Frame rehab plans on my 99

New to the forum...

Mine is a tragic tale with a happy ending...so far. Had a 97 Extended Cab/V6/5 Speed/4x4 for nearly ten years before I discovered the rust cancer had destroyed her, and of course I found this out and about the "recall" program and called Toyota literally three weeks to the day of the 15-years-from-the-first-day-it-was-registered date. Sold it in 2012 to an optimist with FULL disclosure who thought his welder buddy could save it. Checked the VIN history recently and found it lasted about 2 years before getting junked and crushed. That made me sad. Also, his wife probably killed him because she came with him when he bought it and was clearly annoyed with him...

Anyway, after 4.5 years of browsing craigslist, and pining away I finally came across a deal I couldn't pass up, and I've also accumulated various tooling that make me confident of any repairs I need to do. So I got a 99 XtraCab/SR5/TRD/V6/5 Speed/4x4 with a nearly mint interior, mostly clean exterior (a few dings and scratches), and a frame that is I'd say 85 - 90% solid. First thing I did when I bought it was crawl under it and tap every square inch I could get to with a hammer. A previous owner applied an undercoat that mostly saved the frame. After driving 4 hours one way I was relieved it was a good as it was.

Areas of concern are:
- A hole in front of where the leaf spring meets the frame on the driver side
- A weak area (can tell the metal is thin, but not so thin that moderate tapping could poke a new hole) under the driver's side door about 18 inches long
- A small hole on the other side of that weak spot
- Both rear body mount brackets are compromised

What's nice is that in each area of concern there is very solid and thick metal all around so any repairs will have plenty of solid metal to weld to.

My Plan:
- Use a needle scaler to remove the old undercoating (it's chipping and peeling in areas)
- Cut out the areas of concern
- Wire brush any remaining loose rust
- Weld new metal support in areas of concern
- Fab new body mount brackets. I'm not spending 60 bucks per side when I can use scrap metal and make my own and weld them to the frame.
- I'll go ahead and get the Energy Suspension or Prothane body mount kits
- Eastwood inner frame coating
- Ospho exterior frame
- Degrease
- Two coats of Chassis Saver
- Two coats of a UV protectant coating like a Rustoleum or something

Considering the frame is about 1/8" thick metal I'm planning on using 1/8" plate steel for the repairs. I'll be removing the bed, but doing the forward sections with the cab and all still attached.

To those that know, does this sound about right? I'm not meaning this to be a Chassis Saver vs The Rest of the Rust Treatment World, but from what I have read it seems like the key is the prep work, and less the actual product since they all basically use the same concept. I'm wanting to use Ospho or other phosphoric acid treatment to make sure whatever rust is left over is "converted."

Thanks.

 

Welcome to Tacoma World

Yes, prep is very important

Remove as much loose rust as possible before applying rust converter, to make sure it reaches as much frame as possible. If you don't, only the rust layers will get "converted" and the real rust on the frame will continue spreading

You can also try to pressure wash the frame, to try to remove loose rust. Then finish the job with a chisel (or flat screwdriver) and hammer

When you will be done, you can have your frame greased, because removing all the rust will be impossible (unless you dismantle the truck and get the frame sand-blasted then repainted). Painting over rust will trap the rust underneath the paint, though if you use a rust converter before painting, it should be okay

For the body mounts, it's easy to fabricate them yourself with a plate you cut and fold to the shape of the original mounts. If you can salvage the old bushings on the mounts, reuse them

Also, what's rotten, you must cut it off because if you don't and just put a plate over it, it's like putting a bandage over a gangrenous wound. The rot will continue spreading under the plate you put, unseen to the eye.... untill you find out your frame has rotten again in a few years

And yes, coat/grease the inside of the frame. Boxed frames rot from the inside out

Good luck and don't forget to post pictures!

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm planning on documenting the whole thing for sure. Won't be starting until March-ish. I work a month of days and then a month of nights and ad infinitum and I'm about halfway through a month of days right now. On nights I can drive my wife's car to work, so it won't be inconvenient to have my truck pulled apart and incapacitated for a couple of weeks.

Body Mounts...from what I can see they're not in great shape. I don't mind spending the 80-90 bucks or whatever prices I've seen for the body mount kits. Having the kit will help line up holes and stuff for drilling. And yeah I'm planning on completely cutting off/grinding off the mangled mess of the ones on there now and start fresh.

From what I can tell it seems like products like Ospho or other phosphoric acid based products do a terrific job of killing rust, especially if the scaly stuff is broken free. Considering my last experience with my '97 I'm super hyper about this one...

What kind of grease would you recommend spreading on it when it's finished? Or if I convert the rust and thoroughly coat it would that be enough? Wouldn't a coating of grease make for a messy parking space when it gets wet and the run off drips down?

