[uh-oh update] Opinions on 2001 Rust ... ok or no-k?

[update - follow up at post # 31]
Hey guys, I'm looking at a 1st gen and got these photos from the seller. Can you tell how this looks? I'm going to go check it out tomorrow in person, plan to do some hammer hitting and screwdriver jabbing. TIA

 

RUN. DONT LOOK BACK.

 

Honestly just looks like surface corrosion

 

Depends, I wouldn't bother. I'm my opinion they are too expensive to be worth it. Go 2nd gen.

 

How much are 2nd gen's going for these days?
They are probably still under depreciation?
But they do have the best fenders!

 

Are You handy with an internal borescope type camera
Get us some internal frame pics on that taco
For curiosity!

 

Scotch Brite pad and some rust stop paint would make that look like new

 

That's the key, not what we say from photos.

If you have a faux borescope (camera that attaches to your phone to view) check inside the closed parts of the frame too.

Where the leaf springs mount and up close to the cat are prime exam places too.

 

Ehhh, you really need to go check it out and probe/hammer it. Pictures help, but it is always better to go check in person
Doesn't look too bad, but still, rust can sometimes hide bad surprises, especially when it's about truck frames...

The thing is that they tend to rust from inside out, so what you cannot see is often worse than what you can see...
Yes, first area to check is where the leaf springs attach to the frame, right behind the cab. Then the inner frame rails by the gas tank and catalytic converter. Then around the rear shock mounts, where they attach to the frame. Those are usually the worst areas for rust

 

Is this what the taco frame looks like once all the OEM protective pee coating flakes off

 

Looks surface to me from the pics. You can always get it treated and re-coated if your nervous about it as well. I did it to my 04...costs about $600 where I'm at.

 

That doesn't look bad. I'd jump all over that here in the midwest. It doesn't have doritos flaking off it.

 

Pass that shit up!!
If You can’t even see any black paint anymore, I consider that too far. At least depending on price, I’d buy it for like 3-4k maybe haha. I just went through the process of sanding and getting rid of all rust on my frame, not very much at all, I did more of preventative maintenance, but it’s a job and remember rust is a true cancer. There are rust free trucks out there, just keep searching and wait a little longer. I looked for months before finding mine and it was worth it. There were a couple I found that I almost bought but decided to hold out and found a very rust free truck by waiting a little longer, I highly encourage it.
If that’s the outside just consider how bad the inside could be, if it was on salty roads that sprayed salt inside, I’m guessing it was never cleaned and could make a better cereal than Frosted Flakes.

As for rust prevention, I highly recommend Fluid film. It really does work, I’ve used it for about 2 years now and every bit of rust I’ve put it on has stopped. The only down side is that it’s not permanent. It’s about $40 a gallon and a gallon can coat your frame at least 5-6 times. I usually coat 1-2 times a year but I’m in Florida with no salt other than the beach breeze. So a gallon could last a couple years depending on how often you use it, such as living in the salty states.
Trust me though, the stuff works and is crazy cheap compared to others I’ve tried. And I’ve seen multiple things where POR15 was used over a frame and the rust continued and you couldn’t even tell before it was too late to fix it and the frame was cheese, not saying POR15 is bad though, just has to be used right.
It Also works as a good lubricant for shop stuff like old pliers that have gotten stiff, etc.

I don’t work for them btw haha, that seems like such a commercial but it is just good stuff.
hope this helps

 

thanks for the nod on POR15
as far as FF i just started trying it out last year, the only issue i had was in the rear wheel wells and how easily it washed off on very wet roads and as the power wand hosing place i clean the winter slop off at
but maybe i applied too late in season, cold out, and did not let some dirt build up on it first, new winter season is right around the corner! maybe this year there will be a ton more snow and melted slop to test it out on

i did have it on all winter on almost naked Toyota steel (freshly blasted) on the passenger side by the cat, going to inspect it soon to see if more than just flash rust developed in that area, slight hint of orange with below moderate road salt and slush last season

 

Yeah doesn’t stay on the best especially near the tires but it does leave a light film even after washed away.
I’ve tested it on my body and a piece of sheet metal, and it does wash off but still does leave a slight coating. I applied some to a couple small paint chips that started to rust a little and after a couple days I gave my truck a wash with the pressure washer and I noticed after the FF had washed off it was still kinda hydrophobic and I could still feel it a little greasy.
It definitely could stick better but at $40 a gallon it works wonders, and last.

 

i had FF sprayed on naked blasted steel back by the spring hanger on the passenger side (got too cold to finish a primer coat), then checked one winter morning in near zero temps and was a huge amount of orange flash rust popped up i freaked out! somehow FF just washed off running around in the rain before it turned to snow then the after salted roads, cannot pre-treat liquid stuff here if it rains first

 

You’re right, I can’t speak on the level of salt roads. I’m in Florida and just deal with the salty air near the beach, which isn’t nearly as bad. Have you painted the frame yet? If not I just finished painting mine with KBs diamond clear coat, supposedly super solid stuff. It’s acrylic based and seems pretty hard and is meant for bare metal. I haven’t even driven the truck on the road yet to really rest it’s durability so can’t really say wether it’s good or not but I can say that it applies fairly easy and smooth, and sticks well. Definitely don’t see it peeling away. It was $60 a quart but I got 3 thick coats on my frame and I still have about a quarter left.
If you do use it take your time and follow the instructions, I was rushing and did too thick of coats and didn’t wait long enough between them now there are some bubbles in it and a couple runs but other than that it’s stuck very well and I hope it’s as durable as it’s claimed to be.

 

working on it slowly! couple of hours a day in the evening over several days for a completed small section of a few feet is going to be a long process
have to take a week or two off in between sections

 

Haha I did all 3 coats on mine within about 5 hours. If you don’t care about bubbles, then I would just do it all in one day. And mine really isn’t that bad, I think it’s more important to do thin coats that it is to wait, as the only parts with bubbles are the thickest parts where it dripped.
The longest part for me was cleaning the old paint and rust spots off the frame. Came out nice though shined with 100 grit sand paper on an angle grinder attachment, I’ll post another pic tomorrow of what I mean by bubbles and let you decide if you could live with it haha
This is without the clear coat

 

Better take some mothers polish to that bad boy.