My Attempt to stop the Frame Rust!

Atleasy youre getting the work done at Bobby Rahal. They're all about great customer service.

 

Eastman's stuff is always overpriced.

POR 15 or Monstaliner Chassis saver will both do a great job as well, at a lower cost.

http://www.monstaliner.com/monstaliner_how_to_stop_rust.htm

Good for you to take the initiative!

 

Toyota bought my 99 Tacoma back due to frame rust a couple years ago so with the new one I've been very interested about keeping it as rust-free as I can. I'd like to get more than 15 years / 250k miles out of the new one. So here's a few things I've seen/heard/found on the topic:

Oily / waxy undercoatings are best, hard coatings are worst. The problem with the hard coatings is when it gets a microfracture from a debris hit it allows brine to contact the metal and encapsulates it. Now the frame is rusting away at that point and you can't even see it to do something about it until it's too late. I want to point out that's just what I've read; I have no firsthand experience. But it makes sense and I haven't seen any good rebuttals to it. It seems to me that hard coatings are better for show cars / restorations that are not daily drivers.

The problem with the oily coatings is you have to reapply them every year and they turn your undercarriage into a greasy mess. The top brand seems to be Krown if you can get it, but I'm nowhere near Canada so I use Fluid Film instead. I've done this 2 years in a row on mine now and the visible rust is very minor and limited to noncritical areas (ends of fasteners, stamped sheet metal type brackets, minor surface rust on nonpainted surfaces). The exhaust system is a corroded mess but there's not a lot to be done for that. The undercarriage is messy but not as bad as I thought it would be. Visually it just looks like a thin layer of dust. It's not running, dripping, or collecting anywhere. It takes a good deal of scrubbing with warm soapy water to remove it so it's pretty resilient too. They say not to go to carwashes with an undercarriage wash (and I don't) but I suspect it would survive several of those. I did the full 30k mile maintenance a couple months ago and didn't have any trouble with fluid film getting all over everything.

I apply mine myself (around mid October) by driving up on ramps and using a spray gun with a small air compressor. There's also a flexible hose attachment I use to get into tight spaces. The entire process from start to cleanup takes about 2-3 hours. A gallon of fluid film should last you 2 or 3 years. I used a spray can with the fine tip attachment to get into the small vents along the doors and rocker panels and I think once is good enough for that. I hit those a 2nd time this year and noticed a mildly rotten smell this time when parked in the sun but it has mostly dissipated after 3 weeks.

Paint / Primer
Sanding and hitting with POR15 or similar product is your best bet but since you can't access 100% of your frame it can't be your only solution. I'd still recommend using Krown / Fluid Film after problem areas have been addressed with POR15. Buy small quantities of these and don't go for a bulk discount because they say once you open the can you have to use it or lose it. I'm testing this out but won't have any results for 6 months or so. I bought a small can of POR15 and coated a trailer ball hitch and a shovel (for science) then put an aluminum foil sheet under the lid and sealed it up as well as I could. Maybe it will be usable later, maybe it will be spoiled - only time will tell.

I can attest that POR15 is tough stuff though - I coated an old shovel with it this spring after following all their instructions and then spent all summer digging holes in my yard with it. Aside from about a quarter inch along the tip of the blade it still has full coverage.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply.

The new frame (and yes I asked) comes with all the corrosion resistant it was supposed to AND it comes pre-coated with undercoating. Now I'm taking that with a grain of salt and am going to examine further. I am going to coat with Fluid Film within the month since winters here are very "salty".

 

Hopefully, and I say hopefully, toyota got this squared away on the newer frames. According to toyota the frames that are included in the recall are frames with a defect. New ones are suppose to be better. Surface rust isnt the issue. The frames are rotting from the inside out. Frames were supplied by Dana Corp and they have been forced to pay for the recalled frames and replacements.

So again, hopefully, this won't be an issue on the 2010+ models.

Google it and you'll come across articles on it.

 

I have a 2015 and last year I power washed the frame a few times. This was done generally a few days after the road crews got done plowing and salting the roads up here in NJ.

Unless I have to, I don't have the desire or inclination to crawl under the truck every spring and re-paint/coat/seal/oil etc. a frame.

So the question is do I have to?

Or more specifically, besides changing frame suppliers and suing Dana for $25M what exactly did Toyota do to make this problem go away?

Toyota really needs to answer this question, or at least provide free yearly maintenance for re-coating the frames.

My truck would be as close to perfect as it gets if it wasn't for this nagging issue.

