Frame issue advice

Hello! I recently made my first vehicle purchase and bought a 2005 Toyota Tacoma with 234,000 miles for $3500. I made a foolish mistake and assumed that a Toyota would not have any major issues. Since purchase, I was made aware that I may have a very serious frame issue. The entire rear of my frame has rust in between the two C-channel layers, particularly on the bottom side, and that rust has caused some delaminating in between the layers. Additionally, there is a 5 cm hole in the front of the frame, under the passenger seat (this hole is in the outermost layer, the inside layer is intact). I did a hammer test on the rest of the frame, and was not able to punch through anywhere. I have learned that the vehicle is out of warranty for the frame recall. The rest of the vehicle is OK. The entire undercarriage is rusty, but we are in Alberta and all older vehicles look like that. Engine leaks a bit of oil, but runs fine and shifts smooth. My question is: should I replace the frame on this vehicle, should I try to cut out and repair those few sections, or should I scrap it? I can’t sell it to anyone like this. Valuable lesson learned about doing due diligence when buying a vehicle. I bought the vehicle for cheap enough that I don’t mind putting some money in if it’s salvageable. Thank you for your time and your advice.

 

Patch it up.
Or replace the frame $$


Wouldn’t scrap. Sell as parts truck. Worth more then. Scraps next to nothing

 

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate discovery. There are a lot of frame-related posts on the site; search around a bit, there’s a wealth of information.

You can get frame repair sections from a couple of companies, including Safe-T-Cap. Alternately, a good fabricator can custom build you some depending upon the nature of the damage.

Good luck! Please post back with some pics if you get a chance.