Was I duped (rust)?

Bought a “1 CO owner 04 Tundra”. Did a quick check and rust was minimal (only looked at outside of frame). Rust is present on inside of frame and curious if this is really bad (like 10 out of 10 worst ever or 2 out if 10…you’re fine). My guess is it’s a 3 ish…but looking for help.

 

4th and 5th pictures down are very not good. I had two 1st gens. I’d never buy another from the salt belt (not saying you did necessarily) unless the frame was replaced under the recall.

 

I see no rust on this 20 y.o. truck

 

I'd give it a 5/10

Pictures 4 and 5 show the area where they put frame stiffeners. That de-lamination is common. It's not ideal, but should be ok. I would recommend pumping as much PB Surface Shield or Fluid film as you can into those gaps. Interesting that in picture 3, your frame looks bent.

Have you taken a flashlight and looked into the box portion of the frame up front? I'd make that a priority.

 

People will be shocked but it's not that bad. I'm not single multilayer delamination anywhere, which is the 'walk the fuck away' red flag.

I see surface flaking. The frame stiffener doesn't look like baklava, that genuinely looks like what we typically see from CO/UT trucks. Often worse on UT trucks.

I'd actually give that frame a 7.5 / 10 in my humble opinion. Or 2.5 / 10 on rust. However the hell you want us to score this.

 

Looks great!!!

*Lives in Minnesota

 

Shifty - what is frame stiffener? 1st gen Vol - would POR-15 do the same thing?

 

I'd rate the rust severity about 2/10, not bad. I wish my frame stiffeners, and the areas around the leaf spring mounts looked like yours.

 

Your frame isn't bad enough for POR-15. And if you do use it, make sure you properly descale/remove the rust, etch prime, then topcoat AND do not, under any circumstances, fail to wear gloves or you'll wear it for weeks.

But it's overkill in this case. Get the rust out, acid-etch prime it, and hit it with several light coats of a satin-finish durable black paint, and if you plan on driving a hell of a lot in salt (i.e. you live in the rust belt), then coat/re-coat your frame, inside and out, with a product like Woolwax, at least every other year, if not every year.

Stiffeners are these C-shaped plates that get riveted inside the frame. The big one that warps and deleaves is up under the rear of your cab. I'm highlighting a rearward stiffener here, and a picture of what a BAD one looks like, i.e. when it's heavily, heavily delaminated. Notice how, in the 2nd pic, you can't even make out a solid slab of metal anymore on the top two, but you can in the bottom?

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Doesn’t look too bad other than the frame stiffeners as others have said. Best to soak that area on it and BEHIND it will fluid film. If you're in a warm climate now with no snow, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

I’d look inside those boxed frame rails toward the front under the doors to see how bad it is in there. You may want to blow out any rust flaking with compressed air if you can’t wire brush it.

 

Oh yeah, that reminds me. You also want to check on the driver's side, directly below the master cylinder, to ensure no holes in the framerail there. And the X-shaped crossmember above spare tire.

And beyond that, this thread probably includes other places and stuff to check on your new truck.

 

Echoing what others have said. Some folks will look at that and tell you that it's terrible- but it really isn't

With a little bit of attention, and consistent cleaning if it ever sees salt, that frame will last for a long time. Considering what your drum brake backing plates look like, what your (seemingly original) exhaust looks like, and what your brake lines look like, I'd say you're in good shape.

Remove what rust you can, treat it, and paint it. Then go crazy with Woolwax, Fluid Film, or Surface Shield. It'll last as long as you need it to.

 

Wow. Y’all have been epic. Thank you! I do live in Colorado. And we do treat our roads occasionally with a chemical mixture that has some salt in it.

Would y’all fluid film everything?

if I can’t get the rust off with a wire brush - still fluid film?

I liked the recommendation by Shifty to acid etch/paint. Same thing - all the rust needs to be gone before I start?

 

It might not be essential, but removing the rust can't hurt. The stuff on the surface (photos #1, 2, 6, 7) you could spray fluid film on and it would likely be fine. The heavier stuff, like what's between the frame reinforcement, is probably worth trying to remove and treat/paint. Maybe spray it all down with fluid film now, wash the salt off this winter, and tackle that in the Spring? Just my opinion- but I personally wouldn't consider that super urgent, if it's got fluid film on it.

Definitely coat the whole rear axle housing, backing plates, inside of the rear bumper, spring hangers, and inside of the rear fenders. I personally take the overkill route and coat everything except for the exhaust.

 

Outside of frame in general is a 2/10 actually not bad from a quick glance
Inside of frame is a 5/10, not that great but easy to use rust converter, and preventative maintenance and keep rockin
The frame stiffener brace is pooched pretty bad, like 7.5/10 dont look great. Definitely seen worse but you definitely got rust making love in between the frame and that stiffener and there is absolutely no way to get a converter or penetrant in there to fix it without cutting the rivets off and pulling the frame brace off. I would flood it heavily with rust converter and then fluid film the heck out of it. I would take a pick tool or small drill bit and try to pick out a clear hole between the frame and stiffener at the top so you can stick a red straw in the hole and flood it with fluid film or some sort of rust penetrant to try to stop it from getting worse.

