Dime-sized holes

No longer needing a 1-ton rig for farm use, I'm looking to downsize. Nearby Toyota dealer has a 1998 Tacoma 3.4/auto 4x4 that is cheap enough, but it has frame holes about the size of dimes in the usual spots - just ahead of forward shackles on inside rear. Pecking with a pocket screwdriver on insides of both rails reveals no other weak places. Truck has always been in VA and has 155k miles.

Everything in the running gear is good: engine very responsive, tranny and transfer shift smoothly, diff quiet; appears to have had water pump and t-belt replaced. Body is rough, but our beef cows don't care about that. It needs tires, battery, and the bottom [first full length] leaf on LR.

I've worked on lots of old Toyotas and have a heated shop, so removing bed, shackles, and gas tank presents no special challenge. Mig, hoists, and air tools are at hand.

Two questions for those who have attempted repairs on Tacoma frame holes:

1. Given the localized nature of the holes, is grinding likely to expose good metal to weld to within an inch or so of the holes?

2. Are there aftermarket kits available for fixing this problem? I'm thinking of a 3-sided piece to weld over the frame, maybe 4-6" long. Not interested in replacing rear clip.

tia, 4toys

Ps. The 1999 Tacoma is sadly long gone, replaced by a vehicle more suitable for hauling our old dogs.

 

I would pass on that truck. Toyota bought those back at 1.5 value. Allegedly missing PHOSPHATE coating? Not repairable for a reasonable amount as rust just travels further down. Bought back by TM, drivelines removed and exported, and the rest crushed. Many 80s' vintage GM trucks still roaming up here in the "salty" North though. You're not really saving much with smaller truck other than freeing up maintenance time. Look for one with a more intact frame? Sorry?
There is some body offering after-market pieces but they're advertised as re-enforcement's for those who off-road and pound their trucks. I saw the pieces and they seem to fit right in the suspect rusting areas. Good Luck

 

Having had one go back to Toyota (I had holes fixed by the rear spring hangars about a week before Toyota pulled it - their tech drove a screwdriver through the front of the frame, then they offered me 7k more than I paid for the truck), I'd highly recommend buying one with a clean frame.

 

Thanks for the replies, and your points are well taken about rust that never sleeps.

As for maint. costs being comparable, the current truck is a 4wd 7.3 turbodiesel with 6-speed manual. Glow plugs, large oil capacity, dual rear wheels - it likely adds up to at least twice the cost of running a Tacoma. You don't even want to ask the price for wheel bearings and clutches! And with a full 8-foot steel flatbed, it's just harder to get thru tight places on the farm or in our narrow town streets. Final reason for change is the capital that will be freed up to buy another farm implement or two.

Guess I'll just wait for a 1st gen that's not too pretty but has a clean frame.

4toys

 

For a Toyota dealer to offer this truck for sale would be a violation of Toyota USA policy and procedure when the dealer has knowledge of rust perforation to the frame.

 

You could also price em out west and fly out to get one, then drive back. Easy to find rust free trucks out here.

 

I guess it was a good deal and I tapped on the frame with a ball peen hammer a whole bunch I'd probably feel okay about cutting out rust and then plating it. I might sand blast a lot of it though.

http://www.trail-gear.com/tacoma-frame-gussets

CBI also makes frame plates

Guess it's really your call on how much you can save and what your time is worth and if it's savable.

Just my .02

 

how cheap

 

Fireturk, if you're asking what I would give for the 98 described above, the answer is low 2's. Is that too much? I already have TRD shocks from my 99 and have located a complete 4-leaf rear rig for $150, so that just leaves tires, battery, and whatever I might decide to do with the frame. Around here, a lot of the young volunteer firemen drive red regular cab 1st gen's.

Herkybird [old C-130er?], I wonder about the dealer's role in this myself. Used sales mgr says he can sell it "properly disclaimed".

Meatman, where in Murphy is this lot? There's one that has lots of Tacomas near Harrisonburg, VA, but as an example, a 99 TRD with a few dents and 142k is 12, a clean 97 with 120k is also 12, and a 2004 dc TRD with 120k and bling wheels is 19. He also has some very low-mile rigs priced even higher. Is your guy out in Western NC priced like that?

On CL in VA, most clean 01-03 TRD's are around 12-3; older units slightly lower. Is this unusual? I have found a few for less, but all have problems of one sort or another.

4toys

 

id say haggle him down low as you can go using the frame holes and cost of other repairs as your main reason, or maybe get them to throw in some of the parts itd need

 

Sorry to stray from the aim of your original post, but I really can't believe the prices being thrown around for 1st gens. I sold my '00 reg cab for $4300 and got my '03 xtra cab from an individual for $7k. Both trucks had rust issues but I restored and maintained frame/underbody religiously. I guess they're becoming harder and harder to find...but wow!

