New to me 2004 Tacoma TRD 3.4l ext cab 5spd

Hello Everyone,

I recently purchased a 2004 Tacoma SR5 TRD 3.4l 5 spd ext cab from the original owner. I had been looking for a long time and went to look at this one because it was only an hour away in my state. Unfortunately I overlooked some of the rust issues. I bought it with 157k miles. The frame was replaced by Toyota in 2011. It has 10 year old 265/75r16 goodyear wrangler duratracs on it that I will be replacing. The previous owner installed Toytec Ultimate Coilovers in the front. Then the rear has Bilstein 5100 with OME Dakar Leaf Springs.

Here is when I bought it.





So far I have replaced both front and rear bumpers. I replaced the gas tank strap. Fixed the exhaust leak with a new o2 sensor.
In the next week I will be doing the lower ball joints and 4 new tires. I was planning on sanding the frame and rear end little by little using rust remover and putting some fresh farm and implement paint on it. My plan was to return to more of a stock height and replace all suspension components since most are rusted out, but I am struggling to figure out if it is worth doing all this. I love driving the truck it is a blast and my goal was to keep it long term and fix and repair as money and time allowed.

Here are some pictures of how it looks now.



The wet spot underneath the bed is water.

Some people have said the truck isn't in as bad of shape and others have said don't waste your money fixing it. Thought I would share here and hopefully find some words of encouragement or tell me to just sell it lol.

 

Everyone here will likely tell you it's toast. I think you definitely want to hammer test the frame to assess how bad it actually is. If it feels fine overall then I would do some sort of rust conversion and soak the inside and outside of the frame in fluid film or something similar and everything else underneath. Unless that frame rot is really bad coming from the inside out that truck is ready for many more years.

 

Yeah I bought most of the products to do the underside along with the frame. Product called "Krud Kutter The Must for Rust" rust remover and inhibitor. I also bought Eastwood Internal Frame coating. Its a Phenolic Resin with zinc additive. Was planning to use the rust remover on frame and underside but wasnt sure if I should use it inside the frame first before the eastwood product. Eastwood internal frame coating states "Converts, encapsulates, and seals rust on internal frame surfaces"

As far I can tell the frame rot isnt completely through on any spots just seems to be surface level. Here is 2 pictures of the inside of the frame. Obviously hard to tell from pictures but gives an idea. I did wash the entire inside of the frame out with a hose not too long ago. Just have not had a chance to start on the rust conversion/removal or internal frame coating.

Thanks for the reply.

 

Also I plan on doing stainless brake lines, but there are a lot of options. What do you guys recommend? I plan on replacing leaf springs with "Spring works" heavy duty replacement leaf springs. Anyone have any luck with these?

 

A rust-bucket...

 

I'm not so sure adding any paint or rust converter to the inside is worth it. I am personally planning on just soaking the inside of the frame with fluid film. I think rusty metal soaked in oil will be stable for a pretty long time and probably hold up just as well as converted and painted, maybe longer? You definitely should hammer test and wire wheel the worst spots to see how bad it is and try to remove what you can.

I had a really rusty rear differential that i wire wheeled/hammered scale, put on multiple coats of rust kutter (phosphoric acid) that converts rust and then a couple coats of black spray paint. If I didn't care about looks then I probably would've just done rust removal and fluid film. I used a rust converter because I wanted to paint it and was hoping to minimize the amount of rust progression underneath the paint. See my thread below.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2002-tacoma-rust-belt-restoration.769596/

 

It's not great, but we've seen worse here. In addition to the hammer test, I'd probe the rusty spots with a pick or screwdriver to see if any of those rust spots are actually holes. If the frame is still relatively solid, my suggestion would be removing the bed and grinding down as much rust as you can and then paint with something like POR15 or the Eastwood Chassis paint. Check the rear diff breather to make sure it isn't rusted solid, might be better off just replacing it. You're missing the gas tank skid, and I'd probably replace the leaf springs as well.

 

I'm in Ohio so I'm use to seeing vehicles look like that underneath. You have a good looking truck, and a good plan of attack to slow down/stop the rust. Don't let the Debbie Downers on here tell you different.

 

I removed the skid plate because it was rusted to shit. Planned to eventually get a replacement. Also plan on replacing the leaf springs. Any knowledge of the company "Spring Works" out of California I believe? I want to return the truck to more of a stock height, and they make a heavy duty replacement leaf spring pack for 1st gen Tacomas. Heard of others using General Spring as well. If anyone has used either of these leaf spring replacement packs please let me know as I am trying to figure out which one to go with.

 

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new project!

If you are just looking for new rear springs check out your local truck spring works, you can usually find one around any larger town. They don't carry fancy name springs but springs are their daily job and they know what holds up. They will have a catalog with the different spring rates and help you select what you need.

 

Great thread. Awesome showing the pictures how you taped everything off for the rear diff. Going to use this to refer to.

 

I think there are a lot of companies that rebrand and resell leaf springs. If you go to the Spring Works website, this would be your leaf springs:

https://www.springworks.com/tacoma-...-tacoma-4x4-heavy-duty-rear-leaf-springs.html

They list the product number as "90-237HD", the non heavy duty version is "90-237". If you google for those product number you find a lot of websites selling the same spring:

https://www.generalspringkc.com/200...ner-heavy-duty-rear-leaf-spring-4-3-1-leaves/
https://www.truckspring.com/products/truck-springs/replacement-leaf-spring-90-237.aspx

I think Dayton might be the actual manufacturer of the springs, for what it's worth

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4977309&cc=1418453&pt=7544&jsn=10939

 

anybody else think the front Spindles are pretty rusted out. I'd take one of the front wheels off and post of pic of the spindle and steering knuckle. OP its shown in the 8th pic you posted.

 

Add UCA, sway bar and end links to the “pretty rusted out” list. Good looking truck though.

 

The knuckle needs to be replaced, is the front spindle part of the steering knuckle? I am going to replace UCA, LCA, Steering Knuckle, all in one shot.

Am I better off to go with Aftermarket adjustable UCA like SPC if I plan on staying with up to a 2.5" lift? Everything else I am going to go OEM.

 

Others that have already lifted their trucks will have to answer this question. I think you'd be save with stock upper control arms around 2 inches max lift. You've got a lot of work to do saving this truck, but I think it can be done with hard work and many replacement parts. Treat that frame inside and out with a good rust prevention, and test it everywhere with a hammer to check for thin steel.