Frame Rust- Am I worrying too much?

Hey all,

Lately I have seen and posted on a lot of different posts about frame rust, and while doing so I have freaked myself out by seeing holes the size of my fist in trucks, trucks in half, etc.

Basically, I drive a 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 xtra cab from Pennsylvania. They use a ton of rock salt on the roads here. My dad bought the truck in 2012, in the Fall, and the truck has been nothing but awesome to us. I ended up with the truck and I now drive it daily. I have done a lot of work on it, new rack and pinion, exhaust, fuel pump, leaf springs, etc and I try to keep the truck as nice as possible.

While replacing the leaf springs I noticed I had some scaling rust on the rear C-channel of the frame, thats where I started to worry. I sanded off the rust just to realize it was some minimal scaling and all I needed to do was repaint it, no big deal. I was unable to fix the rust then, because I went back to school shortly after the leafs and figured I would do it in the Spring (which I am).

Now recently there has been a ton of posts about new frames, buying trucks with crap frames, including some of my own posts. After looking through horror stories about frames I decided to take a closer look at my frame. I have found that I have minimal surface rust on my frame, aside from the tail end of the truck where I found scaling by the shackles which I plan on fixing. I did however find more scaling similar to the rear of the frame but however below my cab on the drivers side. This type of rusting was NOT found on the passengers side, but the passengers frame rail was clean and for the most part black.



As you can see in the image above, the rust on top of the frame rail is scaling, and based on the color the rust is older, with newer orange rust in some parts. I personally have taken a hammer and performed the Toyota TSB for frame inspection on every part of the frame and found NO spots where the frame did not have the metal ping. Luckily, the picture above is located at a part of the frame where there is a drain hole from the factory in the frame, which allowed me to see and see the inside of the frame. The coating within the frame is smooth to the touch, and with the inspection of a flashlight, it has no rust on the inside. This surface scaling rust is about an 8" section of the drivers side frame. I was able to take a screw driver and feel farther into the frame and no chunks of rust fell or were heard.

I have established that the rust under my cab is strictly mostly surface, with some scaling rust, as shown in the picture. The picture represents the worst section of all of the frame with scaling. I have established that this rust while nasty and scaling, is not penetrating the frame, nor is it rusting from the inside out. Also, the bubbling of the rust, makes the scaling look worse, when in fact if all the scaling was removed the frame would be symmetrical, I have taken some of the scaling off and placed a straight edge rule against the frame and checked this. This is because the rust molecules are larger then the steel molecules.

That being said, I called a Toyota Dealership today that the truck was serviced at by the original owner to find out that the original owner did not have the frame inspected when the voluntary service campaign was available. The service manager said that it is most likely that the owner did not feel the need to based on the rust at the time. Thus, I am not unable to get a new frame in the next three years if the frame were to completely rot out.

Based on my experience in the engineering field and performing structural inspections on various steel structures that are exposed to high levels of salinity, I have found that the state of my frame is structurally safe and the frame will not rot out anytime soon.

It will not rust out soon due to the fact that, I cannot push my finger or screw driver through the scaling rust, thus proving that the rust is not severely penetrating the frame causing holes or perforations. Toyota classifies a frame to be unsafe if a 10mm hole were to develop. I do not have any.

My goal as a college junior is to keep this truck until I am financially able to purchase a new truck. The rust, although concerning, based off of my engineering experience, and my friends is that the truck is rusting, but will not become unsafe for several years. Part of my problem is you get what you search for and I have been looking up the worst case scenarios and freaks me out.

I have established that my truck is structurally sound, but I would like to take steps to prevent the rust from becoming worse, and I would like to extend the life of my truck. The rust on my frame did not happen overnight, more like 12 years, and I do not foresee the frame rusting completely for some time.

Thankfully, the rust is on the top side of the box beam, where the frame will be in compression due to the load of the trucks dead weight, where the bottom is in tension. If the scaling was on the underside of the frame I would be much more concerned with the metal being thinner because of the tensile forces on the frame and absorbing shock.

