How much RUST is TOO much

[jlope]

I’m looking to purchase my first 100 series and I’ve been on the lookout for some time now. I have the opportunity to purchase a 03’ lx470 with 160k for a little over 9k or a 04’ LC with 240k for 11k. Both are beautiful, and look to be fairly well taken care of. However, I live in the salt belt, where trucks come to die. Everything on the road here is going to have some form of rust. I’m just not sure how much is too much and being unfamiliar with these vehicles at this point, just looking at the underside it’s hard to see if there are problem areas other than frame.

The first 3 photos are of the LX, the other two are the LC. Neither owner claims there is major rust. I’m a little concerned about the crossmember on the LX. I’m a little concerned that the LC’ rust has just been covered with some quick underbody spray.

I’d appreciate anyone’s thoughts on these.
THANKS!

 

[jlope]

I’m looking to purchase my first 100 series and I’ve been on the lookout for some time now. I have the opportunity to purchase a 03’ lx470 with 160k for a little over 9k or a 04’ LC with 240k for 11k. Both are beautiful, and look to be fairly well taken care of. However, I live in the salt belt, where trucks come to die. Everything on the road here is going to have some form of rust. I’m just not sure how much is too much and being unfamiliar with these vehicles at this point, just looking at the underside it’s hard to see if there are problem areas other than frame.

The first 3 photos are of the LX, the other two are the LC. Neither owner claims there is major rust. I’m a little concerned about the crossmember on the LX. I’m a little concerned that the LC’ rust has just been covered with some quick underbody spray.

I’d appreciate anyone’s thoughts on these.
THANKS!

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Few more photos of the LC

 

[Voypescado]

I live in the South so this response may seem a little "privileged" but both of those trucks would send me walking.

After owning and wrenching on Toyotas for the better part of 15yrs now, believe me when I tell you rust SUCKS!.
Given 2 cruisers, all else being equal, 1 with 200,000 on the clock and under carriage rust in keeping with a lifetime of salty roads and the other with 300,000 miles but rust free...I'm taking the rust free truck with the extra 100,000 miles on it all day.

Here's a fact: If you're after the sort of reliability that these trucks built their reputation on, that 100series is gonna need some PM as soon as you pull it into the garage.
The minute you take a wrench to that seized up tie-rod end, your gonna wish you had made the drive to Alabama to pick up a clean rig.
Wanna replace shocks? Hope you've got a decent saws-all laying around.
Or when you whiff that sweet and unmistakable gear oil smell and find a pin-hole leak in the rear diff housing at your parking brake cable bracket.
The list really goes on and on here...and believe me, I'm speaking from experience.

As for the rattle-can underbelly rust cover-up jobs that litter the used car lots of all the local hustlers in my neck of the woods, always a deal breaker for me when I crawl up under there and see it.

BUT, I will say that the rust depicted in the pics above is not even close to being out of the ordinary for Northern trucks. Nore is it "severe" by those standards. Heck, I'd even venture to call it mild for a "rust belt" rig. And I know plenty of guys on this forum are so accustomed to dealing with the orange stuff that they'd jump on either deal in a minute assuming everything else checked out. Heck, there's a reason God gave us PB Blaster.

 

[dubdub20003]

Paraphrasing something I posted in another thread…

I have to believe you can find a much better southern car. Rust always wins. You can fight it and fight it... but it virtually always wins out. I'd much rather replace parts on a rust free vehicle than fight rust on thsee rides.

It is not just a question of whether it has rusted through the frame somewhere so you have structural issues... look at every single nut and bolt. You will fight those to get free every time. Rusted bolts also round over easy, so then you really have to get creative with cutting wheels and the like.

You live in IN.. there is no reason you cannot find a better option in GA, AL, FL, SC, TX, etc. Don't hate yourself this much. You deserve better! Just find a rust free car, buy a one way ticket and drive home… best $500 gift you could ever give yourself!

 

[plainjanefjc]

Hard pass on both of those. I paid a big premium but zero rust….

 

[jlope]

Paraphrasing something I posted in another thread…

I have to believe you can find a much better southern car. Rust always wins. You can fight it and fight it... but it virtually always wins out. I'd much rather replace parts on a rust free vehicle than fight rust on thsee rides.

It is not just a question of whether it has rusted through the frame somewhere so you have structural issues... look at every single nut and bolt. You will fight those to get free every time. Rusted bolts also round over easy, so then you really have to get creative with cutting wheels and the like.

