Tacoma Frame Remedies

Hey gang,

Im new to this forum. I wanted to ask for some feedback regarding my rusty frame on my Toyota Tacoma. I bought the truck online a year or two ago and neglected to check the condition of the frame. It had some pretty bad rust damage with some areas completely rusted through. I took it to a mechanic that was recommended to me who fabricated some pieces and welded all the problem areas. I think the frame is in decent shape now but over time it will surely get worse. This same mechanic recommended that if I plan on keeping the truck for awhile I should take it to him to do a treatment where he removes the truckbed and sandblasts the whole frame & covers it with some sort of sealant. He did a decent job welding the frame and getting it in sturdy shape but it cost a pretty penny and I think he quoted me a couple thousand bucks to do this secondary treatment. Seeing if anybody has had something similar done and has any advice. Im kind of worried that if he sandblasts the frame, it will reveal more damage and may end up costing even more than I bargained for, but it may also be a wise investment for the long haul. The truck runs smooth and hopefully has a good amount of life still. The mechanic is Mardinly Enterprises in Broomall on the off chance that anybody is from eastern PA and familiar. I attached some pictures of my truck and the work that my mechanic showed me that he did on another truck.

 

Rust Prevention/Treatment Consolidation Thread | Tacoma World

 

Thanks @TacoGlenn seems like there's a lot of info there that will either inform or infuriate me!

 

It isn’t worth the money. Your five lug truck is probably only worth a couple thousand dollars. I would just fluid film the frame every year before winter. If you’re gonna invest a bunch of money I’d just fly west or south and try to find a new truck without rust. If he did decent job at repairing the bad spots your truck should last a long time with regular fluid film application.

 

@zwatson Ive seen similar trucks with over 300k miles selling for closer to 10k

 

'Similar' as in a 2.4 5 lug?

If so, those buyers have got more $ than brains.

 

Hi Nick!
some more detailed pictures of Your taco underneath and its current condition might be helpful for further advice and evaluation
you do have a sharp lookin' little 5-lug single cab that probably gets around fairly good in the big city + easy to park from your first pic (is that You standing next to it?)
they just don't make these little no-frills single cab compact pickups anymore so it is understandable the need and desire to keep it roadworthy... even when the crowd might tell you otherwise

again... more pics from underneath would be helpful!
i am also interested in the quality of restoration fab work your guy does

 

Last year I had a $9000 offer for my single cab 5-lug 5 speed, but then I would have to get another pickup so I declined.

 

And you have over 300k?

 

I honestly hadn’t heard of the amount of lugs on the truck determining worth or value. Are you trying to say that a first gen manual, 4WD Tacoma or a Tacoma with a bigger engine is worth more? I like the 4cyl. It’s good and gas and should last awhile from what I’ve heard. I’m just genuinely curious why you think the truck isn’t worth much.

 

I’ll try to see if I can post some pics if I can get it on a lift. But yeah, it suits my needs for driving around the city and finding parking and whatnot. I kind of did want a 4WD manual but I wasn’t able to find one at a decent price so this is what I have. Yeah I don’t have a lot of points of reference to compare his work to other welders/fabricators but it’s held up fine and I have only heard good things about his work. I’ll try to post some pics later

 

is the back window a slider?
the single cabs with that rear slider are the best!

 

In terms of market value, yes a 4WD 3.4 is worth more.

But there’s always an ass for every seat, so to speak, so there will always be someone who values the 2.4 2WD single cab truck for economy sake.

 

Before we get started, note my profile. I also have a 5 lug. It does all I want it to do. In fact, it could do more than I ask, so it exceeds *my* needs. But that doesn't address market value.

Among truck folks, they are the meter reader, pool man, pest control guy, teenage lawn boy truck. Totally different suspension and less options. All 5 lugs are 2wd.

All day every day, when comparing like for like. IE condition, miles, year, etc. A good bit more actually. Easy to verify by looking at things like Edumunds or KBB

I like it as well, and yes, it's quite durable. MPG is disappointing, as there is very little improvement over a similar v6.

Wasn't speaking of your specific truck, just that 5 lugs in general are less desirable by most folks. However, I was specifically responding to your comment that follows......

300k is fine if you've owned and loved on it. But you will not find many buyers at that mileage and price point. It's why I asked if it was 'similar' as in being a 2.4 5 lug. If it was a primo high trim 4wd manual with a pure rust free frame and a sheaf of maintenance records, maybe.

 

We're counting lug nuts because a "5 lug" is a 2wd truck. The 4x4 trucks have 6 lug nuts and are generally considered more desirable and from what I see have significantly higher resale. This is overlooking that pre-runners looked like 4wd trucks but were 2wd trucks with 6 lugs. The 4x4 trucks have a 2.7L version of the 4cyl engine for a bit more power for the corresponding weight gain.

 

cool thanks for the info! my truck has 170k miles on it if there was some confusion. I bought it for 6500 with 150k or so miles on it. I was just suprised by you saying it’s only worth a couple thousand bucks but I wasn’t sure if that was just hyperbole. It definitely seemed on par or less with other trucks that I was seeing online after looking for a long time. But maybe the market is more expensive in Philly than other parts of the country.

 

Consider the rusted frame and the $ to be spent in making it safe actually significantly lowers the value of the truck. The 6500 you paid might be a good price with a solid frame. Now subtract what the restoration work you've already paid for and the additional you will be paying for to make it safe and durable........

 

Yeah unfortunately a 5 Lug Tacoma is worth about half or less as much as a 6 Lug Tacoma. The one you saw for $10k had to have been a 6 Lug and who knows if it actually sold for it. It isn't actually about the lugs per say, but about the difference in suspension, 4WD and overall vibe/appearance. The market in the Midwest and East isn’t nearly as good as the West. Also, it being rusty vs rust free will significantly impact the value. You can put your VIN into Kelley Blue Book and see what it generally goes for in your area but I doubt it’s gonna be very close to $6.5k. Bummer but it happens, still a cool truck.

 

Yeah I’ve done quite some research on the Tacomas in my area (western US) after purchasing a 4x4 Crew Cab 3.4 for myself. These do run around 10k, or more with upgrades/low miles/maintenance history. The 2wd 4 cylinder run around 6k for a decently stock good one, at the most, assuming no issues. Seeing as you’re in the North East, I would assume the same or worse frame damage as the majority of the problematic first Gen Tacomas still alive today.
But I guess those values are in the west here where we have a lot more demand for the trucks, as more practical use for them.

 

yeah I appreciate the honesty of telling me what it’s worth and whether or not it’s worth investing money into the frame maintenance. I’m just torn what to do if I don’t go ahead with the framework. Would you just ride it to the ground and hope the frame doesn’t deteriorate quickly? I know I may not have gotten the sweetest deal on the truck, but at this point it’s what I got and it rides smooth. It was a matter of what was available and everything else I saw in that price range had other issues. I would like to think that I could find a more fitting Tacoma with no rust issues and maybe even with some more of the bells and whistles but that might take time and effort and it’s hard to be certain that car won’t have issues of its own. Is the market really more buyer friendly in the west? Not as many rust issues? I assumed that the only place there wouldn’t be rust issues on trucks would be in the southwest or desert. But long story short I got a truck that I like and wanna keep running for as long as I can now, but maybe I will look around for something else while I still have some working wheels.