Back with another frame. Need your opinion please

my '02 was coated by Toyota in '07 and last year one of the rear shocks broke off of the frame, taking the shock mount with it. there were a bunch of other holes in the rear frame that i could have easily knocked through with a hammer. see below.

I was about 6 months before the 10-yr extended warranty on the rust coating expired, so i was qualified for a frame replacement. otherwise i would have been 100% f'd. maybe 7-8k for a new frame?

 

One time coating is not a solution for making the frame rust proof. This was one of these deals, where Toyota tried to solve the problem: "I'll coat your frame for free and you f*** off". And later it was used as an excuse in the "extended warranty" program to reduce the number of vehicles qualified for the frame replacement.

Fighting the rust is a constant battle. You will never win it, the only thing you can do is fight it every fall and spring, every year. Any time you stop or delay the treatment, the rust will advance and will never go back. Once metal turns into rust it will never tun back to metal. The rust prevention of the frame (and the entire body) is as much important maintenance item as an oil change. Buying Tacoma with rusted and then painted frame like that is like buying a truck with 150k miles when the first oil change was at 149k miles.

 

If the price was right I would love to buy another one that someone lacks the skills to rebuild .

 

Unicorns take TIME to find. I was looking for a so-called "unicorn" and what I ended up with, I'm happy with it. It had a few more miles on it than I'd like, but it's my "play" truck and I love it for what it is.

^^^This

I'd ONLY be looking in places where you know they don't use ice on the roads. Keep in mind that in FL they could have the same rust type thing happen with going in/out of saltwater.... Trust me, I saltwater fish pretty regularly and I ALWAYS power wash it when I get home and I don't even touch the salt water. The mist is enough for me to be wary! I KNOW what salt water does to stuff.

Also, I'd be thinking about how much you're willing to put into it. How much work you want to do, and what you really want the end-state to be. "At the end of all this I want: XXX. I'm willing to put: XXX money into it. I'm willing to do XXX work. I'm willing to educate myself on: XXX." After you answer those questions and get your budget ready, THEN that will really narrow your parameters to find what you want- in the right place.

I have a '02 Tacoma that has 136K miles on it, and I'd drive it across the country tomorrow. I've totally and completely replaced the suspension on it- myself- and I've done some other things to "upgrade" it where it is now. I know ALL about the front end of that truck and I am completely confident that I could fix/replace/solve any issue in the suspension because I taught myself how it works!

Also, keep in mind that "stuff" like wheels, tires, leaf springs, lower ball joints, lifts, coils, shocks, spark plugs, starters, etc. are all replaceable. What you're going to have a hard time doing- albeit not impossible- is replacing the frame...

Hope that helps.

 

Solid advice...

 

Awesome! So yeah, I'd recommend a topper with the extra head room AND side windows you can open/lock from the outside as well as the inside. The suicide windows work really well for this.

This is what I mean by side windows that open suicide style: http://www.socaltruck.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/sidewindoor.308123250_large.JPG

To be able to get into your truck bed / living space without having to crawl into the bed is invaluable if you are living out of your truck, especially outside. I have a friend who just spent the last 1.5 years living out of her tacoma and she gave me a bunch of tips the last time we went camping.

 

There's enough rust on the rest of that thing to make life hell should to need to replace anything else on that thing.

Frame might be fine, but all the other bolts I see are rusted.

 

How is this frame?

 

The frame was sprayed, clearly, but you can see there is some rust underneath the paint or whatever undercoating it is, as it has already started to peel off on some places (pics 4,6,10,11,12,13) and you can even see it by the texture (pics 4,7,8,11) on some spots. As I said earlier, these frames rot from the inside out.... so a hammer test would be needed. It's a good sign they were able to put it on a lift, but still, I'd do a hammer test, just to be sure, as it could be rotten inside but not to the point of breaking in half


if it is far from you, I'd pass because this crap only accelerate the problem, so
I'd scrape that stuff off and treat this rust ASAP

The good point is if it was sprayed by toyota, the truck might be eligible for a new frame, but don't count on this....

