Frame Rust in First Genetrations

Hey Fellow Addicts and Junkies,
What have you people done to your first generation frames that are not rust damaged to prevent them from suffering from frame rust?
All input greatly appreciated.

 

if its not rusted now, you should be fine. just keep painting bare steel and or spray inside the frame too.

 

Fluid film every year.

 

Thanks for the tips Jon and Paranoid.

 

I got a buddy who swears by this stuff. I'll give it to the company for also making a bad ass bedliner. Another thing you can look at is Corroseal. I usually hit my frames with it when I get them just to be safe. Its easy to use and so far so good for me.

http://www.monstaliner.com/monstaliner_how_to_stop_rust.htm

 

or you can make the frame out of galvanized steel, like I did on mine

bye bye rust!

 

do you have a pic of that? did you make it then have it galvanized? as welding on that shit sucks lol
you could also move to where no salt is on the road.

 

IMO it's Fluid Film or Waxoyl outside and inside. I would never use a coating that turns to plastic or rubber as they allow moisture to propagate unchecked between the coating and substrate. It only takes an adhesion issue or a damaged area in the coating for this to happen.

 

Yes, I will post pictures of this when I will be over with all the repairs on my truck

Though, I only did this to the rear end of the truck, under the bed

I actually folded galvanized plates over the old frame then welded them onto it. Basically, I just wrapped my old frame with galvanized steel

Not only will it never rust again, it is also much, much more stonger than the orignal

Anyway, in order to do that, your frame must be good and not rotten

 

I heard that it's a bad idea to weld galvanized metal. Be careful folks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_fume_fever

 

Does the PNW use salt on their roads? If not, you should be okay. Can't hurt to take precautions but if your frame is rust-free after all this time out there, then I wouldn't worry much. If you live somewhere where they salt the roads in the winter (or live by the beach) then that's a very different story.

 

Move somewhere where they don't salt the roads...

But if it's not rusted already, you're probably fine to keep doing what you're doing now (maybe nothing?). They they salt the roads where you drive, you'll want to take some extra care, like washing your truck more often, or throwing a coat of paint on the frame before the snow sets in every year.

 

Hello Everybody,
Thank you for all of your responses and wonderful suggestions. I do live in the Seattle area, and yes, it does snow up here. It just does not snow very much, but when it does snow heavy, it really cripples the western Washington area. I don't believe they use salt on the roads here when it snows, because this part of the country does not devote a whole lot of resources to snow removal since heavy snow does not occur that often. I have looked for salt on the roads after the roads have been attended to by the highway department, and I have never found any salt. I could be wrong, though.
Our old 1999 Tacoma does not suffer from any frame rust, and I have looked hard at its frame over the past year especially since I have been doing the research on this frame rust issue. I have been down below it more times than my 35 pound pregnant 48 year old ugly ass can take to bang on the frame, and I have not found any evidence of rust. It is kind of scary because every time I do a little research on this subject I go back out to my garage with a tap hammer and look again, which as I have discussed is not the best thing for my permanently pregnant body. Does anybody know if all of the Tacomas from the factory are prone to the frame rust, or were some frames treated differently than others? From the research I have done, all of the first generations were produced in Fremont, California at that huge Toyota NUMMI production plant, which is now closed from what I understand.
Our old 1999 Tacoma is a SR5 Extra-cab with the 5-speed and the 3.4 liter V6. It has been used in the snow more times than I can count. I never paid close attention to the frame in all of the years I have owned until I became aware of the frame rust issue about a year ago. It has always been a very well cared for old rig that in the last five years has been stored in our garage, which is unheated. It is now mostly used as our fixer upper house fix it truck. I am currently researching what to do to keep the frame on our Tacoma in tact since my family can't really afford to replace this old Tacoma, and this Tacoma has proven to be an invaluable tool and resource for our entire family. I can't even begin to list all of the useful things this old Tacoma has done in the dozen years that I have owned it.
Thank you all once again,
Paul

 

putting salt on the roads has less to do with the amount of snow you get, and more about the recognition that massive amounts of salt can (and does) negatively impact the environment. So us hippy bug eaters on the west coast don't use salt. They don't use salt in the high Sierras, and they get a ton of snow (when it's not a drought, lol)

 

http://www.autorust.com/

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/body-chassis/1603-toyota-tacoma-rotted-frame-fix/

 

Excellent article.
Thanks Pete

 

For areas that use sand instead of salt for roads...
The sand blasting from the sand can be just as harmful.

As the sand will errode the frame's painted surface.
And any exposed bare metal... will rust.

Clean the frame often... and repaint so no bare metal is showing.
That includes the nooks and cranny's of the frame's exterior.
As far as the interior... spray some anti-rust prohibitor inside that
at least once a year.

Bottom line... if bare metal is exposed... it will rust.
...Even in the southwest.
tho' it's much easier to maintain/clean up during the 365 days of the year.

Truth is... many folk do nothing pro-active to prevent frame rust degradation.