00:


03:

 

PATACO, not straying if you share what you did to restore rust issues ;->

As for Wow! there is just a huge range between prices on sites such as Edmunds, which are normally reliable, and what folks are asking. Normally, the trade-in price from Edmunds is the same as what dealers pay at auction. But look at eBay's "completed listings" for 2000 Tacomas:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks...mplete=1&_nkw=2000+toyota+tacoma+4x4&_vxp=mtr

Home is about 2 hours from Richmond, VA. Check out that auction!

You can see why I'm looking at distressed vehicles that might be worth saving. Meanwhile, a local businessman is ready to buy the big farm truck. Since he has arranged reasonable trades for me before, he is actively looking through all his sources for a suitable Tacoma. After two weeks, nada! And yes, he has advised against buying the "lightly perforated" 1998.

4toys

 

Absoutely man, this is a short novel, but being thorough is the only option with rust

I paid 6.5k for the 2000 from a dealer, it had sticky tar undercoating sprayed right over clumps of dirt. My fault for not inspecting it well enough, I was really hot for it as I had driven a 92 yota pickup for previous seven years. Once all that crap was scraped and wire-wheeled, found a perforation shaped like a tobacco leaf about 5in long on the outside of the frame by the tank. had it welded up with 1/4" and sprayed the frame with rustoleum. With our winters in Erie, that was totally gone by next spring. Sold it with rust issues disclosed. The '03 is from Buffalo, had surface rust covering entire frame, but no perforation! So here it is, I've tried to reach out to guys on here about this method, and its not perfect and hasn't been through a winter yet...but we have had about a foot of snow up here already and plenty of salt and nothing sticks to my truck. Took weeks and I have peace of mind:

1. Eastwood brand internal frame coating. I used one can and can barely see any rust on inside of boxed frame. two cans would be preferable.

2. Prep..file, wire wheel/brush, stiff brush etc

3. Rust converter. Not paint. A milky solution, applied with a brush. Soak it. I started out with a Klean-Strip product but couldn't find any more so finished with rustoleum brand "rust reformer". 8oz bottles, used 5 I think.

4. Converter dries to a semi-glossy black finish after a few days.

5. Top coat with paint of choice. IMO, the thinner the better. you don't want paint so thick that it clings like a shell while rust goes on underneath. If there's rust, you want to see it!

6. I waited little over a month before VERY THINLY coating with used motor oil. Controversial and probably illegal, according to a recent thread, and probably not the best option. But with a brush it hardly drips, easy to wipe up excess and FREE! Fluid film would probably work great.

The key to this madness is that these products penetrate the metal and protect it without creating pockets where moisture can sit. Imperfect, but with periodic touch-up, the frame on my yota will another decade. Confidently. With your shop and equipment you could do even better.

Too filthy to take befores, here's a couple from tonight. Been though some nasty snow and slush, no car wash. Notice green on inside of frame, thats eastwood internal zinc phosphate/resin, good shit!

 

About a year ago I gave a deposit on a 2000 Taco at a Toyota dealer.
I was supposed to pick it up the next day after the state inspection was done and the truck was cleaned up.

The next day they gave me back my deposit. Turns out the truck had a rusted frame and they said they weren't allowed to sell it. Toyota bought it back from the dealer for less than what they allowed when they took it in on trade.

I'm really surprised this dealer is trying to sell one with a bad frame - even with a disclaimer.

 

Sorry for the jack but I have a 04 xtra cab that has no rust issues but never got undercoated. Under the recall can I get it under coayed for free?

 

Again sorry for jack didn't want to start another rust thread

 

Never had any reason to mistrust this dealer, but it now feels like I'm sort of bidding against the distributor for the truck. Salesman has already told me that they didn't discover the holes until after trading, as my initial offer is well below what they "have in it." And since there's a broken rear leaf, dealer can't put an inspection sticker on it - wink, wink.

Salesman also mentioned that the PO had received proper notification about the buyback and chosen not to respond.

Probably time to cut bait. Too bad, as it has the best-running 3.4 I've ever driven. Have owned a 1998 4Runner 3.4 and a 1999 Tacoma 3.4 at various times in the past. Also a 1988 4Runner 3.0, a 1993 truck 2.4, a 2002 Tundra 4.7, and a 2005 4Runner 4.7.

4toys

 

Well join OZ-T and just bitch about nothing but don't be of any help

 

what dafuq is this shit

 

Was thinking the samething ....just asked a question