Is the too much rust?

Hello all,

I am currently looking at buying a 09 access cab Tacoma from Wisconsin. The seller sent me these pictures of the undercarriage and I wanted to see what y'all thought of the rust.

 

Hard pass for me.

 

Why do you say that?

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

the amount of rust, the rust on the spare tire and the rust on the tailgate. I personally would pass. Others would probably buy.

 

Too much rust.
Welcome to the forum Jared

 

Got it, I appreciate your response. Thanks

 

For a 2009 Wisconsin truck, I say that's clean! My 2008 Canyon was far worse than that and still wasn't even close to unsafe.

 

Get the Vin number, and go to the dealer to see if there’s a recall on that frame or they could protect it for you. Depending on your VIN this will all be free of charge

 

And I believe if they spray the protectant on the frame rather than replacing it I believe that comes with a 12 year warranty from Toyota

 

My 05 frame got replaced 2 years ago, and when they did that everything that touched the frame they replaced brake lines, fuel lines, body mount bushings etc. same UCA LCA though . Lol

 

Just called the dealership with the trucks vin and they said that it was not affected under the recall.

 

Fairly good shape for 12-year old truck in the north. The hitch tends to rust before the rest of the frame. (My '10 had rust on the hitch driving off the dealer's lot.) There's nowhere nearly enough rust to warrant a frame replacement.

I would be more wary of all the leaks and mechanical issues with a 12-year old 2nd gen. But you'd need to inspect the truck in person.

 

What kind of leaks and mechanical issues should I look for? It's the v6 with the 5 speed automatic. It has just a bit over 107xxx miles. The owner says he changed the oil every 3k miles and the trans and diff every 30k. Also he did the plugs at 60k

 

Just general leaks (oil, transmission, coolant, brakes, etc). I don't know if there is anything specific for this vehicle outside of the normal stuff for a 12 old vehicle. In short, if you don't see wet spots, you're likely fine.

 

The place to look and touch are the boxed sections around the cats. Those areas rot from the inside.

In fact, under the current frame treatment, those boxed sections are really the only parts they focus on.

 

The plugs interval on the 4.0L is 30k using basic copper plugs according to the owner's manual, so it's 17k past due

Steering rack leak (seepage near the tie rod bellows)
Timing cover leak (near the power steering pump)
Coolant transfer pipe leak below the intake manifold (not common, but very labor intensive)
Seized U-joint on steering intermediate shaft

Less expensive wear and tear stuff:
A/C leak at the high-pressure line going to the condenser
Rotted out radiator support bushings
Worn out wheel bearings
Driveshaft carrier bearing

Also that looks like the factory spare tire, which means it's gone on 2x its intended life and is probably hard as plastic by now. Budget a replacement.

 

My 2010 hitch and bumper will need replacing soon. Mine was 6 years old when bought it and about two months after I received note from Toyota. But I already was pro-active and started on a rust preventive plan before I even received Toyotas note. It's been sprayed with Fluid Film, Woolwax, and even used Eastwoods rust preventive treaments on it at different times. Currently have about a half a case of Woolwax left that I use for touch up. The frame itself doesn't look to bad for 2010, but it's not perfect. I've seen worst.

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for your write-up. Definitely will check out all these potential issues. Also yeah that tire looks to be pretty gone haha.

 

Just noticed this is a 2WD truck. Check the area where the driveshaft exits the transmission for leaks since it's a plunge joint.