Question about rust 2nd gen

Aloha,

I've had my 09 DCLB TRD Sport since 2014, I got it at 25k miles second owner, it's now at 105k miles. I got the recall notice about the frame in 2018 I think, got it inspected, it was fine and they didn't coat it because it wasn't in a cold weather state. Moved to northern Virginia for 4 years where they put brine on the roads, and then moved back to Hawaii. I pretty much forgot about the whole frame thing, just did regular maintenance from what the manual said. Costco said at my last visit that there was some rust on the frame when they were rotating the tires, and that took me down the rusty frame rabbit hole. Guess I should've gotten it coated in VA when it was still under warranty but didn't think about it.

How bad does this look? Would fluid film prevent it from spreading? Plan on driving it for several more years so would like to prevent the rust from getting worse. The last two pictures show the worst spot, the front right, the rest looks OK to me but I'm not an expert. I live near the ocean so there's a lot of salt in the air. Should I use salt away and then spray with fluid film yearly? Would salt away take off fluid film? thanks

 

You need to crawl under the truck and look at the inside rails.
The frame next to the drivers side convertor, and the rear frame on the passenger side. Starting at the front leaf spring mount, and up and over the muffler , are the first place to go.
Again, on the inside portion of the frame. From the under the truck looking out.

Also any areas where the frame is laminated. (2 layers)

 

I'd definitely brush the loose scale, paint what I could and fluid film it [frame] inside and out well. I'd also do the bottom, especially at the seams and the attachment points/brackets that are just painted steel. Still in decent shape but it can go from good/OK to HOLY CRAP!!! in just a year or two once the rust worms get started.

 

Looks good but there is a few spots that you need to look at.

Rear Bumper/tow bumper. (These don’t get replaced on a frame recall)
Inside the open “C” Channel
Inside the closed “C” Channel if possible

Here is an example photo of mine on a different topic.

 

borescope the inside of the frame also
flush with lots of water then coat with your chosen product

 

Thanks for the responses. I crawled under and took some pics as suggested, looks like there's some worse spots. Mostly on the passenger's side. I think I'd have to lift it to get the best look at things. Salvageable?
?

 

From what I see, It doesn't look too bad.
Just keep it coated with a rust prohibitor.