Going through the annual ritual of getting the underside of the truck ready for Ohio winter by wire brushing any rusty spots, spraying with rustoleum 2 in 1 rust converter, and finishing with a top coat of woolwax.
Sadly this year I found a compromised part of the frame on the passenger side. I was hoping to keep the truck for as long as possible so this is something that needs to be addressed.
Would you all recommend i get this patched or try to find a frame down south? I found this site that sells a reinforcement kit for this exact location but how can I be sure the frame rust isn't continuing to spread rapidly under the repair?
I spent an hour banging and prodding and got the loose material out of the frame, the damage seems constrained to the bottom and inner side of the frame for about 14" behind the crossmember mount.
Any advice or opinions are welcome. Really hoping to get another decade out of the old girl if I can swing it.
I would go over the entire frame with a fine-toothed comb. The passenger side frame rail behind the front tire is notorious for rusting, as is the core support area. An inspection camera can help you see inside the frame. If the frame has additional places where it's Swiss cheese like that, I'd personally frame-swap it (which has been done for a GX and a 4th gen 4Runner on this forum - and frankly does not look like a terrible job at all).
If it was my rig and the rust was restricted to that area, I'd cut out the rot and use the frame patch. I suspect it's <1 day of work to weld that on - and if you don't weld it's a good excuse to get a MIG welder.
Yeah thats what ive been doing the past few days geting ready for the winter woolwax application. Hammering and wire brushing any surface rust directly into my hair and eyes.
It really does seem to only be this one spot. I shot the pictures to my rollcage guy he said he could cut it and patch it ezpz so for now thats the plan.
Whats a good way to really wash out the inside of the frame? Special attachments for a pressure washer? Maybe take it to a special kind of shop with special equipment?
Yeah thats what ive been doing the past few days geting ready for the winter woolwax application. Hammering and wire brushing any surface rust directly into my hair and eyes.
It really does seem to only be this one spot. I shot the pictures to my rollcage guy he said he could cut it and patch it ezpz so for now thats the plan.
Whats a good way to really wash out the inside of the frame? Special attachments for a pressure washer? Maybe take it to a special kind of shop with special equipment?
I've never washed out the inside of my frame, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. Perhaps it could be done with a pressure washer wand that fits inside the frame, but there are not really any good drain holes to allow things to come out. You'd need to cut off the rear caps at the very back of the frame (by the bumper/trailer hitch) for water/debris to have any chance of coming out of the frame. Unless the inside is full of gunk, I'd just Fluid Film the frame interior instead.
