Another.....Rear shock mount broke off my frame today... Is my frame junk? Thread....

good point, undercoating definitely hides it pretty well. unfortunately the same areas with high rust have a lot of people undercoating. the rust ends up building under that and you don't notice until it's too late. i see your point though. i'm just trying to make the point that this stuff usually gets out of hand before the owner notices/has a chance to correct it, and then it's too late

 

Very true. I'm in Cali, but central. I see plenty of rusted out vehicle just a few minutes up the hill. Most of them dont have undercoating. So I can't speak for how that shit show unravels, but I know it hides it. I think we all just need a steady oil leak to keep it rust free lol

 

Haha i like the oil leak idea. shit show is a good way to put it for sure.

 

The issue is that some people will tell them 'oh its just surface rust'.

 

Easily. The rot happens from the inside where you cant see.
I have owned 3 gen 1 tacomas.
2003 initial purchase brand new. Undercoating was done on recall -- 3 years before the frame warranty was up I took it in for inspection -- passed. A year later I took it in again just for peace of mind. The inspection process is literally smacking the frame with a hammer. Inspection failed... frame caved in.. it looked fine -- no surface rust. Toyota replaced frame, leafs, brake lines @375k miles... gave me a loaner truck for 2 months -- I crashed the loaner -- cost to me $0.00
4 months later my son rolled that truck several times RIP...

2002 -- purchased used with 120k was very rusty as it came from upstate NY (I'm in NJ) -- undercoating was done --- frame, leafs, brake lines all replaced at 156k-- cost to me $0.00

1996 -- my son purchased used with 225k -- this is the truck in my post. Knew the frame wasn't replaced. I believe 95.5 to 97 did not get replaced apparently there was a buyback of something like $7000. Not sure. It was already past the window of opportunity when he bought it very little rust. The truck was repaired in that area -- and upon purchase I knew it would likely be an issue in the future, so we used it as a negotiation chip. Even up to the point of failure, the frame looks in very good shape for being 25 years old. Had it at my mechanics house in January as it needed a new rack -- he offered me 5k for it. Hes good and he knows what hes doing, any mechanic in their right mind wouldn't offer 5k for a vehicle with a rotted frame --- he looked it over and couldn't tell.

Moral of the story is that most of the time these issues aren't apparent by visual inspection. Toyota made good on these frames for 15 years. I got 2 for no cost. I have driven a tacoma for over 400k miles. I purchased a 2020 and hope to drive that for 300k or more. Now that I have lived this adventure I'll be using fluid film. I'll report back in 25 years and let you know how it goes

 

Correct. In 1 year my frame went from solid to cardboard. That was right around the time when NJ started spraying the roads with brine instead of using the salt pellets. That brine is liquid death for vehicles. It's hard to explain if you haven't experienced it. It stays on the roads for months. Once it gets wet it just ends up everywhere under your vehicle. For years salt alone didn't cause huge issues. That wet brine rinse is really what causes the majority of the rust issues. It just gets everywhere

 

Yup. In my area, the roads have "salt" on them for 6 months of the year. Destroys vehicles very quickly.

 

yes.....i have lived in mn my whole life. I have never seen anything rust this bad or this quick. There is a company that makes a coating that they use to coat rebar to slow/prevent rust. I am surprised truck companies dont use this as a dip...but i suppose there is a cost to it. Hell the trucks are already $45k.

 

I feel your pain brother

 

Same thing happened to me, passenger side. I believe I got the autorust weld on bracket: https://www.autorust.com/product/upper-rear-shock-mount-passenger-side-4wd-tac-161u4-r/

$300 for my mechanic to weld it on. No issues since, that was April 2019

From finding out what it was to totally fixed was 2 weeks or so. Plus a week or two before of assuming the new clunk from my rear end was my exhaust, the rearmost hangar was gone so I assumed it was just smacking the leaf pack. Wowee was I freaked when I saw the shock just free. Took it off immediately and came here for advice.

 

Well this is promising. Hopefully I have enough good steel in the surrounding areas to use the auto rust cap. I'm assuming you also got their replacement weld on shock mount too... I'll be ordering a kit in the next few weeks. I'll post up pics

 

Yes the weld on shock mount, it's a plate that covers all that has been turned to Swiss cheese. I think that's the one I linked on autorust.com. If you're unsure about what to order send em an email, they were really friendly when I anxiously emailed to make sure it had sent.