I would like some tips as to how to treat this rust before I have a more serious issue on hand. I understand how to treat rust in most places, but the top of the frame rail under the cab is tight quarters, with no more that 3/4" spacing between the frame and the cab floor. I would like to grind, and resurface the top of the frame rail to insure the trucks safety for the years to come. How would I go about doing so in such tight quarters? Ideally I would like to treat this rust in the next 2 to 3 weeks while I am on Spring Break so that I will not have to do it in the summer. I plan on removing ALL rust from the frame. My biggest fear is that the rust on the top of the frame will be impossible to fix without removing the cab, which I do not have the skill nor means to do, as well as if I grind the rust off, how deep will I have to grind off? I do not foresee it being a significant about of penetration based on the scaling rust found at the rear of the truck. The rust scales that came off that portion of the frame were not anything significant in depth, but they were thin paper like flakes.

I know this post is longwinded, but I wanted to explain the picture and my opinions of the stability of the frame, and the steps I took to explain the condition based on my experience with it. Pictures only do so much justice, and I have personally felt the frame, inside and out. I would like to know the best course of action, whether its letting the thing slowly rust like it has been for 12 years and just make sure salt stays out, or whether grinding the rust is the best idea and resurfacing. Please when responding to this post remember that the rust is just outer scaling, and that the inside of the frame is clean and rust free.

Thank you for your time, and I appreciate all those who take time to read and help me out.

Thank you,
Tom

 

holy post!

 

Lay on the undercoating . Up north here, undercoating is like oil changes. Unless you like watching the rust form as the snow melts.

 

In response to "your frame will not rust out anytime soon," the elements that feed the rust and rate that they are applied will be the biggest factor as to time. I see what salt does on a daily basis in a food production facility, carbon steel does not have a chance, once the rust starts, it is like a cancer. I think you are taking the right approach to maximize the frame life, good luck

 

The god send is that from what I have noticed is that salt doesnt make its way up into that part of the frame. I haven't drove that much this winter at all. Thank you

 

It doesnt look that bad but i cant tell from just one picture. If i were you i would wire brush all rust and paint with rustoleum. After that aply some fluid film and you should be good for a few years.

 

I will try and post more pictures. But that is the worst section. It is very hard to take pictures as the clearance between frame and cab is small. Thank you for the suggestion, I will sand, paint and fluid film the frame as soon as I can.

 

I'm going to do my best with the repair in the next few weeks. But Regardless of how long the trucks frame holds up after the repair I'm going to drive this truck until its wheels fall off.

 

I will have to try this stuff out. It seems like it will work well!

 

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For rust prevention/treatment discussion and alternatives see:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...on-thread.html[/FONT]

 

Wouldn't this truck fall under the 15 year recall on the frames? Or did they stop doing that?

 

Original owner was a dummy and didnt get it inspected. Now I have a fun spring project..

 

I have the same issue as you. Previous owner didn't get it inspected. Instead welded L beams to the frame. Rusted worse than yours on the inside of the frame. Now the question I do is do I roll with it till it breaks and let insurance buy me a new one or buy a frame (found one for 800) get it prepped and swap everything over. Been looking for a DIY guide to frame swapping but haven't found anything with a lot of detail.

Do you have a guide or are you just gonna start wrenching?

 

I have no inner frame rust, I am just going to take off the outer surface rust and then repaint the frame. My truck is no where near being structurally unsafe, because my rust in non-penetrating, and the fact that after performing the Toyota TSB myself on the frame I found no holes or perforations. I wouldn't have failed the Toyota inspection regardless. Basically what I am going to do on my truck is preventive maintenance so the truck gets some more years on it. I will post pictures as I do the rust removal in a few weeks.

I personally do not have experience with frame swapping, I am not sure of many members on here doing it.