 

This is a completely different truck than the last one. I just didn't want to start a new thread.

I saw a few areas of concern but this one looks way better than the last one.

 

looks better, yes but it seems to be as rusty underneath the paint than the last one...

 

love the flag on the diff, painted? or sticker?

 

Mother balls.

Been looking all over the southern states. Nothing.

 

don't want to be the negative one, but rust on these trucks is pretty nasty. In the end, you still decide if you buy or not.

I can tell you that mine looked horrible, peeling off paint and rusty flakes all over it but it was rock solid everywhere. I could even see fresh shiny metal when I scratched the rust off. Rust does not mean it's not a good truck, but you have to put it to the test to see how bad it is

Also, as strange as it may sound, not being sprayed actually helps, as there is nothing trapping the rust and moisture against the frame, so rust wasn't/isn't accelerated. Rusty but greased is better than being rusty and painted over, as the grease prevent moisture from building up, while paint is like a bandaid on a gangrenous wound (unless treated properly before painting)

anyway, If you can't perform a hammer test or find someone who can do it for you, it's too risky to buy a rusty one

 

It's very hard to judge the integrity of the frame by pictures, although they are helpful. They really need a hands on inspection. Post 48 looks very good, but without an inspection, its a gamble.

I've had three frames succumbs to rust. My current frame is questionable. I never saw it on any of them until the dealer inspected the frames. Trucks that lived in cold weather climates are suspect. You can't be too diligent in investigating the rust. This is your hard earned money we are taking about. Spend it wisely. Get an inspection. I'd do it for you if close enough.

Frames can be fixed. If done correctly they will be better than EOM. If you are up for that, then plunge ahead. Just be aware of the risk you take.

I love my 1st gen. I've had four of them, and want to keep this one. But this is a fundamental issue that can't be ignored.

 

I would like to get a new frame and have it filled with foam or some kind of sealer where its closed off but hollow. ill find out my cost on a frame and get back to you guys. Buy you can always buy some frame gussets from safety caps. I would totally do this if my frame were bad enough. Actually i might have this done to this frame. I have an amazing welder locally .
go here for the parts.
http://www.autorust.com/product-category/toyota-tacoma/tacoma-xtracab-4wd/

 

the problem isn't water or crap entering the frame through the holes on the frame rails. Yes, there can be some stuff getting in, but the main cause of internal corrosion isn't this (unless you go in water with your truck, this becomes more of an issue).

If you completely close off your frame, it might make it rust faster, as moisture or anything that gets in will have no way to escape at all

It's actually the phenomenon of condensation that causes moisture to buildup inside the frame and rust to develop. Since the frame is underneath the car, never exposed to the sun, it doesn't get to dry often, providing an environment for rust to thrive in untill it eats through the frame from the inside out. Rustproofing the inside of the frame will prevent moisture from developing while rustproofing the outside will protect it from the elements.

Condensation happens when we switch from hot to cold temperatures and cold to hot temperatures (spring/summer - fall/winter - spring/summer and on and on). It is much more pronounced in northern areas, where there is a bigger temperature variation in between seasons.

Also, it is known that the steel used for these frames is of questionable quality, with very low resistance to corrosion, hence why these frames get turned to swiss cheese in no time if not taken care of, especially in cold weather areas.

 

Honesty, for what these trucks are going for, I think it would be easier to buy a high mileage one with a solid frame and rebuild the motor then to try and find a low mileage one thats solid all the way around. One dealer was asking $18,900 for an 04 with 90,000k. Thats 2nd gen money. On average I'm seeing these go for 16k with low mileage.

 

Good condition trucks with low mileage are out there, but they are hard to find.

Actually as long as it has been well maintained, mileage isn't really important. It's just a number after all. Of course there is the normal wear and tear parts that will need to be changed.

Also, mileage tells you how far the truck has been driven, but not how it was driven. 150k and not abused is better than 30k and abused

 

I agree, however, lower mileage and good condition (usually means not abused and hardly driven) means the current parts will last longer.