Frame repair help

My 2001 toyota tacoma has some frame issues and no chance in receiving a new frame as the deadline has past and I just bought the truck in May. There is a lot of good metal surprisingly to work with on the frame. The upper and sides have alot of surface rust but the metal is still solid on the inside I can still feel factory paint on most spots in the inside places where holes allow me to feel the inside portion of the frame except the bottom lower layer is rusting away fast. The passenger side is rusted bad on the bottom portion I know if i hit it hard enough I could make holes in many spots. The passinger side also has holes in under the passenger door on the inside portion of the frame see photos but there is enough metal to work with. The Rear portion by the gas tank on the driver side has holes near the leaf spring but there is alot of good frame around that area to work with as well. The bottom portion on the drivers side is quite solid unlike the passenger side but it is rusting from the inside out like the passenger side but still very solid. I am wondering if I can cut the bottom portion of the frame out completely and weld a new plate on both sides since the rest of the frame top and sides still feels very solid. I could also completely access the inside of the frame to por 15 all rails on the inside. If not I would like to overlap both sides with metal to strengthen the bottom portion the problem with that is the rust and dirt would still be trapped in there. I am also wondering how hard it is to remove the gas tank and box. I would also like to know how hard it is to lift up the cab enough so I can take car of the surface rust on the top rail of the frame. The front of the frame appears to be very solid still. I would like to rid the frame of most of the rust then por 15 the whole thing. If anybody has done anything like this please give me some help or direction. A swap is to much work and finding a clean frame in Minnesota is imposable anyway. Any help would be appreciated I'm in River Falls WI which is 30 miles east of the twin cities.

 

Well i hope you can save it. I believe the box is just held on by four bolts. Here's a recent thread that was posted this guy did a great job of saving this Taco.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/326160-did-little-chassis-restoration.html

 

How has the deadline passed? It runs 15 years from the date the truck was put in service. If your truck was a very early 2001 sold in the fall of 2000, that would give you until fall of 2015. Just a thought.

 

Goes to original owners only....Toyota saw this scenario coming...It could be brought to a dealer but odds are stacked against..

 

That looks like a nice project most of it looks like you could hit is with a wire wheel and re coat it with some POR 15. That Passenger side looks the worst but it looks like it could be cut out and have new metal welded back on. I agree though If what 93toy says is true I would look into that first.

 

Throw a total effing fit op. Seriously. A lot of my friends work in all ends of Toyota. They don't lose too much money doing frame swaps

 

Ok So I haven't really went the dealership route I am the third owner but the 2nd owner bought it from carlson toyota where the truck was traded in by the original owner in 2011 I'm guessing the frame wasn't that bad and it only sat on the lot for like a day before he bought it. I don't feel taken by the 2nd owner I don't think he sold it to me on the basis of the frame the way it is. I just should of done my research on these 1st generation tacos. I had a 1991 toyota pickup sold it in 2010 and the frame looked much better than this Tacoma. I will try to call carlson this week but I was under the assumption that the recall ended and wouldn't be supported.

 

Anybody have any opinions on Rustoleum Road Warrior coating over por 15 or a cheaper alternative? I heard working with the por 15 is kind of a pain but works great if you follow the directions properly.

 

Por-15 is very expensive. It is a pain to apply as its so watery it will run and drip. I use a foam roller to apply and apply very thin coats. You need to prep the metal though, not exactly designed to be applied over rust. Generally you need to get to bare metal and rough it up with sand paper to get a good application.

Applied correctly, Por-15 will not rust %100. However, its susceptible to scratches/dings, etc...

Personally, If I were you I would look for a total frame replacement. Check Copart.com and try to get a cheap wrecked Tacoma with a solid frame (or at least repairable frame). This way you get a solid frame and can take your time coating it properly if you desire.

 

I'm the fourth registered owner of mine and got a new frame a few weeks ago.....

 

93toy how did you go about getting it replaced? Here is the deal I am the 3rd registered owner bought the truck in april of this year. The 1st owner bought it new traded it on for a new tacoma on 5/7/2011. The 2nd owner registered it on 5/11/2011. The customer service campaign for frame coating or resistance ended on 3/31/2011. There is no record of the 1st owner ever taking the frame into to get serviced but I imagine this frame wasn't in the best of shape when toyota sold it to the 2nd owner it barely sat on the lot he told me when he bought it. I was told you had to have brought the truck in before the service campaign ended to be eligible for the 15 year frame replacement. However they did sell the truck at the toyota dealership 2 months after the service campaign w/o doing anything to the frame. So here I am 3 years later and the dealership told me over the phone that they weren't responsible for doing and service on the frame when they sold it to the 2nd owner because the service corrosion campaign ended on my truck. I now own a truck with a bad frame which at best could get @ 2 years out of if I leave it the way it is. I called toyota headquarters and filed a claim but they haven't got back to me yet.

 

Here's my experience: I bought the truck in February of this year. Prior to buying it I spoke to the current owner and asked if it had been inspected or if the frame had been replaced. He said it had been inspected in December of 2013 (at a Toyota dealer that shall remain nameless) and that it passed.

The first time I drove the vehicle and checked it over I felt confident it would fail inspection before my time ran out to make a claim. My local dealer was kind enough to run the vin for me prior to my buying it. They confirmed that the truck had never been coated, they confirmed its last frame inspection was 12/13, and that the frame was covered until 10/16 which was 15 years from the original purchase date of 10/01. (Purchased very late in the model year)

The fact there had been multiple owners over the years was never even brought up in my conversations with the dealer. I made an appointment and took it in for the inspection. They took pictures of the problem areas and sent them to Toyota. A week later the service writer called and said it failed inspection and we set up the appointment for the frame swap and the rental car.

Did you check out my thread with the pictures of the swap process?

 

I believe my frame was never inspected or coated at anytime the original owner owned it and wasn't inspected before my service campaign ended on 3/31/11. I could argue that the frame was inspected when it was traded in to the dealer on 5/7/11 but no frame inspection or coating was done prior to that or exists in there system. What I understood from the dealer the truck was sold at twice was that because the truck was traded in after the service campaign ended they assume no responsibility for corrosion of the frame after the service campaign ended. So its 15 years from the original purchase date but only applies if you brought it in before the service campaign ended. for my truck it was 3/31/11 (Minnesota) I have seen alot of people saying it was 12/31/11 for other states. Anyway it sucks because if mine was traded in prior to the service campaign i might have a valid case but it falls short by 2 months. If anybody has any advice for me stating a case towards toyota or has been dealt the shitty situation I am in please let me know.

 

So just talked to toyota headquarters finally and they confirmed my truck is ineligible for a new frame BUMMER. Looks like I will have to try to fix it myself before winter. I will post pics of my progress when I get time to tackle this.

 

deadline was technically December of 2012 (according to the TSB)

most of the time this never works unless you have some bewbs

very key point. the frame HAD to be inspected under the TSB before the deadline and be ok'd or sprayed to have that 15 year warranty.


OP sounds like the POs did not take advantage of the free inspection. time for some work on your end

 

heres the link to what I ended up doing.


http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/341186-frame-repair-2001-minnesota-taco.html