Frame Rust

Hey everyone. I hope you're not sick of this question yet but what do you think of these pictures?

A little backstory: I just bought this 2002 tundra with 115k miles and absolutely no body rust. Before I bought it, I had a mechanic perform a pre purchase inspection. He found a crack in the frame right above the left front leaf spring mount. He said he wouldn't worry too much about it and he told me he would love to buy this truck. So I listened to him and bought the truck but now I am dwelling on this crack.

In the first picture is the crack. There are two horizontal parts below the top of the c channel of the frame here with only the bottom part cracked. The next two pictures are the other side of the mount. The mechanic showed me how the mount is attached and said that the four bolts that attach to the frame on the back side should mitigate any crack on the other side. Also the through bold in the center helps too.

What do you guys think? Did I buy a clunker? It sure seems to me that it will last a long time yet, but after reading all the posts about tundra rust in this forum, I am doubting myself. There is no other damage to the frame except for surface rust.

 

If the back looks like that the front frame rails especially near the passenger side for the a/c drain are probably gone

 

I will say trucks that look like that for our dealer go straight to auction unless they’re getting new frames

 

I’d say she has some rust and that crack sucks to have, but the thing is you’ll already bought the truck and no sense in getting too upset over it. We’ve seen far worse. I’d PB Blast the crap out of that frame/axles/anything metal under every 3 months. Two 12oz cans per showering. Its fun to do if you have decent aim.

I’d say just keep an eye on the crack and ride her into the sunset. She’ll be alright.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll definitely do some sort of treatment to the frame as much as I can.

 

First thing I would do is crawl under that frame and inspect every square inch. Drop the spare, look at cross member. Look at passenger side near AC drain as Empty suggests. Time to make lemonade...

 

A mechanic already inspected everything, even under the spare so I'm hoping I'll be good for a while just the one crack.

 

As someone who is knee deep in rebuilding/restoring/refreshing a 2001 Access Cab, do yourself a favor and get under the truck and look around. Read as many posts and threads about the frame issues you can find, and then map out a plan of attack.
I would start with cleaning out the box sections of the frame and spraying one of the many preservatives that are discussed on this site. I’ve rebuilt the forward frame Sections on my truck and am now in the process of cleaning the rear frame and preparing for paint. I pulled the bed to make the whole frame accessible.
Oh, and welcome to the club!

 

Where are your pics?

 

Doesnt look too bad tbh with you. I'm from chicago so ive seen my fair share of rust

 

I would pb blast like phm said, then woolax it. Wait 2 weeks and glob handfulls of grease over the woolwax

 

Hey, thanks for the advice! Any words of encouragement are helpful.

 

Sort of Good news: Not a crack, so it won't be growing due to stress.

Bad news: That "crack" is rust penetration of the spring mount. The spring mount has rusted through and is generally thinned in that area. The rusting will continue and the "crack" will get bigger. You can try some abatement steps, but it's nearly impossible to treat the inside of the spring mount effectively. Depending on the thickness of the rest of the mount, you'll probably get a few more years out of it until it gets unsafe to drive. State safety inspections are another matter. Replacement of the mount might be a option.

A really good price might have justified the purchase.

 

Thanks for your response. The rest of the mount is pretty thick and its welded and bolted to a plate on the other side of the frame. There is also sort of a gusset plate on top of the rail where the mount is. So I'm hoping you're right that I'll at least get a few years out of it.

 

Your good. Just makes sure there is always some sort of oil/grease on there.

 

Cack a layer of grease on the entire frame. Use a sponge or stiff paint brush and load it up. PB spray first and wait a week like Pucks says, then slather the grease everywhere.

 

I have been taking photos as Ive been going through this thing. I figured I would just make a thread about the rebuild when I was Close to being done.
Perhaps I should start The thread now....?
Project for tonight!

 

I know this is old but how did this turn out for you? Did you ever fix it? I’m in a really similar situation. Just bought a seemingly clean 2003 but didn’t check this one area and it’s delaminating. Not as bad as yours but definitely not good. Rest of the frame seems fine. I’m now debating whether or not I should even keep the truck.

 

although it’s not ideal, why not just replace the spring mount? There are shops who will do that kind of work; it will be costly due to labor but worth the peace of mind if it’s worrying you.

 

Im debating going that route, I’m gonna have my shop who specializes in these Toyota 4x4’s give me their opinion on Monday. I guess I’m just a bit turned off by the whole thing since I just got the truck and I missed these things on inspection, along with a mechanic I took it to in the area where I purchased it who said he’d have no issue buying it. Additionally some sections on the outside frame were definitely painted over and I’m concerned it’s worse than appears (though luckily most of the frame doesn’t appear to be painted over).

Really the rest of the frame apart from the X cross member above the spare seems fine. Even that cross member appears fine but it looks like some patch or reinforcement material was applied at weak points. I even blasted other Tundra forums with a ton of under carriage photos and the comment consensus is it’s nothing to worry about but I didn’t highlight these specific areas. I’m a bit bummed because apart from this it’s perfect and I even just bought all new suspension and a new stereo to put in.

What’s your opinion based on these photos? Worth saving or should I just sell it and start fresh? First few are where it’s the worst, the rest are showing the current state of everything else which appears fine. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

 

Obviously the delaminated part by the shackle hanger is bad and needs repair, but the rest isn't the worst. Needs to be descaled and treated though.

 

As far as gen 1s, that's pretty rust free. Keep it!

 

Yeah I was definitely planning on hitting everything with a descaler and wire brush then applying some rust reformer/epoxy/top coat regardless. I’m just concerned now that I spotted that area by the leaf mount that there’s other serious areas I missed. Glad you don’t think it’s the worse though… would you personally keep it? I would get that area fixed for sure if I do.

 

If the delamination is isolated to that area, and I already owned it? You bet. I would inspect to make sure no other areas needed attention. If that's the worst, I would treat the frame and fix the hanger location.

 

Happy to hear you think it’s in pretty good condition for a 1st gen. Honestly it took me months to find one this clean in the config I wanted (4x4 access cab limited). Everything’s immaculate except for this damn rust. I’m just a bit turned off because I didn’t spot these more serious areas at first and I’m wondering if there’s more I’m missing. Maybe it’ll be fine though and last me a long time if I can fix the bad areas and rust treat everything.

 

Agreed - if that delamination is isolated that’s not bad at all. But you have to mitigate it or it will spread like cancer. Just like others - if the delamination is not systemic and can be remediated in that area the rest doesn’t look bad at all.

 

I feel like the areas you’re looking at are in the mega thread for new/prospective owners. Do you see any we missed in the write up but should add? Here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

 

That's almost a museum piece compared to some of the other members' frames on here... mine included.

 

I read that whole thing a few weeks prior to actually looking at this truck and this area is definitely mentioned. I should’ve read it again as I inspected it or before as I didn’t check this area. My main take away was bring a ball peen hammer and make sure everything is solid with no holes which I did do. Could maybe be worth adding to check specifically for delaminating in this area?

How bad do you think I have it? Here’s a shot of the other passenger side which looks a bit better than the driver side.