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- #41
It was just convienient at the time of purchase. The truck was right down the road from me. Of course,
Frame Replacement (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter CBeckFJ
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- 100 series frame
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Yes, and careful camera placement. I even asked several detailed questions about rust before bidding. My bad. Expensive lesson.
084runnerltd
SILVER Star
Slightly off topic, but what do you guys do to clean up your underbody??
I was recently submerged in clay during a water crossing....took 5-6 washes just to get the exterior clean....climbed underneath the other day and everything is just coated with hard clay....
Can’t even pull it off by hand, I started in with a screwdriver but quickly gave up as I realized I would be scraping out clay for days.....
Back on topic: threads like this make me thankful for having zero inspections!
I was recently submerged in clay during a water crossing....took 5-6 washes just to get the exterior clean....climbed underneath the other day and everything is just coated with hard clay....
Can’t even pull it off by hand, I started in with a screwdriver but quickly gave up as I realized I would be scraping out clay for days.....
Back on topic: threads like this make me thankful for having zero inspections!
084runnerltd
SILVER Star
I bought a 2000 off ebay that I regret. Really nice inside, and ok mileage at 182K. Got it home and found a rust hole in the frame big enough to stick your thumb in. Right next to the cross-member. I won't sell it to anyone. My ex batted her eyes and got it to pass inspection so it is registered on the road, but I won't take it off road. I went through the same thought process you did re replacing the frame, and visited a couple of respected LC specialist shops in Northern Virginia. The telling quote was when I asked the hypothetical: "If I said money was no object, what would it cost to replace the frame and do this up right." The response was: we would start by taking your money and buying you another truck. I did confirm the thing is not actually unsafe to drive around on-road, but I am expecting a failure one day soon.
Also on rust, it was slightly pulling to one side, but still technically in-spec. Sears (which I figure can handle an alignment) tried like anything to get the bushings off which needed to be replaced. No go. So as others have said, it is not just the frame, but everything else tends to be frozen in place.
Just for fun here is a photo to my eternal shame for having purchased:
Nice, right?
Still looks great, right? Wait a sec....what's that dark spot on the cross-member!? (Which I missed on ebay.) Its a hole. And not the only one.
I have a 1998 coming in from Dubai that has 347K miles on it but is in great mechanical shape (I've had it gone through pretty thoroughly.) This 2000 is going to serve as the donor for the interior, and maybe a few other parts. Then this sad truck will be donated to the local public radio station. I won't sell it to anyone.
I did the same thing...bought a 2001 that looked great on the outside and then mistakenly trusted the seller and didn't do my normal full underbody inspection. The end result was a rusted out section of rear frame and about 12" of rusted frame just before and after the cross member on both the driver and passenger side. Since I'm stationed overseas and couldn't ship another car, I fixed it myself by cuting out the bad frame section, overlapping two 1/4" angle iron pieces, that were long enough to extend into both sides of the frame, and then welded it all back up.
A bit difficult to describe over text but the end result was that I replaced about 12-16" of driver and passenger side frame rail with much thicker angle iron, welded, painted, and seam sealed it so I don't have to worry about rust again, and it's as stout as can be with no worries of failure. Yes, it took a bit of time and some careful measurements, but I figure I'm into it for ~$40 worth of materials (angle iron, paint, welding consumables).
Since I could stick my arm in my bad sections and you're only contending with your thumb, yours should be an easy fix. An off-road shop will put a fish plate over that and you'll be good to go...that's what I did on the back portion of my frame and it's as stout as can be and where I live, I'm off-road just about every week. Shucks, if you keep it until 2019 when I'm headed back, I'll trade you a Wendy's Frosty for the labor of welding it up for you.
Is the hole bigger than the factory holes that are already in your frame?
Post up some pictures. As someone who's "been there, done that" I can give you a decent assessment and estimate of how you can fix it.
LOL!
Thanks for this. I feel a bit better about my foolishness. The real concern is that the holes are around the crossmember. My 19 year old son has suggested several times that we weld up some stiffening members and I've resisted based on the advice of local shops, but on the other hand, no harm would be done. Here in Dubai I happened to see a rust free cross member at the local shop that I could carry back with me to the US on my next trip so I could just replace that, and focus on the frame rails. I think the first step would be to sand blast to see what we really are working with. Perhaps I will ask my son to take a few more photos with better light, and post them here and see what the collective wisdom suggests. I now have a large garage in Northern Virginia so a lot of things get more practical. My ex loves the truck as does my 19 year old--who kind of covets it as well. Mechanically things seem sound apart from various rust issues around the wheelwells now showing up again, and the spare tire elevator thing is frozen or rusted off--hard to tell at the moment. Again, thanks for the post!
No worries, about the only good thing that came out of me purchasing my rustbucket, aka Rusty, is that I've become the defacto driveway expert on frame repairs. I had crossmember degradation as well but when I took it apart and really looked at it, there aren't any twisting forces on the crossmember so even that patch out of yours probably doesn't affect anything structurally. Having a nice solid one is nicer than having a ratty one though so if the price is right, why not?
Having your son post photos would be great, that'll give a much better idea of what you're working with. I'll see about posting mine as well, I don't remember how detailed they are since I was mainly sending them to my dad so we could collectively shake our heads in disbelief together, but they might be good enough to show how bad it was and how I fixed it. If nothing else, I can take some current close in photos that'll explain the fix better.
I'm due for my yearly oil change soon, I plan to thin what comes out of the crankcase with a couple quarts of diesel and then liberally apply it to the inside of the frame rails to slow any future rust. I think I got all of the rust flakes out when I put the new patches in but if any stayed behind, they need to be coated or else they'll slowly start recruiting good pieces of frame and the process will continue.
