Radiator Support Rust

[Tyland Cruiser]

I am a new 80 series owner and I spend way too much time reading threads on this forum. I acquired my rig in December, 2023. It has low miles (100k) and is in great shape. It spent a good part of its early life in the Midwest, but does not have a lot of rust on the frame or body, as the PO had underbody rust prevention treatments applied and did not drive it much. However, there is one concerning rust hole in the right side of the lower cross member of the Radiator Support. It's odd, because the rest of the radiator support is in good shape. Pics 1 & 2 show the rust spot. Pic 3 shows the rest of the lower cross member with no rust and clean paint.

I have no skills or equipment for a DIY welding patch. My question is whether:

1) I should try to replace the crossmember (OEM appears to still be available), which, as far as I can tell, would require an lot of work by a body shop to remove the old one and attach the new one.

2) I should replace the entire radiator support with a salvaged radiator support (I've seen some on-line that appear to be in decent shape). It appears the the entire support is bolted on, so I could most likely do this swap on my own. (I'd want to dig deeper for OEM bolts, nuts, and radiator bracket part numbers for this option).

3) I should try to have this spot repaired? I don't know whether its repairable and I don't have a camera scope, so I know how much rust there is on the inside of the rest of the Cross Member;

4) I should ignore it. I am in Colorado, so no salt on the roads here and we have a pretty arid climate. However, I plan on keeping the truck for many years and have already done a number of upgrades with Slee (6 inch lift, lockers, diff re-gear, etc.). I'm planning more upgrades in the future. I don't really like this option.

Any suggestions or advice would be most appreciated.

 

[JoeCova]

oof. I wasn’t expecting that. Well replacing the whole thing will be a pain since it’s tacked to other panels that hoses and wires run through.

With the front disassembled someone could probably cut and patch it with some welding.

If it was my rig it, I would replace it with new.

 

[Broski]

The Radiator support is all one piece that runs from side to side, and bolts in no welds.
If your a DIYer this a doable job that would save you $$$
The only thing that runs through it is the AC lines if your going that far I would just replace the condenser and dryer at the same time.

And yes I would definitely replace that over trying to get it patched it's rusting from the inside out and right at the front body mount.

 

[SpenserAK]

I hate rust. It's a sneaky little B that never sleeps. Have you truly thoroughly inspected the rest of the truck for rust, considering this area's condition?

Do you know what kind of undercoating?

 

[voodu3]

X2 on replace the entire core support. It will be easier and you’ll have a better end result. I replaced a damaged driver’s side and it was a huge pain and it took forever to get it to fit properly.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

I hate rust. It's a sneaky little B that never sleeps. Have you truly thoroughly inspected the rest of the truck for rust, considering this area's condition?

Do you know what kind of undercoating?

Unfortunately, I don't know what type of undercoating was used. I have not done what I would consider a thorough rust inspection, though this is the only visible spot beyond surface rust in places on the frame and axle housings, which plan to address sooner rather than later.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

X2 on replace the entire core support. It will be easier and you’ll have a better end result. I replaced a damaged driver’s side and it was a huge pain and it took forever to get it to fit properly.

Thank you. That is very helpful to know. Was the fit issue due to the damage, or just generally a tough fit to make?

All the subcomponents of the radiator support are still available from Toyota, so I could buy them all new and find a shop to spot weld them together. Not a cheap solution, but may be the best one.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

The Radiator support is all one piece that runs from side to side, and bolts in no welds.
If your a DIYer this a doable job that would save you $$$
The only thing that runs through it is the AC lines if your going that far I would just replace the condenser and dryer at the same time.

And yes I would definitely replace that over trying to get it patched it's rusting from the inside out and right at the front body mount.

Thank you. It appears a full replacement may be the best approach for the long run.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

oof. I wasn’t expecting that. Well replacing the whole thing will be a pain since it’s tacked to other panels that hoses and wires run through.

With the front disassembled someone could probably cut and patch it with some welding.

If it was my rig it, I would replace it with new.

Thank you. It seems full replacement may be the best option, though its will be pricey.

 

[Broski]

Thank you. That is very helpful to know. Was the fit issue due to the damage, or just generally a tough fit to make?

All the subcomponents of the radiator support are still available from Toyota, so I could buy them all new and find a shop to spot weld them together. Not a cheap solution, but may be the best one.

