New Taco and dealing proactively with rust......

My dad pasted away not too too long ago, he was 86 and I've inherited his 99 4x4 SR5 extended cab. He lived in VA and bought it new in 99 and really only used it to go fox hunting (not the English kind of fox hunting, but in the old southern tradition where you and some friends met up to let your hounds chase the fox while you sit around the fire seeing who can tell the biggest lie......and gossip like teen age girls).

I don't know much about Tacoma's, I'm more of a Jeep guy (I've got a ZJ and a WJ but don't hold it against me) and I've just started researching how to take care of it.......the family is kinda of emotional about it and I need to treat it with respect. It seems to be in pretty good shape and has about 100K on it......my first question is advice on how I should handle the rust issue. There isn't any on the body anywhere that I can find. I've crawled up under it and only seem to see surface rust except there does seem to be some on the mounting brackets for some after market Westin step rails. I think it's past the 15 year point (wasn't even aware of the systemic frame rust issues until I stumbled across it here) but could I still take it to a dealer for an assessment? If there isn't any rust should I undercoat it, if there is some rust should I POR it or something like that......just looking for lessons learned.

Also.......why are Gen 1s so sought after.....I know they are good trucks but am not picking up on the fever for them? My sister drove it for a while and she said people would walk up to her when she was getting gas or in a parking lot and offer to buy it from her........

 

Jackpot!! You got a great truck. I like the nerf bars and bed rails.

I love my 1st Gen because it's smaller. The new stuff is bigger to accommodate childhood obesity. If you have the V6 5spd, that (to me) is the most desirable version in existence. All built in Fremont, California.

To my understanding, the rust issue is the box frame toward the rear of the truck, under the bed.
The rust would eat from the inside-out. Mine shows surface rust on those boxed beams, but since my truck was on paved and gravel roads only, it appears pretty solid. Very little rust anywhere. California truck. Mine has never seen snow and has 130,000 miles.

 

The 1st gen Tacoma is the last of the Toyota Mini Trucks. That's why it's so popular. And if you take care of it, it will last a very long time. 230,000 on mine and many members here with much more than that.

Do you have any pics you can share of the rust you are seeing? That might help people determine how bad it is.

 

Chris4x4 owns Jeeps too and we don't hold it against him.

 

for rust prevention/treatment see:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...revention-treatment-consolidation-thread.html