Frame Rust Inspection and Brakes

i plan on bringing mine in after this winter. im a tech at a honda store in a automall here in jersey, that luckily has toyota store and i know a few of the guys over there. im hoping to get a new frame! this here was the worst part on my frame when i last had it on my lift doing the oil change. drivers side next to the cat converter. 64,500 miles on my 2010

 

I'd be willing to bed there's some hidden carnage on that frame. But you never know.

 

Smack that spot with a hammer/chip at it with a screw driver for a bit and see if its hollow underneath.

I had a very similar looking mark beside my cat coverter on the passenger side of my truck, I chipped at it for 30 seconds with a screw driver and the top layer peeled off and revealed a gaping hole about 1.5" wide in the frame. Had it inspected at toyota and qualified for a new frame, im supposed to be having the swap done in a few weeks. The rest of my frame was immaculate, it was only that ONE spot that qualified me for a new frame

 

Hi I am having my frame replaced on a 2005 Tacoma 2.7L in the coming weeks. I have a leak coming from the coolant water pipe and would like to get the dealership to replace this while they have my truck. How much easier is this part to replace with the motor out? Do you think this is going to be expensive? I'm sure prices vary just hoping for your professional opinion. Thanks

 

i plan on doing that once i get it up on the lift again. my front lower control arm adjusting bolts are frozen so thats part of the reason im hoping for frame replacement, lol. new arms will come with the new frame. i dont feel like cutting them out even though i have the new bolts and adjusters already.

 

You should be saving a significant amount of labor by doing this when the frame is being taken care of. That coolant pipe runs under the intake manifold if I’m not mistaken, and is easily accessible with the engine off of the frame. I’d imagine an hour of labor at the very most to replace it, and that’s being a bit greedy.

 

Make sure you talk to the guy doing your frame and ask him to put anti-seize or a similar lubricant on the eccentric bolts for the lower control arms. That way they do not seize in the future. A good Tech will do this anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure he does.

 

Frozen LCA bolts? I think every single taco owner I know has had to deal with that haha, extremely common problem. I had to get mine cut off with a plasma cutter to have an alignment (cause nothing else would work).

You would be surprised, what looks like a little bit of rust could of already gone right through your frame. I never would of thought my truck frame had a hole in it, its been rust proofed every year since new and has one of those poly undercoats which are supposed to last 10+ years

 

Here’s my worst rust spots. Not really too bad yet considering the amount of salt Pa uses on the roads. 2013 with just over 70k mikes. Bought new in October 2013. I will not treat the frame. If it’s going to rot, I would rather let it rot at the ‘normal’ rate and have Toyota replace the frame during the normal warranty period. I worry about treating the frame and extending the time it takes to rot, putting it outside the warranty period.

 

This whole frame replacement fiasco with Toyota is only happening because Toyota had a different manufacturer build their frames years back (and they screwed up with the spec on the frames and didnt apply proper corrosion resistance compound). I dont believe 13's have the same issue as the 05-10s in terms of rotting right through regardless of application of oil spray or not

The rust youre seeing is completely normal for a 5 year old vehicle in an area that salts its roads in the winter. I cant see it rusting like crazy that quickly like some of the older trucks. So purposely not getting it rust-proofed in hopes Toyota will just give you a new frame in a few years probably isnt the best idea. The whole swap runs around $16,000 or so ive heard, they dont just give these things out. It took a lot of time, lawsuits, and customer complaints before they even started the initial recall.

Some of the original 07's that were sold 10 years ago had the frames rotten right through in only 3-4 years. So the fact that youre seeing barely any rust after 4 years makes me think that you shouldnt be expecting the same treatments us older trucks got..

 

The frame is no different than a 2010, 2011 or 2012. If Toyota had miraculously changed the frame, then there would be no need for me to treat the frame anyway.

You must be new to the Toyota frame issue.

 

I agree the frame on the 2013 is mostly on the weld seams which I considered normal for a salt state. My 07 rotted at catalytic converter location and some seam area in rear. I took care of my frame but I don't think it mattered. Yet my brother in law had a 14 and did nothing to care for frameandhad zero rust so I think the older frames are different. Good lick and Merry Christmas

 

@AngryYotaTech, ive got a question for ya... are the replacement frames any better than the originals, or will the new frame eventually rust out as well? Mine is supposed to be going im for replacement soon.

 

Hi @AngryYotaTech , Would you mind to get me some advice? I have a 2003 4x4 Double Cab Taco, I work on a Vessel on Installation, Maintenance and Repair of Offshore Platforms so I work very close with steel, rust, paint, weld and all that stuff, I have inspected my frame and I think it is in good condition, just a little surface rust. I'm thinking on giving it a full clean and then apply AzkoNobel International Primer and then Finish, Do you think that will help to mantain the frame in good condition?

Best Regards and thanks for your time.

 

You have to be the first owner for get the warranty to replace rust chassis? Or doesn’t matter if you are the 3rd owner and you would like to claim the warranty.

 

Doesn't matter. I'm a third owner and got mine replaced shortly after I bought it even with it being sprayed already

 

^This.

Toyota is just kicking the can down the road by doing a CRC. They know that ever year that past means there will be less and less of the effected trucks on the road for them to deal with. A lot of these trucks will meet their end before their frames rust and fall apart (accidents and so forth) plus a lot of owners will blow off the inspection and/or the CRC coating, in turn releasing Toyota of any responsibilities.

If a frame replacement is costing Toyota between 7-10k per replacement imagine how much they are saving by dragging this thing out.