Ultimate Rust / Undercarriage Thread (2 Viewers)

aharlan001 · Nov 24, 2020

Now I have a new to me 06 lx with 163k I scored it for 11k. Not the rust free rig I was hoping for but an unbeatable deal. Thought it would be better since in central VA we only see snow once or twice a year, none last year but even so a bit rusty. Must have traveled up north a bit. It looks to me like that rear cross member is rusting from the inside. When water gets in there it drips through the rust spot, there is no "hole" but it certainly isn't solid. For now I'm going to clean it up with a wire wheel (will probably end up with a hole), seal it with rust bullet, and treat the inside with woolwax. Seems like from what others have said on this thread there isn't much if any structural integrity lost. I could have it cut out and replaced as suggested but I'm not sure I gain much with that given the cost. I'll post more photos up as I want to document it as I address it. Now with the new 07 I have to decide to get rid of the 98 or the 04 sienna... Wife wants the 98 despite the sienna being a better kid hauler... Still thinking on it...

Kabanstva · Dec 23, 2020

Went with my friend to test drive an 04 LX with 195k miles, advertised as a completely rust free truck.... for $15-16k asking price. What has been seen cannot be unseen. I regret not taking a pic of the upper hatch. So rotted, it didn’t even have a handle anymore. The scary thing is, the pics don’t do this rust any justice. It looked far worse in person. To my surprise, it drove amazingly well and felt tight. Didn’t feel like it was about to fall apart or anything as you would assume seeing how far gone the undercarriage is. Aside from the AHC doing funny things, it drove like a 50k mile car, just shows how well these trucks were built. Enjoy.

Kabanstva · Dec 23, 2020

And a few more...

ClassyJalopy · Dec 24, 2020

Looks serviceable! I mean I wouldn't pay $15k for it but around $5-7K and the rust can be taken care of!

aharlan001 · Dec 24, 2020

Ya, nothing catastrophic pictured but hard to say... based on what is seen there could be much more problematic matters lurking only to be excised by a few hammer blows... I'd want new brake lines asap , could be a deal for about half the price...

way out west · Dec 24, 2020

2001 , 166609 , asking $10K

Here is one was was looking at for my first LC, local little shop, they got it at auction, they don't have any history on it. I am passing on it so far. I was able to find a pre inspection report saying... it'll need TB/WP, cam seals and valve cover gaskets, along with brakes... No Car Fax yet, but I'm sure it was in a front end wreck of somekind as I can get 3-4 fingers under the front passenger side headlight up to my knuckles above the bumpers, driver side is tight though, hood gap looks good on both sides.

Rust spot growing about the driver side front glass, rear hatch and license plate lights

Random underside and engine

cont. below

way out west · Dec 24, 2020

cont. pic

aharlan001 · Dec 24, 2020

What I can see on the underbody is not concerning but I'd look really close at the rear cross member behind the driver rear wheel and rear quarter panels under the rear bumper. That said I have a tolerance for underbody rust but no tolerance for body rust. You might get away with treating the rust under the hatch but addressing the rust by the glass is going to be a major pita. I wouldn't wish on anyone. To me this is a 4-5k rig. I'd run not walk from this one. I'd take a clean rig with 250k over this one with 100k less miles... Good luck with your search.

rally roo · Dec 25, 2020

This thread makes me feel so much better about mine. Still needs some patches but nowhere near as crusty as that one! ^^

shakeandpop · Jan 31, 2021

Hi all I would like to employ the collective wisdom of this board. I am looking at purchasing a 100, that has lived its entire life in NJ. The truck has 100k miles and an impeccable service history always at Toyota dealer. The owner was not afraid to drop coin on the truck and obviously took good care of it.

Here are some undercarriage pics sent to me from the seller. What do you think? Looks like PO undercoated with something? Or is seller hiding rust and corrosion? Only reason I am co soldering the purchase is because of great service history and condition of interior and exterior. I am located in Southern California but haven’t found one locally I like...

tacoduck · Jan 31, 2021

shakeandpop said:
Hi all I would like to employ the collective wisdom of this board. I am looking at purchasing a 100, that has lived its entire life in NJ. The truck has 100k miles and an impeccable service history always at Toyota dealer. The owner was not afraid to drop coin on the truck and obviously took good care of it.