I would not go that route.
I would find a good used radiator support and just put the hole thing in as one piece. Everything will line up perfect it will bolt right in and less chance of rust later.
And it will cost less.
Getting all those sub-components to line up correctly is not going to be a easy task even for a professional, I'm sure that's what Voodu3 issue was.
A good used one will be all one piece !!
Place a want add in the part-out section

 

[voodu3]

Thank you. That is very helpful to know. Was the fit issue due to the damage, or just generally a tough fit to make?

All the subcomponents of the radiator support are still available from Toyota, so I could buy them all new and find a shop to spot weld them together. Not a cheap solution, but may be the best one.

It was a combination of everything. The damage wasn’t that bad but removing the damaged part without messing up the good parts. Then getting the new part to fit properly with the adhesive etc. It added up to hours of work and I still had to have a body shop help me get it right in the end.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

UPDATE ON THIS THREAD: Initially, I bought a new bottom cross-member from Toyota because I couldn't find an old radiator support to swap in. The new cross member cost about $300 and the repair job of cutting out the rusted cross-member and welding in the new one would have not been cheap. I was also concerned about the fitment issues raised in the replies to this thread. I eventually found a good radiator support from another 80 and returned the new cross member to Toyota. The donor truck was a different color, so the donor radiator support needed to be painted, especially because the top portion is immediately visible when you open the hood. The donor truck was white and my truck is blue. Got the paint from TouchUpDirect.com, which has the original Toyota 80 series paint colors available.

 

[Kernal]

Got photos of the work?

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

Finally posing an update to this. The replacement core support is painted an installed. Here are before and after photos. Heard from a couple of others with '97 LCs that they had rust in the same location on their core support. Wondering if this was a manufacturing issue on a batch of core supports for the '97s. If others have had this same issue, please let us know.

.

 

[baldilocks]

Finally posing an update to this. The replacement core support is painted an installed. Here are before and after photos. Heard from a couple of others with '97 LCs that they had rust in the same location on their core support. Wondering if this was a manufacturing issue on a batch of core supports for the '97s. If others have had this same issue, please let us know.

View attachment 3853124View attachment 3853122.

I’ve replaced body mounts on two 80’s that right forward bolt that passed down through the the mount was by far the most rusted. Most of the other mount through bolts looked very good when the left forward under the battery. I assume it has to do with coolant. How did the body mount bolt look?

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

I’ve replaced body mounts on two 80’s that right forward bolt that passed down through the the mount was by far the most rusted. Most of the other mount through bolts looked very good when the left forward under the battery. I assume it has to do with coolant. How did the body mount bolt look?

Yeah, coolant overflow / spillage would make sense. Running too long with an old, deteriorating radiator that boils over and/or needs topped off frequently - that was very likely the case with the PO of my truck. The body mount bolts were definitely more rusty on the right side. Replaced both front body mounts with new OEM. Wonder if using the cheap, green/yellow stuff instead of Toyota red also makes a difference with corrosion here.

 

[Kernal]

@Tyland Cruiser : Good job.

Do you have a photo of the inside/backside of the section that was replaced?? Seems like water and dirt could get trapped in that section with no way to get out?? Add a little road salt/chemicals and boom, rust. Checking mine in the AM.

 

[Tyland Cruiser]

@Tyland Cruiser : Good job.

Do you have a photo of the inside/backside of the section that was replaced?? Seems like water and dirt could get trapped in that section with no way to get out?? Add a little road salt/chemicals and boom, rust. Checking mine in the AM.

Don't have any photos of inside or the back of that section. It was concern that the rust was already eating away on the inside and would further weaken the core support that prompted the search for a replacement. The donor core support came from another 80 and was clean, with no rust.

 

[NeverFinis]

I think this is one of the common areas for the 80 series to rust. I think it starts inside, in between the metal layers and then expands outward.

The driver's side is just a bulge, with no external surface rust.

Below is a picture of mine on the passenger side. I decided it is a later problem, and I just sprayed everything with fluid film, inside and out.

 

[csanders]

@Tyland Cruiser Awesome fix. This is a good PSA for people to check that area when doing a radiator replacement. That radiator reinforcement mount piece that connects the upper radiator support to the lower front cross member sub-assembly has a channel in it that gives access to the top of that long #1 body mount bolt. If mud and water (or coolant) sit in that channel, it'll start to corrode the body mount hardware followed by all those support pieces. There are slits that should let crud flow out, but they can get clogged similar to the rocker panel drain slits. I just hosed mine out, dried it, hit it with rust converter, and then a liberal spray of Fluid Film.

@Kernal Is this the back/inside section you mentioned? This is the channel I was referring to. The bolt and washer in the top left of the picture are part of the #1 body mount hardware, and that channel can fill up with mud and hold water.