Replaced frame.....?

I'm in the market for a 1st gen 4x4 and have ran across one with a replaced frame because of a rust issue.....Are the replaced frames holding up....? Will a replaced frame show up in a carfax report....?

I live in Georgia and I'm trying to find one that has spent all it's live in the deep south but they are kinda hard to find with low miles.

Brian

 

I've never had my frame replaced, so I can't say from first hand experience. But, it seems like people haven't had a problem with them.

 

Even at the exact same quality, or susceptibility to rusting, wouldn't you agree that a new frame is better than the 15 year old frame that it replaced? Even if it will rust out again (which is not ok by any means, btw) you pretty much got the clock reset by 15 years.

 

Yea.....Replaced frame is better than a rusted out one.....But if they didn't fix the problem with the new one and it stayed in the same environment for 5 or 6 years it could be a rusted out mess again.

Brian

 

uh yeah... I guess it's entirely possible. both new and old frames would both be made from metal, likely steel. Steel rusts. So both new and old frames could rust under specific circumstances.

but at the VERY least I would expect Toyota to have sprayed replacement frames with the same goo they used for the frame treatment program.

Sorry I can't give you an exact answer comparing the immunity the new frames have to the rust issue. I, too, am very curious about this.

 

I was assured by the Toyota rep who handled my frame replacement that the metallurgy was changed with the new frames and that they would not have the rust issues of the originals.

If the truck's frame was replaced by Toyota as part of the recall that means it also has a host of other new parts such as brake lines, lower control arms, e-brake and other hardware, leaf springs, etc.

 

I have no beefs buying a frame replacement vehicle as long as other rusted components were replaced. I would buy one.

 

Yeah definitely. I would prefer it and pay extra. A brand new frame? Hell yeah. Brand new suspension, hardware, and lines to boot? Awesome.

 

werd!

 

This pic is of a different truck it spent most of it's life in Washington state....It looks too good to be true unless it's been replaced recently.....If so it doesn't show up on car fax or Toyota's owners site when I type in the vin #.



Brian

 

The frames can lost longer than the truck if they are maintained and washed regularly. I definitely wouldn't look at a Tacoma with a new frame as being a downside.

 

A new frame shouldn't show up in a car fax. It's a good thing really, new frame, lca's, leaf springs, bolts everywhere. New brake fluid, ac system charge, brake lines, LSVP. If you keep the new frame sprayed with an undercoater like fluid film it will last for a lot more than 15 yrs!

 

Sweet

 

Toyota cut some corners on the truck I bought with a new frame. It's missing some little clips that hold the plastic wheel wells in so they come loose, the front diff bolts were not tight at all (barely threaded on actually), and the body was misaligned so I couldn't get the upper control arm bolt out without crunching in the inner fenders.

All in all, it was a damn good score on my part. Working on the suspension was cake.

 

Worth it just for that reason. Frozen nuts and bolts suck!

 

So what if it's been replaced, looks good!

I can say my WA truck's frame is not that glossy.

 

Frame replacement would not stop me.

 

I would think the frame would be good for the life of the truck, now.

Not that it won't rust; but you have many years to go, before a rust through.

 

I recently bought an '02 xtra cab (October '13) with a frame replaced in 2009 @ about 79k miles (per Toyota's records). The truck has been in Vermont and upstate NY its whole life. Now at 95k miles, and the frame still looks great, there is just a dusting of surface rust on the welds. I do not think that they replaced all of the parts that everyone else reports when doing the swap however. My fuel filter is rusted in place (the lines look good, but not the flange nuts). My leafs are totally shot, no way they have only 20k on them.

There is also no undercoating, so I sure hope the steel is different from the original. I'll be doing an internal coat myself in the spring just in case. I have seen lots of pics of replaced frames on this site (and while I was looking for a truck), and not one of them had undercoating.

 

I was told that they use a different manufacturing process on these frames to keep them from rusting so fast. Not sure if the e-coat is different or what, but they supposedly fixed the issue.