Here's a SHITTY pic of the thing, w a little extra plate my mechanic added. I did a shit job of undercoating this past year and so there's some rust rash, but this is at least an idea of the fix.

 

Thanks man -- I'm going to order 2 parts -- the entire section cap along with the shock mount.

 

Heck yeah! Keep us posted, maybe throw some pics up once it's fixed!

 

X2
...and in the middle of jobs pixs too!!

 

Will do. I'm roughly a month out. I've taken this COVID 19 thing as an opportunity to catch up on stuff I need to get done so I've been a bit busy and a bit strapped for cash. I dont need the truck as i have 3 tacos, but i could use the money if i can sell it. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it goes in about a month.

 

i bought the safety cap kit for the passenger side. i might abandon the project. It is rotting at an alarming rate. I checked just 3 months ago and things were much better than now. That fucking salt is like acid on these trucks for some reason. I have been driving in winter weather for 40 years and never seen anything waste away this fast. It is unreal. My uncles both have fords from the early 90s still on the road and they are fine frame wise. I just cant understand. I remember growing up you would see cars with holes rusted smooth through the doors and floors that you could put your hands and feet through (just needed to make sure your heater kept working).

I had it for 10 years. I guess thats pretty good for a used truck but im bummed to not get 200k out of it. in every other way its fine.
The real pisser is you cant get a small/med truck like it these days for a fair price or at all.

Right now this thing is going to have to wait until i find something else to drive. Then i can pull it apart and see how bad it is. For the most part i have all the tools and i know a fabricator/welder. Its either that or send it to the bone yard. It might make someone a good mud truck as well i guess. I have been looking for a solid 2 months daily and havent found jack squat. Also...its been a while since i bought a car/truck (because the toyota has been so great to me).....and i cant believe that you cant find anything for private sales. Its all dealerships and used car lots which ultimately is a rip off. Im going to keep hunting in hopes i find someone that didnt take the dealer trade in price of 50 cents and wants to sell privately. I think most folks must just take the lowball offer on trade for convinece sake. I cant explain it. Back when i was growing up (to shake my old man stick a bit) private party auto sales where everywhere.

 

Good luck man, what ashame you cant fix it. I bought the mid frame cap and the shock mount. Just got it this week and I'm hopeful to have it all fixed up shortly. Small trucks are a premium everywhere, supply and demand I guess. When my 03 tacoma was rolled by my son it had a brand new frame and 375k miles. That truck would have made it to 500k. I took a gamble buying one that didn't have a replacement frame. I couldn't believe I was paying 5k for something with 225k. I figured that these things were worth $1k tops with that many miles. I was hard pressed to find something 20 years old for less than 8 grand (V6 4x4 anyway). Once this frame broke, I decided I wasn't going to look used, I was going to pay at least 10 grand for something that had 100k and was 10+ years old. I approached it like I did with my 03. Put that 10k towards something brand new and dont worry about what might break, or how it was maintained. I just went out and bought an 2020 SR 4x4 . It isnt the greatest, but it's got 4wd, its brand new, and I'll throw some fog lights, f5s, and 32s on there and itll meet my needs. I'll do fluid film every year now that I've got experience with NOT wanting to fix rusted shit.

Once I fix my 96, I'll sell it. I'm figuring I'll still get 3k for it since it's in pretty good shape for a truck that is 25 years old. I gave my son my 02 and I've convinced him to save up and buy something brand new next year. 20 years in a first gen and TBH, I've had 3, the only one I didn't have any real problems with was the one I purchased new back in 03 and maintained. I find myself always fixing something. I miss that first truck.

 

Heres all 3 in 1 pic.

This is what itll look like once I put my 265/75 and f5s on. I've gotta pick up some oem fog lights. Not sure what your after, but $10 k for a used truck that has 100k+ miles vs putting that 10k towards something brand new and not having to worry about anything for 10 years except general maintenance.... my truck walked out the door for 26.5k. Not a bad deal for a 4x4 with modern technology. I pulled off the side steps which I didnt want and it would have saved me $500. I didn't want black, but the price was right and I'll drive this for 20 years.