Too much rust?

[Lester did that]

POR15 is amazing stuff but it will not make seized/rusted bolts any easier to get out. That is the primary reason I am so militant about advising NO rust if you plan to keep it for any length of time.. the savings just aren't worth the future work required to get things loose for maintenance/upgrades.

And the clean ones are out there! Just need to be patient.

Meh. You southerners and desert people. <I mean that in the kindest way> If there is no rot just some surface rust you can stop it for the long term. Decades. You just have to put the work in and if you can save $$ with a little rust so why not. I am not saying a rust bucket is a good thing. Rot is bad. But if you have to scrub off a little flaking and do a little prevention what's the big deal? Sure you might have to replace a few bolts but that's fun and lets you memorize the size and thread count for every bolt you replace. And you will learn life skills like how to crack a seized bolt with care. It's not only rust that can seize a thread.

 

[bloc]

Sure you might have to replace a few bolts but that's fun and lets you memorize the size and thread count for every bolt you replace.

Tell that to the people that can't get an alignment because the lower a-arm bolts and sleeves are rusted together. Fixing it requires new arms and hardware, as well as someone that knows how to precisely use a torch to remove the old stuff and not tear up the subframe in the process.

Replacing rusted bolts is NOT fun.

When a buyer could just buy a clean rig?

To be clear the rust on the frame isn't my concern.. it's all the hardware.

I agree with those that say if you are living in a northern state don't demand the cleanest rig, as it'll get rusted eventually anyway. Just for those of us in places without rust.. long term the frustration isn't worth the savings.

Mine came from Tennessee and had about as minor rust as you can get.. it's there but only the most OCD of us would even notice. A handful of ski trips would be my guess. Still, starter PM required a week of down time and new $500 exhaust manifold when one of the downpipe studs seized with subsequent attempts to replace said stud cracked the manifold.

 

[bjowett]

Pass.

 

[KLF]

Meh. You southerners and desert people. <I mean that in the kindest way> If there is no rot just some surface rust you can stop it for the long term. Decades. You just have to put the work in and if you can save $$ with a little rust so why not. I am not saying a rust bucket is a good thing. Rot is bad. But if you have to scrub off a little flaking and do a little prevention what's the big deal? Sure you might have to replace a few bolts but that's fun and lets you memorize the size and thread count for every bolt you replace. And you will learn life skills like how to crack a seized bolt with care. It's not only rust that can seize a thread.

Replacing rusted broken bolts is NOT fun. I've done it many times and I'm not doing it again. Yeah, the life skill i learned is to not buy a rusty vehicle. I wouldn't take that truck for free.

 

[Angelo1]

I personally wouldn’t buy it either. I’m way to OCD to handle that mess. Was just thinking if somebody could get a great deal on it and have it refreshed it might make sense for them. My question is, with Toyota’s class action lawsuit with 4runners and other models having severe prepay rust issues, did they skimp on the LC rust protection as well? It seems to be an issue on this forum. I don’t recall ever having rust on any of my Mercs, Porsche’s and BMWS over past years ownership living in Colorado and rarely washing them in the winter.

 

[bloc]

Weren’t the Tacoma frames rusting to the point of structural failure? I don’t think any of the cruisers we have seen were near that bad.. but then we might not be seeing the worst of them.

Of your list only the Benz G-wagon isn't unibody, correct? My impression was that it was easier to avoid rust on unibody vehicles due to that format providing far less places for salt water ingress. Even with steel subframes for mounting suspension it’s a lot easier to seal things up than when you have two long tubular frame rails with stuff hanging off them every few inches.

 

[Angelo1]

G-Wagons are not Unibidy and are also prone to rusting, even around the windshield. Might have changed with “newer” design and more aluminum used.

 

[stonepa]

Weren’t the Tacoma frames rusting to the point of structural failure? I don’t think any of the cruisers we have seen were near that bad.. but then we might not be seeing the worst of them.

Tacoma and Tundra frames failed because the vendor producing them in the US, Dana, cut corners to make a greater profit. Ford F150 and E-Series vans had the exact same issue with the same vendor. 4Runner frames rust out when they have been exposed to winter salt for 15- 20 years. Land Cruisers use a much heavier and stronger frame than the 4Runner (hence why payload is so much higher) which takes an extremely long time to rust out.

i firmly believe that we hear so much about rust on this forum is due to the larger percentage of members from either southern or western states. In the NE US and Canada rust is a normal thing.

 

[DPA200]

Tell that to the people that can't get an alignment because the lower a-arm bolts and sleeves are rusted together. Fixing it requires new arms and hardware, as well as someone that knows how to precisely use a torch to remove the old stuff and not tear up the subframe in the process.

Replacing rusted bolts is NOT fun.

When a buyer could just buy a clean rig?

To be clear the rust on the frame isn't my concern.. it's all the hardware.

I agree with those that say if you are living in a northern state don't demand the cleanest rig, as it'll get rusted eventually anyway. Just for those of us in places without rust.. long term the frustration isn't worth the savings.

Mine came from Tennessee and had about as minor rust as you can get.. it's there but only the most OCD of us would even notice. A handful of ski trips would be my guess. Still, starter PM required a week of down time and new $500 exhaust manifold when one of the downpipe studs seized with subsequent attempts to replace said stud cracked the manifold.

Hey that sounds like my current situation. Totally agree if you live in the rust belt, that’s whatever it’s all gonna rust eventually. But if you live in a dry southern state, don’t bring the rust down there

 

[eatSleepWoof]

With regards to POR15, it is imperative to do meticulous, by-the-book prep. Take any shortcuts, and it will flake off in no time. Applied properly, it is an amazing product, but do not underestimate the effort required to do it correctly.

 

[Lester did that]

Replacing rusted broken bolts is NOT fun. I've done it many times and I'm not doing it again. Yeah, the life skill i learned is to not buy a rusty vehicle. I wouldn't take that truck for free.

I guess I'm just so used to doing it the process does not bother me anymore. I am just a masochist that enjoys busted knuckles and pulling out a torch while cursing. My wife wants us to move out to southern Cali. Maybe just maybe I might complain about a little rust after a few years but I think I will remain a salty new england'r and poke fun at you guys. <with love of course>

 

[unclemat]

Since you're in Texas, yeah- that's way too much rust.

If you were going to drive it in the Rust Belt anyway, have at it- a clean one would look like that in a couple winters anyway.

Untrue. Frame is actually pretty easy to rust proof and keep nice and clean even in rust belt. Both of my trucks stay rust free here in Saltachusetts (I use and recommend Corrosion Free).

To the OP - I'd pass on this one.