Frame restoration - did it myself

In ten to fifteen years, Tacos will be electrified getting 40 mpg and doing sub 6, 0-60.
Why keep driving a dog ?

 

Because I friggin love my taco.

 

I hope you’ll be happy together.

 

The por-15 is great stuff , lots of taping , make sure you tape all your sensors and connectors , brake lines , CV boots . I used a cheap harbor freight pressure pot works great you can spray straight out of the can .

 

Where as. Bio degradable Motor oil and grease, require nothing

 

Did my frame and undercarriage these past two days. A whole lot of work but very happy with the results!

1) Needle scaler/wire brush to the frame and anything I could hit
2) Degrease
3) Eastwood Rust Encapsulator (I am absolutely covered in it...whoops)
4) Eastwood Chassis Paint

Took about a day to prep and then another day and some change for the paint. I brushed it all on. So def took longer but didn't have to worry about overspray.

Used 1 quart of the Encapsulator and even did two coats. The Chassis paint is way more watery and went through about 1 and 1/2 quarts for two coats.

If anyone is looking to do theirs I will gladly sell/ship the Encapsulator! Save some bucks on the project!

 

had to drop-off my son's tacoma at the dealer for recall 2013.they said they had to check frame . ok came back fours hours later to pick up truck. sign paper and went out to check the rig,crawler under truck and all they did was the channel section of the frame, white liquid was coming out holes. also i notice they put plastic plugs at center of channel.two big holes , i guess to stop the salt from going in there .they also had another plug at bottom flang of frame but it had a hole in it with the white oil dripping . i will try to get some pictures if possible . i plan on doing that to mine after krown under coates .

 

I was lucky enough to to just pick up a very clean 2014 with zero frame rust on it, really somehow not even small surface stuff. Would it be good idea to do this as preventative step? Or should i just keep the frame as clean as possible spraying like a madman.

 

Wouldn't hurt. You could try Fluid Film as well.

 

I bought my 2011 Access Cab in June 2017 with 22k miles. The frame and suspension was already pretty scabby, but the dealer assured me that Toyota would replace the frame within 15 years of manufacture. Well, he was almost right...my letter said 13 years.
My frame was never 'coated'. My truck wasn't on the lift 10 minutes during the inspection phase. They dropped it down, handed me the keys, told me the frame had the necessary perforations to make a claim. They would call when the frame arrived. This was June 1, 2020. Then COVID.........

So, I picked my truck up yesterday(9/30/2020), with a new frame, new front A-arms, new LH leaf spring, & new RR brake lines. Cost me $100 deductible, for additional hardware. The dealer had the vehicle 10 days and supplied me with a '19 Camry LE loaner.

Only 2 relatively small complaints:

1. the technician left my fog lights unplugged at the bulb.
2. I had the e-brake cables replaced and now the brake pedal is a little low. But I am OCD about brakes, I will adjust it out.

All this being said, if your Tacoma is homed in the NorthEast and less than 13 yrs old, I'm not sure I'd touch the frame. I purchased POR-15, and the Eastwood product, and tools & supplies to recondition my frame but never did it. I feared I would void the recall possibility.

As always, YMMV.

 

I wish I would have seen this a couple years ago I would have done it in a heartbeat. Now the frame on my 2009 is too far gone and I'm fighting with Toyota for a new one.

 

Wow that seems like a lot of work.

 

Are folks rinsing off the metal etching or leaving it on before painting with the por-15?

The instructions on the por-15 kit says to rinse it (step 2), but I thought this “prepped” the surface for the rust inhibitor to go onto...

 

Well you may not like this answer. It depends.
If you’re only using the POR 15 products including their metal etching then yes I rinse it off with warm water. But I really like Ospho which has different instructions.
Now that my modding and metal fabrication skills have increased. Example I have a welder and can proficiently glue steel and aluminum together.
I would strongly recommend before someone tries to work on the frame of the vehicle to practice on small projects.
There are so many products out there you don’t have to use the POR 15 line.

Just my 2 cents

 

Wow. Good job. I'll bring mine by in a month or two!

 

This is a great guide! I'll definitely be using it to do mine this year before winter hits again.

 

This is on my list too... I've got a 99 that's absolutely horrendous. I could only wish that my truck looked half as good as some of the "before" photos. I did have the frame treated at Toyota once, somewhere in the 2010 neighborhood, and I still see whatever oil product they used weeping from the holes in the frame. Hopefully the inside has been protected.

 

Hi - if OP is still around, any idea about how many hours you spent on this? Sorry if I missed it in the thread. My 06 is so damn rusty and I would love to get another 75k out of her!

 

My '07 SR5 didn't pass inspection because of a rusty frame. I'm taking it to another mechanic who I sent pictures to of the frame who thinks he can repair it. Also there's a company that makes frame repair kits for the Tacoma. Safe T Cap located in Cranston RI. Phone 1-800-407-7024.

 

My guy in CT used safe T Caps for my repair.