Frame Rust! Fame Replacement?

Hi! I took a visit to the dealership regarding rust developing on the frame of my 2002 Tacoma with intentions of going through if not taken care of soon. I have considered replacing the frame, however they informed me that the recall has expired... has anyone had their recall honored, even if they say it was expired? If not, does anyone have any suggestions on what should be done? The labor is roughly $8,000 and the frame itself (minus the broken parts that are guaranteed when disassembling the vehicle) is $5,285. Thank you!

 

First, it's not a recall, it's an extended warranty. 2002 model year Tacomas have aged out of warranty unless it was a very late old stock sold in mid 2003. No one here has reported a warranty claim past the expiration date that I have seen. Some have been down the wire, almost to the day.

How bad is it? There are repair plates available. Do you some pictures?

 

https://www.autorust.com/product/tacoma-safetcap-kit-locations/

Better alternative, Tacomas have been popular enough for them to really put some effort into all the pieces.

 

Oh okay! Apologies. My technician told me it was “an expired recall”. It’s not terrible now but something I wanted to acquire some knowledge about. Here’s a picture.

 

I've seen people drive on worse...

Start whackin that frame all over the place with a ball-peen hammer, you'll find more spots than just what's pictured.

If keeping the frame and doing the plates, you still need to remove ALL the rust that's there already, weld the plates on, then coat it, inside and out to prevent this from happening again. But on boxed frames, good luck getting to the rust on the inside of the frame...

Really the only way this pencils out with an out-of-warantee frame replacement is to source a used frame (from CA or another salt free/non-coastal area) and do the work yourself. Turn this truck into a project truck, buy another car/truck to drive...

Or you could pay $14,000 to replace the frame on a $10,000 (maybe) truck.

 

That's not bad at all. You should see the frames some people on here have. Any other pics of the frame?

 

Looks good to me, here is a pic of my 03 that got in on the frame replacement just in time.

 

I don’t have too many. The rest of the frame is in good shape, but would love to sand it down and paint it, which is what I may just do! Thank y’all lots for the responses.

 

Another...

 

Oh wow! That was definitely far worse than where I’m at right now.

 

Your frame is fine. The worst spot on most frames is where the leaf springs mount to the frame - if that's okay you're perfectly good to go.

Grind over the rusted spots and use a good chassis paint like POR15. I doubt the rust goes all the way through but if it does cut it out and re-weld it with a new plate

 

Awesomeness, haha, you answered my next question on what type of paint would be best to use for the frame once I grind it. Thank you very much.

 

Do you know where the truck spent most of its life? If you live in a place where they salt the roads you should also coat the under body with fluid film every season.

 

Most of her life was spent in West Tennessee, now I have lived in Florida for nearly a year.

 

You should be fine then. Just grind off any rust you see and coat over it and you're good.

 

Bang your frame thoroughly with a hammer, even the good looking areas, as these frames have the nasty habit of rusting and rotting from the inside out.

The worst areas are usually where the leaf springs attach to the frame, right behind the cab. Then by the gas tank and catalytic converter

Then you will see what areas need to be patched (use safe-t-caps patch plates or make your own). When you're done, paint the frame and do not forget to rustproof the truck BOTH INSIDE AND OUT after that, so it won't rust through again. Paint only is not enough to keep rust away

 

Yeah, what Onakat just said plus this:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rust-prevention-treatment-consolidation-thread.355928/

I used the Eastwood internal frame coating and Eastwood Rust converter then Chassis Saver to paint the exterior of the frame, pictures on my album of before and after.\ Welcome to TW , enjoy your truck

 

You should really take the bed off and look at the back side of the frame rail. It's pretty easy, especially with a few buddies to help lift off the bed. There is a bracket behind that rust spot that collects mud and dirt. You need to power wash the dirt. Grind down any rust and use two component epoxy paint. por15 is not made for clean steel. Use fluid film or a similar product every year to coat areas where you can't grind and paint. You will probably have a hole there after grinding off the rust. It's rusting from the inside out. The frame is a C channel at that location.

 

Also look at the frame from the inside. Take a screw driver and poke the inside of the frame between the gas tank and frame. I have seen good frames from the outside view turn into bad frames when under the vehicle and a screwdriver punches through the inside of the frame.

 

I hope none of the "frame is fine" folks work in dentistry, civil engineering or aviation.

The frame is junk and no amount of patching or coating is going to arrest the decay. Decay is like cockroaches what you see is the tip of the iceberg