Frame Rust do I need to worry?

Recently picked up a 2017 SR5. Was underneath for the AC drain mod. Noticed something I hadn't seen before. Thats my baby finger for reference. Do I need to worry? I'm a little sick to my stomach at the moment.

 

Gently try to hit it with a hammer. If the hammer punctures the frame you in trouble

 

Bummer, I’m by no means an expert but that doesn’t look good

 

Something that small you might be able to get treated. Also you may get many years out of the thing before it becomes a real issue

 

Hammer test. Its ok to be a little firm tapping around, if something is soft you wanna know sooner rather than later..

Sorry



























You should've got the frame inspected before buying!

 

Where on the frame is that at?

 

that’s cancer. It’ll spread because everything around it is lifted and bubbling

 

Yep. Someone hasn't kept the undercarriage properly protected.

 

UPDATE: So I did the hammer test the whole thing sounded like the rest of the frame when I hit. A small (smaller than a dime) flake of surface rust came off but that's it.
Other than sanding the area down, treating it, and putting oil on it. Is there anything else I can do?

 

I’d take a hard look for other rust spots like that then I’d spray down the truck like crazy with an under coating. We get heavily brined up here on the Kenai, and I’ve spent a lot of time washing and spraying my Taco with Fluid Film.
Thankfully, enough people got tired of the brine and the under carriage damage, to get the DOT to lower the concentration and areas where they put it. F that shit with a bloody hammer.

 

Sure clean it up around that area and get a better look. Then you can see what the options are with a possible patch

 

The picture is hard to interpret, but it looks like sheet metal rather than frame. A 2017 frame is unlikely to fail due to rust.

 

Wire wheel/brush it, hit it with a rust converter, prime it, paint it, give the paint a few weeks to cure and set, then coat it with some cosmoline.

And don't forget the inside of the framerails. Pop those plastic caps out, get some extended hose perimeter pattern nozzles, and spray down the inside of the frame with at least some woolwax/fluidfilm type product.

 

Yeah I cropped the photo too tight maybe. Its definitely frame. Passenger side slightly back from where the ac drain would hit prior to the mod.

 

But that second pic looks like a fairly long section of substantial rust. Hard to tell

I wonder what the inside of the frame looks like.

Is the rest of the frame better?

Is that what a typical rust streak caused by the ac drain looks like?

 

By Minnesota standards, that’s a normal amount of rust for a 2017. The frame will outlast the rest of the truck

Albeit, my 2001 Subaru (unibody) was cleaner than that in 2015 when I gifted it to my buddy’s son.

If it bothers you, grind it to bare metal, prime and paint it.

 

I would get a borescope and look through every hole you can get it through.

 

Don't look great buddy. I would wire wheel it, get all the loose stuff off, get some pour-15 and treat the area. My next thing would be to spend the $40 bucks and get the ac drain re-location/tube extension mod done. Lastly, I would give a Goog to you're local area code, and find a reputable shop that specializes in Fluid-Film/Wool-Wax. It'll only take them a couple hours at most, and be under $200 bones. That would stop the current rust, stop anything further from that area, and protect the entire rest of the undercarriage. That's what I would do, but I'm just some internet guy

 

That rust has nothing to do with ac drain. Judging by picture, the spot like 2' + away from the drain spot. Is it a secondary cat?

 

The rest of the frame is quite a bit better with just a some surface rust in spots. I'm not sure if it was caused by the AC drain. Thats just what I was working on when I noticed it.