FJ62: Chassis Rust Advice

[DanimalATL]

I'm looking at this FJ62. I wanted your thoughts on the rust on this rig. Is this irreparable damage? Should I be worried? If I need to fix, what kind of costs am I looking at?

Thanks!

 

[PAToyota]

It’s hard to tell from just photos. I’d at least want to start poking it with an awl and tapping on it with a hammer to see how solid it is - surface rust, scale, or falling apart.

 

[gregnash]

Yeah I agree with @PAToyota that you need to start poking around with a screwdriver handle. Hard to tell from the photos but that does not look good, what does the rest of the truck look like?

Check the C-Channel of the frame between the rear wheels and the gas tank. If it looks like the steel is delaminating and pulling away then definitely will need some major work.

 

[DanimalATL]

thanks guys. checking on the truck next week.

 

[PAToyota]

From this picture here, the apparent blistering to the left of the bracket at the top (in the photo, below the bracket IRL) is questionable to me. Like Greg says, that could indicate delaminating steel rather than just surface rusting.

On my pickup, I patched up some holes for a couple years when the frame looked like that. As things kept opening up, I finally took a needle scaler up and down the frame to see what would knock loose. Unfortunately, I ended up with over half a five-gallon bucket of dust, scale, and pieces that I swept up off the driveway when I was finished and holes all over the place. The frame looked more like a truss with sizeable open spots in the web between the two flanges.

At that point, my solution was to build a new frame from tube steel.

 

[rustybucket]

From this picture here, the apparent blistering to the left of the bracket at the top (in the photo, below the bracket IRL) is questionable to me. Like Greg says, that could indicate delaminating steel rather than just surface rusting.

On my pickup, I patched up some holes for a couple years when the frame looked like that. As things kept opening up, I finally took a needle scaler up and down the frame to see what would knock loose. Unfortunately, I ended up with over half a five-gallon bucket of dust, scale, and pieces that I swept up off the driveway when I was finished and holes all over the place. The frame looked more like a truss with sizeable open spots in the web between the two flanges.

At that point, my solution was to build a new frame from tube steel.

 

[rustybucket]

How much work and effort would be needed to build half a rear frame for a fj60? It would be easier to cut half my off and installed a tube fabricated one. Also did you make a jig that allowed you to put the parts in the right position so they could be welded with accuracy?

 

[PAToyota]

Pretty much depends on your skills and what you have at your disposal as to how long it will take. I basically started off deciding on a tube size and then started measuring. Some places I made jigs that would hold things in place. Others I just tack welded things, remeasured, adjusted, and made sure everything was in the right place before finish welding.