 

Thats because it is bent. Notice in pic #5 you can see if further up the corner of the picture, the frame is bent upward. I would speculate someone put it on a lift at some point in time and the "pad" of the lift was just barely on the inside lip of the frame when they picked it up so it bent the frame upwards.
No worries really because its been downward in pic #4, #5 from the delam between the frame and frame stiffener brace.
Also i think its pic $7 you can see the frame is bent upwards on the passengers side as well. Also most likely from a techie at a dillership putting the pads on the lift on the far inboard side of that frame rail.

 

erhh.... that bad huh?

 

I would use Noxudol 700. It creeps in the rusty depths and keeps it at bay. Don't need to remove anything: if rust got in, Noxudol will follow. And more: it evacuates water away from metal, so it does not rust underneath the wax. Other stuff can do the same, I just don't have a first hands experience with them.

 

Ideally, get rid of as much loose rust as you can. There are a ton of tools out there to do the job. For the nooks and crannies you can't get into, get as much crap out as possible, get a product like CRC Naval Jelly, brushed into the crevice, allowed to dwell for a good 30-45 minutes, then rinse it out thoroughly. It *WILL* eat through the rust, and it's technically paint safe when used as directed. I've used it on rock chips and bare metal parts/panels for decades. Wear PPE, and try to avoid splatter when spraying it out, don't use it for hair gel or toothpaste. It's a very mild acid, but if you get it on your skin for any period of time, it's gonna irritate the shit outta it.

Be sure to dry your panel completely. Any Rustoleum self-etch primer is compatible. Read the directions on the can, paying attention to: Heaviness of coat to use, re-coat window, top-coat window, and dry time. Some primers require you to allow for full cure before topcoat, which may be more than days, depending on ambient temperature. Some will let you topcoat within the normal recoat window. Some want you to wait 30-60 minutes for primer to set, then topcoat. Rustoleum Satin Black is a nearly-identical match to the OEM paint on our frames, as crazy as that sounds. Rattle can paint will almost always adhere more-strongly if (A) your panel is fully, totally dry at time of application and (B) you lay down several misty/dusty coats within the recoat window versus a couple heavy coats. I usually don't complete full coverage until my 4th or 5th coat with rattle cans!

Don't Fluid Film until the paint has reached its full cure window, potentially full cure window 3x over, just to be safe. You want the paint to fully bake, and not be offgassing any longer before putting anything on it that'll block offgassing.

 

Looks like exactly what I'd expect from a western truck that was taken good care of. The only way to get a Tundra with less frame rust in a place that experiences winter is if the owner took immaculate care of it, specifically aware that the frames have a serious rust issue.

 

hey now, we get snow every now & then.

 

Doesn't look bad at all. When bolts and fittings start rusting through (making it a pain to work on), that's when to pass. It doesn't look like you have that issue at all.

 

It’s been 20 years. Think I’m ok waiting till spring?

 

Fluid film it now. Do the rust removal in the spring.

 

Yup.

But there are some things you shouldn't wait on. A lot of it's explained in the thread I linked in reply #11 above. Like....

• If the timing belt, water pump, tensioners, and pulleys haven't been done in the last 100k mles or 10 years, they need to be done ASAP with the AISIN brand kit from a reputable source (Toyota says 90k/9yrs)
• If the lower balljoints are non-OEM, or have no history of maintenance in the last 125k-150k miles, they need to be replaced with OEM joints and fresh OEM parts from a reputable source
• If the radiator has more than 125k-150k miles, you should proactively replace at the next timing belt change with DENSO brand from a reputable source
• 4WD trucks need every zerk on both driveshafts lubed every 5k miles, most owners neglect this, causing bigger problems down the road; Valvoline Palladium #2 is a good grease choice, and you need to know, the slip yoke has a special fill process.
• Drain/fill front/rear diffs with compatible fluids; if you have LSD rear (check for a sticker by the fill plug), there are a slew of incompatible synthetics for your rear diff, either go with Lucas 80w90 or ask on here about compatible synthetics.
• Replace the rear differential vent, it's on top of the pumpkin, it only cost $10 and regular replacement will ensure you don't blow out a wheel seal or sucking up water due to it being clogged/non-functional
• Make sure it has pink long-life antfreeze, not any other color (red is acceptable but not ideal), else you need to flush/replace. There is no such thing as "universal coolant", despite many putting yellow universal in their trucks unknowingly.
• PCV valve on top of the driver's side valve cover
• Verify your valve cover gaskets aren't leaking ... they probably are.

 

My frame stiffener is starting to de-laminate. I used handfuls of moly grease and packed them tightly (kinda like fluid film on steroids!). It's held up well for several years with no further degradation. Still, I'm practicing my welding skill anticipating having to replace/restore that section one day sooner rather than later...

 

Pfft.

Wake up an hour later and it’ll be gone.

 

I’m scheduled to do all the maintenance above on Wednesday accept PCV valve and radiator.

 

Looks fresh off the lot imo.

*lives in New Hampshire*

Others have mentioned fluid film and other rust preventives.
I'll toss out Wool Wax (https://www.woolwaxusa.com)
Same principle as fluid film, except it's thicker so it doesn't wash away as easy.

It still creeps in warm weather, but once weather goes cold it turns into a hard wax, and goes gooey again in the heat.
It's considered a seasonal application, but it truly only wears off in wheel wells and other high traffic areas.

Think of leaving bacon grease in a pan. Much the same, but much less tasty.

 

If you're saying you're going to do everything @shifty` is recommending and that includes the timing belt, you should go ahead and do your radiator while it's apart as a preventative measure.