Rusty Frame repair

I had some serious rust on a previous Tacoma, I thought I'd share that it is possible to fix it yourself without the headache of a frame swap. This is not as good as a frame swap though. I bought a Hobart Handler 140 and visited welding forums and Youtube for some 101 on welding. I used a grinder to make sure I had some good steel to weld things to. I then removed the old leaf spring bracket and used a grinder and metal wheel brush to clean it up for re-use. I bought a new leaf spring bushing and some steel to form a new reinforced frame area. I wish I had taken more pics but after grinding down to steel on the frame I welded the new steel to it with the refurbed leaf spring mount attached. It was threatening rain so I had to finish fast, I did get the completion pic afterwards, which is why it is wet. 3yrs later it was still fine, I did keep the whole frame under observation and continued rust spraying when I'd see flare ups.

 

https://www.autorust.com/
these guys sell frame gussets to repair just what you did check it out!

 

I would personally never recommend that anyone "learn to weld" by doing a major frame repair. Youtube University is a good resource, but doesn't replace experience.

While you had your frame open, it would have been a good idea to address the rust in the inside of the frame as well. That's why you are still getting "flare ups". The rust comes form the inside out because that's the area where moisture and salt sits and you can't get in there and clean it out.

I'm glad it's still holding together, but really you should have bought some proper frame plates rather than what looks like some 1.5" flatbar from homedepot

 

I think this is a great reason to learn to weld, but its not for everyone. I shot some permatex into the exposed frame and also into any openings I could see. Really a frame off is the only way to do a proper fix but not everyone has that option, where I live a spot repair was the best I could manage. I found the frame plates from other posts but to properly weld all the seam you'd have to remove the bed and fuel tank at least and that was not an option, so the flatbar offered a way to address the troubled area. So this post is for someone with restricted ability to have a stripped down pickup in/near the house.

 

Has that truck been in Florida all its life?

I feel like that state is really hit or miss. Some super clean ones come out of Florida, others end up like yours unfortunetely. Guess flooding from storms and beach driving can cause all of that.

 

No, it started life in NJ - which is why it had more issues. I have moved on to a Doublecab Florida truck that is solid except for some surface stuff I took care of.