 

No, you don't have to but most people who do are interested in the peace of mind it provides. Under $100 worth of FF and 3 hours of my time on a Saturday were certainly worth it to me.

And the answer to your second question is the holy grail. 2010-2015 2G owners are hopeful that things were improved but there is no proof that I've seen. Just like 05-09 owners were at one time hopeful Toyota learned from 1G frame woes. They might have corrected it by now but I'm not taking their word for it.

 

If you aren't planning on keeping your truck for 20 years, I don't know if it's worth all the work. Maybe just wire wheel, sand, and rattle can it every 5 years or so. As for whether Toyota fixed the issue yet...I'll believe that when I see a Taco to 10 years in a road salt state without any maintenance and without severe rust. They've known about this issue since at least 1997 and yet there's still recalls / treatments for models up to what - 2008? That's not inspiring a lot of confidence in my book.

One of my buddies bought a 2002ish Tundra and my dad has a 96 T100. Both have been driven all over the state on all manner of road salt and kept outdoors their entire lives. No carwashes, no rust maintenance nothing. Their frames still look great. I have no idea why Tacomas have so many problems in this area.

 

Tundras were also affected by frame rot.

I'm all about doing what ever you like to your truck. Especially if it gives you piece of mind. The thing I wonder though is if these films that are sprayed on the frame even do any good for the bad frames. The issue wasn't with the surface rusting through, it was decaying from the inside out. You can't even effectively coat the areas that are trouble areas.

 

Listen to this man. Avoid any material that pretends to be permanent. There is a reason why frames are not painted from the factory like body panels. The rust would be worse. Wax based oil and grease are the best but must be inspected and reapplied. Avoid rubberized shit like the plague.

 

Can you explain why to avoid the rubberized shit? I do have some rust but it's not terrible and thankfully not enough to warrant any serious issues. I sprayed the drivers wheel well side with some of the rubber under coating earlier this summer. I wanted to see how well it held up from trips on the beach and normal wear and tear before I sprayed the entire frame down. So far so good.

 

Rubberized can trap moisture and accelerate rust and rot. If it were to chip or peel, moisture and salt would get in and not be able to evaporate normally.

 

So would something like a black spray paint be better than the rubberized option? Assuming you will have to maintain it on a yearly basis.

 

Pretty sad that it has come to this.

 

You cannot measure rust proofing success in terms of months. There is a reason why few use it on their new cars. They use plastic liners in areas subject to flying debri. Rubberized coatings seal IN all the moisture and fine rust that you can't see underneath. It will not get a chance to dry out. Rust proofing companies in the seventies used this stuff and it accelerated the rust when it aged. Around here, we use yearly applications of oil, wax and grease. You can see any problems and it continues to adhere and does not firm up. Rubberized sprays can be used for sound deadening in areas not exposed to salt and water. If you don't keep your car for more then a few years in salt and water areas and you want it to hide rust areas before you sell it, fine. If you coat the rust areas with motor oil or paint grease on it yearly, it stops it from rusting in all areas you can reach. It will never harden and accelerate rust as the truck ages.

 

No. Any body man will tell you that succesful paint job is all about preparation. Paint HIDES problems till the metal fails underneath. Paint covers up problems, it does not prevent them. Paints don't seal, they are porous and require more labor then most are willing to put in surface preparation unless you are in the military. Paints harden and a scratch introduces moisture and rust will form underneath and spread without you being aware of it.

 

Co-worker has an 07' he bought new. Kept outside but he's pretty anal about keeping it clean. Always washed at least once a week in the winter,including undercarriage. His frame is in great shape. We have several self-serve car washes here that are like $6-7 all you can wash. Every week I take mine and my wifes car and knock off the big chunks on the body,but get down and spray off the entire undercarriage. Yeah you get dirty,but some wet clothes is a small trade off for getting all that crap off your vehicle.

 

That is good. Just realize in boxed in areas you can never get the frame cleaned on the inside. That's why in the warmth of the summer months when everything dries our, you spray an oil based protectorate every year. Oil will creep like water and follow where the salt brine will go. It must be repeated though. The 4 Runner in my avatar is a 2004, seldom gets washed in the winter in the rust belt, but is still rust free....grease and oil.

 

What you don't like limestone, propane, toluene?

It's cleanable. I've done it. and I've painted it too! It takes work, but can be done.

 

Inside the box of a boxed frame ? .....you must be a contortionist with the longest and skinniest fingers known to man. Bet you"'re popular with the ladies.
I would never buy a truck with a painted frame. You have no idea what is underneath. People paint things to hide problems or just for looks. It's the nature of the product.