Safe T Cap Welding

Hi All,

First post on here. I have a 99 Tacoma TRD 4x4 Xtra Cab. You can see I’m dealing with the super fun frame rust that has resulted in a crack here.

I am considering hiring a pro to install a safe t cap, but am having a difficult time getting responses or finding someone willing to install here in Nashville, TN. That said, I might be stuck DIYing. I’ve been researching lots of videos, ChatGPT, articles, etc to educate myself. I am pretty handy, do a lot home renovation work and do good work, and I do dabble in car stuff. But no welding experience. I understand this isn’t ideal to learn with since we’re talking structural. But I’m feeling a bit SOL and may need to just DIY.

I’m thinking about picking up a HF MIG 140. It’s 120v. I understand 240v is preferred — but it seems not in my financial capacity. I have a solid brushless angle grinder. My plan is to:

1) cut away rusted material
2) take opportunity to clean up inside of frame best i can with shop vac and pole with rare earth magnet attached. Grind away rust inside immediate are cut open. Prime, paint, use fluid film best I can inside whole frame.
3) grind away to bare metal area to weld to.
4) Tac Weld safe t cap ( obviously clamp in place, measure, etc)
5) weld in place. My best education is watching a couple hours of YouTube, plus I’ll take several practice welds and test strength first. Im planning to use fluxcore as I don’t have access to or a place to store gas. Unsure on what wire to use and would welcome recommendations.
6) once weld is complete, prime, paint with a rust preventing paint, and fluid film. I plan to fluid film once a year moving forward.
6) I’m planning to take time later this summer to hit the whole frame with bed off with my angle grinder. I’m hoping to grind away rust. Frame is definitely rusty, but this is the only spot with holes/cracks. The rest I’ve taken a hammer to and while there are a few thinner spots, Right now the frame feels solid everywhere else.

Am I thinking this through completely? Anything I’m missing? Any concerns or tips anyone has?

if anyone has recommendations in Nashville for a solid automotive welder I gladly welcome it!

such a shame this has happened, I’m sitting at only 78,000 miles, interior is in great shape, and engine runs wonderfully.

 

Welcome to TW..

 

I would not do it as a first major welding project, especially with a small welder and a frame that far gone - I would bet that finding clean metal is going to mean removing a lot more than you think, and you will be welding in very awkward positions with a very low power machine and questionably appropriate wire.

Maybe expand your search for pros to include those who are not necessarily automotive specialists.

 

Having one through this and paid to have mine fixed…
I suggest doing all the repair work yourself and finding a mobile welder person to come do the weld. You do the cutting and fit up the sleeve (which means cutting off the spring mount) then have a welder come do the weld. I’m going this route for my Land Rover. Welder charges $85/ hour with a $200 min said he’d need a couple hours . Heck I paid $700 for a guy to weld the Taco and he had it for a week.
Good luck-

 

+1 to what @Pbfender15 said.

I haven't done Safe T caps on a Tacoma, but I've fixed up plenty of neglected trailers and rust is the main reason for shit falling off (hinges, ramps, side panels, etc).

Making new reinforcements, plates, gussets, etc is all easy and really the hard part for the whole thing is all the prep work required. Hitting any and all rust with a wire wheel (please wear goggles and a respirator), cutting off the weakened metal that's getting replaced (easy with a plasma cutter, less so with an angle grinder), all takes time and is a job in itself. However, if someone did all the prep work, I'd gladly take on the job for welding on Safe T caps and other reinforcements needed.

I bet if you did all the necessary work (without having to buy a welder), you can easily find someone to get the job done for you.

Get the bed off for the easiest access. It's really light and would just require you and a buddy to lift it off.

 

I've done two trucks now with a $150 YESWelder from Amazon. I had no welding experience prior to doing this on the truck. like any skill, everyone has to start at the beginning and try it out. take your time, practice on scrap first before you begin, and make sure you get to clean metal on the frame. yeah, it's a lot. but if you budget the right amount of time to fix the mistakes and redo sections you arent happy with, it will be fine in the end.

 

You can get by with a 110v welder doing the Safe T Caps on your truck. I would suggest practicing welding on similar material (11gauge) before diving into the truck. But this is a good project with a little bit of experience and taking your time will come out with a good end result.

A few things to consider:
Prep is 90% of the job. Getting all of the rust cut out and internal frame coated and prepped is important.
Metal prep before welding is important. Disconnect the Battery as well as making sure you have a welding blanket cover the fuel tank lines.
Spend time making sure the vehicle is correctly supported with jack stands or lift.

 

I agree with the general consensus above. Best bet may be to find a mobile welder who can do the the welds once you've done all the prep work and are happy with everything else.

Next best probably doing it yourself - with a lot of practice beforehand.
A few notes from my (limited) personal experience welding:
-Practice with material similar to the frame
-Make sure you practice in the positions you will be in (just because you can lay a nice bead on a flat workbench doesn't mean you can go uphill)
-Smaller 120V welders typically have low cycle times at high output - be aware
-Flux core spatters a lot
-Check your local marketplace offerings - may be able to get a little more machine for the same money - if you want to go that route & do the research

 

wow, what incredible suggestions so far! I appreciate all the optimism and guidance. It’s very helpful and inspires me to do the work myself. I’ll likely call around for a mobile welder. I’ll remove the bed of the truck so I have a little bit more access. Worse comes to worst. I’ll try to find a used machine on marketplace that might be more up to the task. If for some reason I can’t find the machine, the one I suggested above with flux core work or should I just bite the bullet and get bottles? And do they make something smaller that i could store in a space with limited storage?

 

If you have to buy a machine, I’d recommend getting one with gas. Makes a nicer cleaner bead vs flux core. They make bottles that are a couple feet tall and can fit under a workbench. The next thing I’d consider is infinite amps dial and infinite wire speed so that you can dial in the weld versus the machines that have hard set taps.

 

Saf t cap website does offer a section that has shops who are certified through them, to make the repairs.

(what that means exactly, I’m not sure)

but here it is
https://www.autorust.com/safetcap-installer-network/

however you seem ambitious and willing, so I would absolutely safe some money and find a mobile welder who is willing to drive out to you and burn it on for you.

 

Having done a couple of these, I'd recommend NR211 or equivalent for the wire. Solid wire with argon mix gas does NOT do well with dirty metal. NR211 gets a bad reputation from use in multi-pass welds, but it's fine for single pass applications. It will handle the rust etc that will be left even after a good prep job better than anything but 6011. Take your time and get the settings dialed in on some scrap plate before starting on the truck.
The little, cheap 120v welders will do this job. It may need a break now and then and a 30 amp circuit or higher is best, 20 will do it but may trip now and then.

 

I've seen this same type of thread come up a few times now. I had the Safe-T-Cap replacement done on my 2000 Tacoma a few years ago. I bought the materials and had a welder do it for me, he quoted me $1800. Wasn't a great deal all in all but the truck is safe now. I took some welding classes in college and I would not recommend welding a frame if you have no experience. That being said other folks here have the right idea about having someone do the welding after you do the other work. Also like I said I did the Safe-T-Cap repair and on the instructions they send you, it says to not remove the bed. The bed needs to stay on for alignment purposes. Granted the instructions may say something else if you get a different portion of the frame repaired. If you have any questions about it, let me know! I might even have a picture of the instructions still.