This is really phase 1 with this truck. It needs a suspension rehab as well, but that will have to wait until later in the year. Springs are frowns, shocks are original, etc. I'm not an off-roader, and it handles well enough around town I'm not in a huge hurry to drop nearly a grand in quality parts. All labor would be performed by me. When I do the suspension rehab then I'm going to give the differential, axle, and all that connects the same treatment I'm giving the frame.

The other thing I'm doing, since I'll be removing the bed this first go-around is killing the mild surface rust on the bottom of the bed and using Chassis Saver on its underside too.

Overall I am beyond euphoric to have this truck. It was like a 4.5 year nightmare suddenly came to an end when I slid into the driver's seat and took it for a test drive. Sounds the same and feels the same as my 97. It was like having a loved one come back from the dead. My wife just rolled her eyes.

Forgot to mention, it's only got 127,000 miles. Practically brand new...

 

Painting after using the rust converter should be fine, but I would recommend you grease it even if you paint the frame. The paint, with time will crack and let moisture in. Also, the real killer is the chemicals and salt they put on the roads during winter for de-icing. It will definitely end up eating/peeling off the paint, exposing your frame to rust again (I don't know where you are located, so salt may not be a concern for you, btw).

And by having your frame greased, I meant send it to a place where they rustproof cars. If you plan to do it on your own, I heard Fluid Film is very good for this.

 

Central Illinois so salt is a fact of life...

Fluid Film...I've heard of that. I'll have to check it out. Is that something you can DIY?

 

yes, it is something you can do yourself

You can find it in spray can format or 1 gallon format.

For the one gallon, you need an undercoating or a spray gun to apply it. Unless you use a paintbrush, but it would be way more easier with a gun. And quicker too

 

I was in the same situation last thanksgiving i was given this truck ,because previous owner had bought a 17 and toyota didnt want truck in trade if i didnt take truck it was going to be scrapped .this wasnt my first go around i did a frame off on my 83 20 yrs ago and im a fabricator by trade

 

,

 

I found online a company called safety cap ,i liked the idea but didnt seem like they offered enough coverage so i made my own longer and stronger

 

Full frame swap option

 

Nothing like being given a great project! Ha! I've come across the Safe-T-Cap, and thankfully the area they are designed to repair isn't really an issue...that I can tell so far from poking and prodding while crawling underneath. I like your idea of taking the basic concept and making your own. I was thinking for the driver's side of making something like what you've got that forms a "U" around the existing frame. I'm also going to open up several drain holes in low spots on around the whole frame. It blows my mind that Toyota overlooked such a feature on a boxed frame, especially when there are numerous locations for road grit/salt/water to get in. Lame.

How difficult was it to raise the body up like that on the front? I wasn't initially planning on doing that but that kind of access up front is tempting. My space isn't as expansive as yours looks to be, but I have 9 foot ceilings in my garage so height won't be an issue. It'd be cramped all around the rest of it though... did you have any guidelines to go by or did you just start removing stuff and seeing what worked?

 

Honestly the shorter the board the better as far as width goes , 2 bottle Jacks , about 35 cinder blocks and time. I asked a lot of questions everywhere before I did it . And replaced a lot of parts while it was torn apart . Pretty much brake and fuel lines . Body mounts, ecu harness, anything connecting the motor to the engine bay , and steering rack . Looking back it wasn't terribly hard

 

I think my wife would have a cow if she walked out into the garage and saw the cab floating...haha

How long did it take you?

Did you replace the various lines because they were in bad shape, or just as a precaution?

The more I think about it the more I'm leaning towards doing this since I'd have virtually total access to the frame. Cleaning and coating the top of the frame, and having better access for welding on new body mount brackets are my two biggest motivations...

 

After I finished making the repair pieces I did it for both sides after I had welded them completely in I did drill drain holes half inch I think I went with about every 10 inches so I can stick the hose in one of the frame holes and douche it out after the snowfall to get the salt out

 

How long did it take being a back burner project or actual work time lol . I'm probably 8 or so months into it but have maybe 40-60 hours in . And thats coating the frame and making runs to the parts store . My biggest advice is have a plan of attack and the parts you want to replace before hand . Makes things much easier. I replaced my brake lines just cause . I actually got new fuel lines from the guy I bought the frame off of . If you go this route feel free to message me for more info

 

I got my truck week of Thanksgiving i took that week off it was back together the following sunday so id say about 35-40 hrs

 

Start date target is March 6. I'll be as thorough as I can with pictures. I work a 3 on/3 off schedule and March 6 is my first day off that week, so what I'll probably do is wait to post an update until I'm done working those three days. With some of the stuff I've got schedule in March I can see this dragging on through the end of the month. My deadline is April 8 when I switch from working nights back to days and need to drive the truck. I can drive the wife's van while working nights.


My goal for the first three days is to have the bed off, cab lifted, and frame needle scaled. Anything beyond that would be gravy.

 

You should be able to do most of that in day 1 start spraying everything with pb blaster now ,i did that for a week before i started everyday gave everything a little squirt i think i only broke 1 bolt

 

I appreciate your optimism. Should you be right that means two days of gravy...