You live in IN.. there is no reason you cannot find a better option in GA, AL, FL, SC, TX, etc. Don't hate yourself this much. You deserve better! Just find a rust free car, buy a one way ticket and drive home… best $500 gift you could ever give yourself!

Yeah, I’ve been trying to locate a decently priced one outside the rust belt. Just tough to find something that’s not 25-35k.

 

[plainjanefjc]

Yeah, I’ve been trying to locate a decently priced one outside the rust belt. Just tough to find something that’s not 25-35k.

In the long run that could be money well spent though. Get a turnkey Land Cruiser, zero rust, mods mostly complete, full maintenance records, etc.

 

[whitec13]

I have a buddy with a 03 for sale in southern Michigan that is a California cruiser - zero rust and tons of recent maintenance. The ad is in the classifieds.

 

[TwistedCon]

I have rust on mine and mine was borderline for me even though I was pretty comfortable with rust. Those trucks are a no go for me.

 

[dubdub20003]

I should have also added, I live what I preach. I live in DC and everything here and north is rusty, so I hopped a flight to Atlanta and drove one home from Craigslist. You can fix and replace all other parts… rust can only be stopped with lots and lots of cash. I’d rather put that money into things to make it reliable and capable than… you know, not full of holes.
good luck!

 

[stonepa]

Another perspective. Are you working on this yourself or taking it to a shop? In the salty areas this rust is less than typical for the age. Any shop up north knows how to deal with rusty nuts as they do that every single day. A little PB Blaster, a little heat, and the nut is off. In Arizona they don’t know how to do this as they have little salt experience so you get comments about the salt apocalypse and sawzalls.

Any rust free 100 you buy in the south will look like these photos soon enough unless you fluid film or waxoil the underside every single fall.

If you can find one that’s rust free, then excellent. If you can’t or don’t want to spend the premium plus the travel then get one of these as long as the maintenance and mechanicals check out.

My 1998 for context. 452k miles. Owned since new.

 

[MountaineerLC]

JMO, but this forum has a pathological hatred of rust even in the smallest amount. (I do understand it though) Neither one of those trucks look "bad". The LC looks much better, but I can't tell from the pics if they have sprayed something over top of rust, which is bad juju.

On a side note, part of me hates to see clean southern Cruisers taken north to die.

 

[MountaineerLC]

Double tap...

 

[jlope]

JMO, but this forum has a pathological hatred of rust even in the smallest amount. (I do understand it though) Neither one of those trucks look "bad". The LC looks much better, but I can't tell from the pics if they have sprayed something over top of rust, which is bad juju.

On a side note, part of me hates to see clean southern Cruisers taken north to die.

 

[jlope]

Yeah the LC looks better but I’m pretty sure they painted over it. The skid plates look solid though, which is surprising. Looking a little harder I think there is some rusted through rockers, so I think im going to pass on it. it was a one owner vehicle, which is the only reason I had high hopes.

 

[jlope]

Another perspective. Are you working on this yourself or taking it to a shop? In the salty areas this rust is less than typical for the age. Any shop up north knows how to deal with rusty nuts as they do that every single day. A little PB Blaster, a little heat, and the nut is off. In Arizona they don’t know how to do this as they have little salt experience so you get comments about the salt apocalypse and sawzalls.

Any rust free 100 you buy in the south will look like these photos soon enough unless you fluid film or waxoil the underside every single fall.

If you can find one that’s rust free, then excellent. If you can’t or don’t want to spend the premium plus the travel then get one of these as long as the maintenance and mechanicals check out.

My 1998 for context. 452k miles. Owned since new.

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I used to exclusively work on my own stuff but I’m getting older and don’t have the patience I used to. I just had a brake line explode on my Subaru from rust. so I’m paying more attention on my next purchase.

 

[MountaineerLC]

Yeah the LC looks better but I’m pretty sure they painted over it. The skid plates look solid though, which is surprising. Looking a little harder I think there is some rusted through rockers, so I think im going to pass on it. it was a one owner vehicle, which is the only reason I had high hopes.

Understandable, body rust is much harder to deal with, IMO.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

if you plan to keep it in IN... it will inevitably die a rusty death, no matter what you do... so leave the rust free rigs to live long happy lives in the desert....