Is this too much rust?

I’m considering a 100 with 200,000 miles that lived most of its life in PA. Must have been garaged and used by mostly just the driver because the exterior and interior are in really great shape. Drivetrain seems solid and I’ll have that evaluated after the 4th.

I’ve crawled the vehicle front to back, top to bottom, looking at the inevitable salt belt rust and it’s there, but not as bad as it could be. The frame seems solid everywhere I test it. There are many rusty brackets, but surface rust as far as I can tell. The one area that's falling apart is a piece that goes across the back of the vehicle that appears to be a bumper support. Below are photos taken before the current owner did a POR 15 under treatment. Would you take this on? What else should I look for in terms of rust?

 

[jwmNC]

Here are a few photos I took of the rustiest part, behind the spare tire, under the bumper:

 

[Red Beard]

Looks like he did some sort of treatment before those photos in your first post. You can see the wheel marks.

In the second post, looks like there are some areas that have been painted over and lots of rust back there.

You’re gonna have rust in hard to reach spots. Suspension work will be rusty. I wonder if the rear AC is working or capped off. Broken bolts would be in your future.

Some spots to check:
1. Rear cross member in front of spare on driver side. Should be a hole there.
2. Passenger side front sway bar bracket. The AC will leak down onto that and sometime those will weaken and snap.
3. On the body near the wheels, underneath the running boards.
4. Upper hatch, under the Land Cruiser word mark, near the handle and license plate lights.


Lots of people on here would run at that amount of rust. I can’t make a judgement based on those photos. Seems like the owner is aware of rust mitigation so some spots are probably covered up.

 

[cwags12]

Agree with most/all of the above. Also, FWIW...seems like they either didn't prep that metal at all before applying coating. Or they did not actually use POR-15 material. The way it generally self levels and cures is not consistent with the coating that is shown in those pics.

 

[jwmNC]

Yes, they've definitely tried to put lipstick on the pig in some places, but they were also honest to point me to the most rusty part in the back, so it wasn't a surprise. The rust doesn't seem to be structural, but it would be a real pain to work on certain jobs.

My intent for the vehicle is not as a collector, only getting it for my son to drive for the next 5 years and I think the drivetrain would last that long. No plans to customize/lift/overland, just a big tank to keep him safe in Charlotte traffic (@cwags12 guess we're neighbors!). I could probably do a better job treating the rust than has been done to this point, in my driveway.

 

[Red Beard]

Yes, they've definitely tried to put lipstick on the pig in some places, but they were also honest to point me to the most rusty part in the back, so it wasn't a surprise. The rust doesn't seem to be structural, but it would be a real pain to work on certain jobs.

My intent for the vehicle is not as a collector, only getting it for my son to drive for the next 5 years and I think the drivetrain would last that long. No plans to customize/lift/overland, just a big tank to keep him safe in Charlotte traffic (@cwags12 guess we're neighbors!). I could probably do a better job treating the rust than has been done to this point, in my driveway.

In that case, it’s probably more than fine. Just definitely check for that hole and sway bar brackets. Might give you a reason to knock the price down. If it’s close to me in PA, I might be able to check it out.

 

[jwmNC]

In that case, it’s probably more than fine. Just definitely check for that hole and sway bar brackets. Might give you a reason to knock the price down. If it’s close to me in PA, I might be able to check it out.

Thanks, but it’s not in PA any more, it near me in North Carolina. Appreciate the offer and the input.

 

[Crush 4]

FWIW -Just a general statement about rusty undercarriages. You will fight every bolt, nut, screw, fastener ! If you plan on doing the work yourself make sure to order replacement fasteners !
These types of undercarriages are the reason I try to buy southern/ western vehicles, saves a ton of hassles!!

 

[jwmNC]

FWIW -Just a general statement about rusty undercarriages. You will fight every bolt, nut, screw, fastener ! If you plan on doing the work yourself make sure to order replacement fasteners !
These types of undercarriages are the reason I try to buy southern/ western vehicles, saves a ton of hassles!!

You're exactly right. Every steel bracket and nut and bolt will most likely have to be cut/torched off.

 

[joatmoo]

Waaay, too much rust. If you like the 100's, save your money, spend a little more and look below VA and in TX and CA. I just spent a bunch of time looking and upgraded from two 100's to two 200's. If you're interested, I have just posted my second 100, it's a 2002, 152k miles, and I had the undercarriage blasted and POR 15 painted. Whats your budget?

 

[joatmoo]

For Sale - Maryland, 2002 LC 100

2002 Land Cruiser 100 150k miles No kids, no pets, no smoking OME shocks and springs and torsion bars and 2 inch lift done years ago Timing belt, pump, idlers are all done New DS power window switch set Clean inside and outside and underside Just had the under carriage blasted and POR painted...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[jwmNC]

Thanks, I ended up finding an '05 4Runner with 121,000 miles and zero rust and went that direction. The other cruiser was a pretty attractive price at $13k, but my transmission shop ran a test and found the torque converter wasn't performing up to spec. That combined with the other things it needed and the rust made me walk away.

 

[joatmoo]

Sounds like you went the right way.
Safe travels.

 

[nbahawk]

Adding to this thread, apologies if it’s not the right place to post, first time posting here. Considering buying a 2007 LX 470. The car is located in NY with 70k miles with clean title and carfax. I’m concerned of the undercarriage rust. Would love to get thoughts on the seriousness of the rust and is it worth 30k?. Have a few pics:

 

[joatmoo]

For a serious conversation, PM me and I'll share my 20+ years experience with rust and 100s that started life in Boston and NY.

 

[jwmNC]

The guy I trust the most about this says that the advantage of rust in these NE vehicles is that they don't leak oil, brake fluid, whatever. Almost like the rust seals everything up so tight that they can't. The disadvantage is that if you have to service anything, it's going to take longer, cost more and require more parts because you're going to break things in the process. On balance, the rust is more hassle than it's worth even given what seems like a good price.

 

[katchup]

No where near 30k. That one is pretty bad. Id be skeptical even closer to 15k

 

[klasseless]

I've got an 06 for sale with many more miles that is WAAAY cleaner than that: For Sale - Seattle, WA: 2006 Lexus LX470 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/seattle-wa-2006-lexus-lx470.1312610/

 

[nbahawk]

Thank you everyone for chiming in. I’ll pass on this deal for now and keep looking for a clean LX.