toyota undercoating?

Hi!

I've got a 15 year old truck that isn't too badly rusted for its age, and I want to keep it that way. The rear axle is red, some of the brake and fuel lines are not leaking but show blooms of corrosion, and towards the front one part of the frame has some perforations. It's under the accumulator and a/c evaporator both.

As I want to keep this for at least another 5 years, I'm wondering if undercoating makes sense?

The local toyota dealer wants $100 to undercoat the frame, $150 if I do floorpans too. Err, that's an inside deal. Retail might be higher.
They say there's an official toyota product that's a rust inhibitor, also, and claim that it's not an issue if there's already rust present (that it won't trap and seal in moisture, just exacerbating the issue), and that they spray something else inside the frame rails also.

I understand that a modern unibody car rarely benefits from undercoating, but this is an older full-frame truck, and it's rusting.
Does undercoating make sense?
or can it trap in rust and salt?

Alternatively I've heard that just spraying oil can help?

 

Welcome to TW from Orlando!

If this is a 1st generation Tacoma, have you had it officially inspected by Toyota to be sure it does not qualify for the recall?

Fink

 

I would scrape any surface rust off, then use primer galvanized stuff then use black spray paint, then get it undercoated. The undercoating will just hid the rust for a bit. I did that before to a 2000 silverado I owned and it worked amazing. only a few cans of each too

 

Bernini, Before you spend a dime, have the frame inspected at a Toyota dealer. You say you have rust perforation in your frame. That qualifies you for Toyota Corporation, not the dealer, to buy your truck for 150% of resale value, meaning that is the best deal in town. My 98 Tacoma frame rusted through, Toyota Corporation bought my truck for almost $12,000. Blue book trade in value was in the area of $4500.

 

i have a stock 05 trd ac and thinking of fixing/upgrading it up w/a lift, tires, exhaust etc but the frame is pretty rusty, my mechanic says its not too bad, just dont want to throw a couple grand at it if its not worth it.