Roof Rusting Through

[xplore]

I recently purchased a 2000 LX470. It had a few projects that needed to be completed, but overall, it was in decent shape. One issue that I knew needed to be addressed was some corrosion on the roof, although I didn't know how bad the damage was. I searched the forum and didn't see anyone else dealing with the same issue, so I figured I should write it up. It's just something to be aware of to try to catch early, but hopefully not too many others have to deal with the same issue.

The corrosion was under the rubber strips that run from front to back on the roof. The strips are held on by foam tape which I believe absorbed and held water in place leading to corrosion. Unfortunately, the rust went all the way through the roof in some spots as you can see from the photos.

I used a grinder wheel to remove as much of the rust as possible, and then I used a mini sandblaster to remove the rust from the deep pits in the roof. Once all of the rust was removed from the top and bottom of the roof, I primed the bare metal and then used aluminum duct tape to line the inside of the roof where the holes were. On the top of the roof, I used Bondo to fill the pits and larger holes and then sanded it smooth once dry. I ended up spraying the entire roof with truck bed liner spray to finish it off.

While I had the headliner and upper pillar trim off, I took the opportunity to apply sound deadening and jute insulation throughout. I'm glad I did. It seemed to help the driving noise quite a bit.

 

[Kabanstva]

Never seen a 100 roof rust through like this...

 

[xplore]

Never seen a 100 roof rust through like this...

I'm new to the 100 series, but I thought it was pretty surprising. Besides the roof, it has some very light surface rust in some areas underneath, but it's extremely minimal.

 

[thibaut]

Are these strips oem in the US ?
My UK truck doesn’t have them.
May be a previous owner ill fated attempt ?

 

[xplore]

Are these strips oem in the US ?
My UK truck doesn’t have them.
May be a previous owner ill fated attempt ?

I believe they are OEM. I'm new to this platform, but I did a quick photo search and quickly found photos of them on some other 100 series.

 

[Manhattan]

There's nothing OEM in that picture other than the Land Cruiser - the rack, the strips... Looks like a Rocky Road rack. Never seen the strips before. Maybe an accessory with an aftermarket rack.

 

[Alibaster]

My roof. I have not put anything on it since I purchased it and I am the second owner. It was stock as far as I know when I got it.

Disclaimer: I don’t need a million dollar awning or $12,000 shovel rack so I literally don’t care about my crossbars or any roof gear queer stuff.

 

[Manhattan]

I still don't think they're factory (based on very little). The three sets of roof strips are different - lengths, etc.

 

[MountaineerLC]

I'd guess they're port installed just like the fender flares on some 100's. FWIW, my LC has them.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I don't know if the strips on the ribs are port installed with the luggage rack or not, but they're "factory". The outside rails in the pic xlpore posted are OEM, the inside pieces are Rocky Road's crossbar rack they sell that slides into the OEM rails..

Regardless, scary to see all that rust under those strips. Now you'll have everyone out peeling theirs up.

 

[Dockofthebay]

Yep stock as Trunk Monkey says.....99 LX470

 

[Hokie LX]

My 2003 LX does NOT have these and after seeing this, I'm really glad it doesn't...

 

[xplore]

My 2003 LX does NOT have these and after seeing this, I'm really glad it doesn't...

I understand not wanting to have them after seeing this, but I'm wondering if it really would have been a concern. Have you ever heard of this happening on another 100 series? This almost seems like a freak occurrence. Either way, I just wanted to make it known in case anyone else might be heading down the same path.

 

[Alibaster]

My 2003 LX does NOT have these and after seeing this, I'm really glad it doesn't...

Probably because they know the roof of a Lexus is either in the garage at home or the parking garage at the mall.

I probably get at least 3rwhp from these strips

 

[VtaTom]

I have these on mine. 2000 Landcruiser 'Base'. I'm second owner and these look either port or factory. No rust on these fortunately.

 

[Kabanstva]

Looks like a dealer accessory add on or region specific install like a lot of FL 100s came with fender flares. That’s not factory...

 

[fussychicken]

Wanted to bump this one back up. I've got these strips too and am now a little freaked out. This rust sure looks hidden until you pull these off?

@xplore , did these strips peel off easy for you? I went to go look at mine and they are still glued on tight. Not sure if that means no rust or if I need to yank on them to get them out. (Same question to @S1lx470 who mentioned the same problem here: 2000 LX470 rust on rubber roof guides - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2000-lx470-rust-on-rubber-roof-guides.1305881/)

Anyone else had this issue?

 

[SteveH]

I believe some 80 series trucks suffered from this rust-through issue. I would sure heat the strips and roof with a heat gun before trying to remove. Ideally, the strips would come off without taking the paint with them.

 

[xplore]

Wanted to bump this one back up. I've got these strips too and am now a little freaked out. This rust sure looks hidden until you pull these off?

@xplore , did these strips peel off easy for you? I went to go look at mine and they are still glued on tight. Not sure if that means no rust or if I need to yank on them to get them out. (Same question to @S1lx470 who mentioned the same problem here: 2000 LX470 rust on rubber roof guides - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2000-lx470-rust-on-rubber-roof-guides.1305881/)

Anyone else had this issue?

If they're still glued tight, I think you're in good shape. Mine were starting to pull away because they had nothing left to adhere to with the rust.