The wheel well rust sucks, I don't have a quick answer for that and I was getting it mainly just behind the rear doors at the beginning of the wells. I was thinking about 3d printing a small piece with the Toyota logo that I could use as a liner/cover but haven't figured out how to do it yet without looking tacky. The other thought was to cut out the bad, coat with POR-15 or what's locally available, and then build sliders that integrate the lines of the fender well where the rust is. Either way, I'm planning to sell the truck when I leave here in another year and aren't sure if it's worth the time yet....
But yeah, post up some photos and we'll go from there.
Just curious who you are using for the inspection and possible frame swap. I'm just down the road in Durham, go to Dover all the time, have spent more time than I wanted fixing rusty frames. Offering another set of eyes to look it over if you want.
Good luck.
FWIW to anyone, I went to a shop in RI called Auto Rust Technicians where they quoted me around $2,200 (16 Hours labor) to replace the cross member above the rear axle, patch the rear frame rails, replace rear body mounts, and weld in a new passenger side front sway bracket. My spare wheel elevator is most definitely frozen or rusted, and my very rearmost cross member is basically gone, so I figured I'd buy a 4x4Labs (or something that removes that x-member) Bumper with tire carrier as a solution (weld myself), instead of bothering to replace it. I was then going to have them just sandblast (possibly, either that or I go under with a wire wheel) and I'd coat it myself unless their price to also coat is good.
This seems like the most cost-effective solution, at least for me.
I'm up in the air about it, but it's probably worth it in the end even if I'm dumping money. I'll maybe assess what I could do myself (like the sway bracket) to save some money. If I end up doing it (which, I probably will since my girlfriend will push me towards it in good thought) I'll post a whole thread and break everything down. I can already see the backlash from those who wouldn't dare spend a dime on fixing an already rusty truck (never mind set their eyes upon one) but whatever. Maybe it'll help someone in these same positions.
This seems like the most cost-effective solution, at least for me.
I'm up in the air about it, but it's probably worth it in the end even if I'm dumping money. I'll maybe assess what I could do myself (like the sway bracket) to save some money. If I end up doing it (which, I probably will since my girlfriend will push me towards it in good thought) I'll post a whole thread and break everything down. I can already see the backlash from those who wouldn't dare spend a dime on fixing an already rusty truck (never mind set their eyes upon one) but whatever. Maybe it'll help someone in these same positions.
OOPS, A double post -- ignore.
Here are a couple of photos of the frame that my son took this morning, driver's side fairly near the cross member. He's off getting a light to take better photos, but...it is worse, much worse than I thought...
He's named the truck 'Crusty'. I'm just glad that I have two good trucks being delivered in a week or two. So this will be coming off the road. Then we can play with it--and if we screw it up, no harm done. I don't think we can make it worse. Its just so sad that mechanically the truck is great, and the interior is much better than average.
This guy mustie1 has a pretty entertaining youtube channel. Here's a video of him fixing a rotted frame rail on a Tundra:
Also, for those of us in New England, there's a guy in CT that will sandblast the undercarriage of your LC and paint it with epoxy primer and finish coat for like $600. I forgot his name, but could probably find it if anyone is interested. A guy on the 80 forum used him and was pleased with the results. I opted to not do it as the sand is so abrasive I was concerned about my fuel lines, fuel tank, brake lines, etc. getting destroyed.
- Thread starter
- #56
I can see If I can find time to get under it, with school and football, my schedules pretty cramped.
Here are a couple of photos of the frame that my son took this morning, driver's side fairly near the cross member. He's off getting a light to take better photos, but...it is worse, much worse than I thought...
He's named the truck 'Crusty'. I'm just glad that I have two good trucks being delivered in a week or two. So this will be coming off the road. Then we can play with it--and if we screw it up, no harm done. I don't think we can make it worse. Its just so sad that mechanically the truck is great, and the interior is much better than average.
That looks rough at first glance but once you wire wheel it and get all the flaky stuff out of the way and see where the true rot is, you'll still be way ahead of where I started from. Believe it or not, you can fix that safely and make it stronger than new with just a bit of angle iron, a grinder, some arc rods, and a bit of time. Since your son likes working on the truck, I'd have him lay under there with a hammer (and eye pro) and start banging away to get all the flakes off. After that, start hitting on the frame to see where the bad stuff ends and the good stuff begins...my guess is that you're going to find some more weak crust and nasty rot underneath where the crossmember bolts too. Also be prepared for the outermost crossmember bolts to wring off but the two inner bolts will probably come off. Have him brush a tad of brake fluid on them each day when he gets home from school so that they'll be ready when you get home. This is for both sides.
Once the crossmember is off and you see how bad it is, that's when the real fun can start
!But no worries, even if you work slow you can be good to go in just a Saturday and have a nice strong new section in place. Check your rear body mounts, I bet they're rusted off the body or otherwise in pretty rough shape.
- Thread starter
- #59
UPDATE
I emailed cruiser solutions and cruiserparts about frame swaps. I can get a frame in good condition for $1200, and have Cruiser Solutions swap it in, predicting around $5300, if labor is $70/h and its a 70 hour job. Thats what I was told by cruiserparts
I emailed cruiser solutions and cruiserparts about frame swaps. I can get a frame in good condition for $1200, and have Cruiser Solutions swap it in, predicting around $5300, if labor is $70/h and its a 70 hour job. Thats what I was told by cruiserparts
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
My 2000 with 230k was $6500 with zero rust. Just because you don't have holes in your frame any more doesn't mean every fastener on the truck isn't rusty too. That will jack up your labor time, broken fasteners, etc. I wouldn't go down that road. It is not worth the effort at all. If it won't pass, just patch it up. If that doesn't make you happy fly to Texas to buy one and drive the truck back.
