Broken cab mount (rust)

I’ve been chasing after a weird rattle/clunk that is coming from rear of truck whenever you hit a rough patch of road. It even occurs if the truck is not under power or even running. I thought it might be a loose spare tire but that’s secure. Anyway I put truck on lift today and pushed on rear driveshaft and noticed that I am able to move in the carrier bearing (which is new <5000 miles). Is that normal?

I also noticed that the front support of my gas tank is almost completely rusted away. I don’t think that is the rattle I hear, but how do I fix this? It seems like if this rusted completely through, the front of the tank would just drop down. Also, should the tank be exposed like this? Am I missing a shield or strap?

 

So the driveshaft should be able to move within the carrier bearing, but not more than maybe 1/4-1/2" up and down. That clunk you're chasing could be many things. Do you know if the rear wheel bearings have ever been replaced? Sometimes they can clunk (mine did), when the weight of the truck lifts off of one side of the axle and then comes back down on it (I replaced or checked many things before narrowing it down to the wheel bearings).

And yes, you're missing a fuel tank skid plate. I'm assuming it rusted away before you bought the truck. I don't know how you'd go about fixing that rust issue. Maybe some additional gas tank strap on the front could help keep the tank in place. Are you doing any rust prevention on this truck? If not you may wanna start ASAP

 

Thanks Jerad. I was planning on pulling the bed and using POR15 or fluid film on the frame to address the rust issue. I’ll look to see if the bracket that holds the front part of the tank is available, but to be honest I think that may have been welded to the crossmember, not bolted on. Let me check FSM.

 

Fuel tank skid your missing:

 

Thanks!

 

You say it's noticeable when going over a rough patch in the road even with the truck not running.....did you turn it off and coast through a rough patch to test that?

Anyway, last time I had a rattle/clunk from the rear it turned out to be a worn shock bushing.

 

Could the noise just be the fuel tank clunking up and down? Or is it pretty well held in place?

 

The carrier bearing could be one thing. Mine has degraded a lot and has way more than 1" of play so I think that's the culprit. I haven't had a chance to replace mine yet to confirm. However, your issue could be a number of things. Especially with your observation of the rusted gas tank which does hold a lot of weight but it could be other factors, other areas that are rusted/worn out, etc.

 

So I found my clunking noise. The passenger body mount at the rear corner of the cab is completely rusted through. With the truck in the lift, you can see how it moves around when you shake it. Can I replace this? I am going to pull the bed off anyway and remove the gas tank to fix the gas tank problem so figured I’d do this at the same time if I can.

 

Is this the part I need? I'm assuming I will need a new body mount as well.

https://trdshop.carlocktoyotaoftupe...GOAfcnRjh0y_HTwEhl3n4Kk1yDjsYg3BoCynoQAvD_BwE

 

I would start looking for a replacement frame- that thing is toast.

 

looks like correct bracket
i would be worried about enough frame material left/needed to weld that new bracket on

 

That's scary.

 

The frame was replaced in 2012 (I think) under the warranty. I am going to pull the bed off and needle gun the frame and crossmembers to see where I am at. I already replaced one crossmember when I did a gas tank and EGR replacement.

 

Just cause they replaced (a 9 year old) frame doesn't mean the "new (11 year old)" one is ok- It's obviously falling apart.

 

I went through the frame with a ball peen hammer back in 2020 when I replaced the gas tank and crossmember. It was in good shape and I have been keeping it Fluid Film coated (in and out) but it’s definitely my fault for not paying more attention to the cab mounts. NJ winters/salt. Ugh.

 

Best of luck, but I agree you may want to save your time, effort and money and find a replacement frame (or truck). You may be fighting a losing battle already. Good luck either way

 

I changed the name of this thread to ‘Broken cab mount’ since we know that is the issue. I got 4 new cab mounts for the truck, and all the associated hardware (except bushings - still need those). I’m really going to try and save this. Hoping to get bed off truck today and see where I am at after using needle gun.

 

So I got the bed off the truck today and used a needle gun on the back half of the frame. Here’s what I found. On the driver side, there is a hole in the frame above the wheel

On the passenger side, there is a hole in frame on same spot, just a little smaller. The passenger shock mount is complete toast. In face, I’m pretty sure that if I kept hitting it with the needle gun that it would’ve just broke right off.

 

So time for a new frame or new truck?

Good luck with whatever route you decide