoating this time.

I'll take a look at all that. Thanks for the tip.

 

I now do the same. I also have others in the garage.

 

Yeah, I had a scary moment a while back. Was ripping a bunch of 2x6's for my patio cover. Was borrowing my dads Craftsman table saw, and I was just working the thing too hard and the motor caught on fire. IN my garage with all the typical garage chemicals/oils nearby. Luckily I had an extinguisher nearby so it didn't get too bad, but it's a wake up call for sure!

That damn motor cost almost as much as a whole new saw.

 

Yup, most of the time it is cheaper just to buy a new one.

Needless to say, having about half a tank of gas on fire in your garage is not a fun time.

 

Holy crap! Yours was worse than mine! I finished a similar rust job a month ago. Though I didn't have to cut the frame at all, just rockers. Good job! I'm astounded at your job. I'd have thrown in the towel if it was my frame that badly affected. I almost did throw in the towel rather than deal with my rocker job.

 

Thanks! I have been working on aircraft for about ten years, and tackled some pretty crazy jobs. A lot of reading and watching YouTube videos helps. I considered a few other options rather than tackling this, but decided it was worth it.