Here are some undercarriage pics sent to me from the seller. What do you think? Looks like PO undercoated with something? Or is seller hiding rust and corrosion? Only reason I am co soldering the purchase is because of great service history and condition of interior and exterior. I am located in Southern California but haven’t found one locally I like...

View attachment 2571098 View attachment 2571099 View attachment 2571100 View attachment 2571101 View attachment 2571102

That looks preventative, not cosmetic. I don’t see any signs of rust, period. Nothing looks crusty.

shakeandpop · Jan 31, 2021

Right - my thoughts as well. But I am a total rust noob and have little to no awareness of methods to cover up rust etc. Just don't want to pull the trigger on a vehicle, have it shipped over (and pay top dollar in this market) and have problems with a NJ rust truck that was cleverly disguised...

feza · Jan 31, 2021

You can see the over spray on the rear parking brake cable of whatever it is. It does not look thin oily fluid film, it looks thick like a rubberized rust hider. Also in that same picture of the rear axle, the left side of the cross member with the holes in it is a really rusty area on all trucks, you can see the texture of the rust, but you cant see the color bleed through like you would be able to with fluid film.

Disclaimer: I am in maryland, local cars are usually borderline rust buckets. and have looked at a few cars that have been shipped south from CT, NY and NJ (to pray on rust ignorant people). As far as I am concerned there are no cars from up north that are low rust, they are all pretty bad. The kind of owner that would have done preventative spray every year is also the kind of owner that wood keep it until the wheels fall off. The only time I would buy rust is if it is a steal, and I would probably regret it.

Edit to add; Over all it does not look like it was that bad before the spray though, there are no holes in the normal spots. The bottom rear fenders behind the bottom are another spot I would check.

fishinbill · Jan 31, 2021

For those considering New Hampshire Oil Undercoating or something similar, here is what it looks like just after application on my 2005. I'm on the shore in MA and was fortunate enough to get a clean southern truck, so took it in for undercoating ASAP. I paid $250 to have the work done.

Not sure why one photo is inverted.

aharlan001 · Jan 31, 2021

shakeandpop said:
Right - my thoughts as well. But I am a total rust noob and have little to no awareness of methods to cover up rust etc. Just don't want to pull the trigger on a vehicle, have it shipped over (and pay top dollar in this market) and have problems with a NJ rust truck that was cleverly disguised...

I would not ship that truck unless it could be had real cheap. There is rust coming from the inside out of the rear cross member as mentioned above. It is cosmetic but I wouldn't want to deal with it unless the price reflected the damage. Wouldn't surprise me if one hammer blow went right through the frame just outboard of where the last drain hole is. You can see the metal expanded there in the hole indicating there is penetrating rust no doubt in the cross member there and likely in the frame rail also. It can be fixed but will run you 500-1200. You can see what I'm talking about close up in my post at the top of this page.

tacoduck · Feb 1, 2021

My first 100 was a No Va truck all its life. It was pretty darn crusty. The good news is I live in NC, which salts their roads 2 times a year. The rust stopped getting worse and it was a great truck for $7k. My point is, you can buy a northern truck and drive it in LA, and it will probably give a looooong service life. Food for thought.

Northboundndown · Mar 3, 2021

Hi ya’ll!
Picked up my first 100 a couple days ago. It is a 2006 (with AHC), it has 254k miles. I rolled the dice and bought it sight unseen. I got started digging into undercarriage with some scraping and scrubbing and found some areas of concern. I feel most of it is manageable at this point but would love opinions, as it looks like someone before me sprayed some sort of coating on the undercarriage and it might look worse than it is? Knowing what I know now, I definitely overpaid based on findings in this thread and watching others sell but I knew the risks and didn’t feel right walking away from it. The car lived its life in KS and Iowa and is now in South Texas. I feel like I’ve rescued a dog from the pound or something! I already have plans to cut and patch the cross member or simply remove with bumper install. More concerned about the small body issues. I have/had big plans for this truck to make a pretty wicked weekend overlander, but if it’s going rust away I’d rather just drive it a while and sell for something different.

A couple things to note: I got the truck with probably $25+ in receipts for maintenance over the years since day one, and the mechanicals are rock solid, aside from some suspension items like bushings. All electronics work as well, and interior is in pretty good shape. Exterior has a lot of dings and a couple scratches but you can tell attempts were made to keep it clean. The paint still polishes up nicely.