How bad is this rust?

I just recently purchased a 2014 4Runner sight unseen from Pennsylvania. Dealer told me it only has surface rust and that it has been inspected for structural integrity. Frame still appears solid from what I can tell.

Vehicle will now be driven in Alabama and I have no reference if this is significant rust or not. Should I be concerned? Will the rust continue to get worse or will it stop now that it’s no longer driven in salt? is there anything that can be done to reverse or prevent further rust? Thanks

 

I’d say it’s more than surface rust, but not necessarily terminal. It’s enough I would want to double check for myself. If you don’t need to sue the dealer for misrepresentation, and you keep it, I’d want to spend some time really rinsing the rest of the salt that’s likely absorbed into the rust scaling. Rinse with lots of water inside outside the frame rails and cross members, suspension control arms and the mounting points on the frame, and other nooks and crannies. And check the gas tank straps too.

A good cleaning would help ensure humidity in the air wont keep the salt active. A garden hose is fine for this. If you really want to make sure it stops, then give it a good woolwax treatment

 

Thanks I’m not looking to sue dealer but being a southerner have no idea what I’m dealing with. As long as it will last another 5-10 years in the south then I’m ok. Would taking it to an undercoating service and have them scrape it and spray it help any? I don’t really have a space to crawl underneath it and work on it myself. If I just leave it alone, will it stay the same since it will only be driven in the south from now on?

 

It's not pretty, rough shape in a way, but it's reversible with scraping and undercoating. Do it brother
Cheers

 

Well I guess that’s good news. Just wondering where I can find a service to that in BHM AL. I don’t really have the set up to crawl underneath scrape, and re-spray it myself. Do body shops typically do that work?

 

5years isnt that long, so I’d guess it’s ok as long as the suspension components and attachments are fine. But, honestly I’d want to take a good look at those areas if it were me.

Edit: if it’s ok now, for it to last 10 more years I really think you’d need to take some active steps to preserve it.

 

I have the vehicle now and I’m going to have it inspected by mechanic Monday. Problem is I’ve already purchased and paid for it and they’ve shipped it 800 miles. So if there’s a problem, there isn’t an easy recourse. other than taking a screwdriver and testing the integrity of the metal what else should I be looking for?

 

I hear you OP, I'm not sure where in your area you can take it, of course make some phone calls ahead of time regarding underbody treatment. But yes, there's shops that do this service.

So ya you could carefully use a screwdriver on the frame and maybe small hammer, just keep in mind it's your baby now.
I highly agree with McSpaz - check other key components if rust looks like this. Would be great to see more photos too

 

Thanks for all the responses. I know the pictures aren’t the best. But I just got my hands on it tonight and was just trying to snap pictures while laying on the floor with my phone. I guess just knowing that this is fixable, puts my mind at ease. If scraping and coating will preserve it as it is now it will probably last the lifetime of the vehicle as long as we continue to drive it in the south.

 

For sure, no problem. Certainly, you could be right yes. Again, when you get enough time, try to take photos of front and rear suspension, and other attachments. Given photos, the folks here could give you even more accurate insight into the strength of your other key components

 

Have the mechanic check integrity of all crossmembers. I guess screwdriver or hammer tapping, basically feeling them out. The most vulnerable crossmembers are ones being the one under the radiator, and the two behind it that hold up the engine and the front suspension arms. After that are a transmission crossmember (the only one which is bolted to the frame, vs welded), c-channel crossmember over the gas tank, a tube crossmember near the the rear shock mounts, a spare tire carrier crossmember, and the bumper crossmember.

After checking crossmembers, really checking all suspension mounting points is important.

It would be even nicer if the mechanic can get pictures of these areas.

 

Here are more photos of front and rear tires

 

The 4runner has been around in its current state for so long, you could reasonably keep it going for decades just using junkyard parts. It’s relatively easy to change out components on it due to it’s design. So when it comes down to it, the frame actually is THE one thing that limits the lifetime of this vehicle.

In my opinion, what is pictured here, so far, does not look horrible. If you get the chance, post pics of both track bar mount and the area around it (this mount sticks down from the frame and holds a bar that connects to the rear axle).

 

There is one picture I forgot to mention that might be a concern…the one that has the front suspension. The first crossmember, under the radiatior…it looks marginal. That one is going to need some attention for sure. Edit: But, worst case, failure of that crossmember wont cause wheels or axles to fall off.

 

Yes I agree the front of the frame is probably the worst on the entire vehicle. But tow hooks are still solid and even in the worst spots metal integrity seems ok but you can tell the front takes the brunt of the salt and ice. Thanks for all your feedback it has been very helpful.

 

Yikes!

 

I will echo this. The area underneath the radiator where the foam attaches to the crossmember is notorious for rotting out and hides in an area you can not really see it well without pulling skid plates and the front plastic cover. I religiously spray mine with wool wax annually, so double check that area.

Concerning the rest of your pictures, I would not be overly concerned but....a good scrape and POR15 treatment followed by an undercoating would go a long way. Check all the areas the folks above recommended, document and be ready to call the dealer if there is an issue you or your mechanic discovers.......check that front radiator cross member.

 

Living in a state where we use salt exclusively in the winter, that looks normal to me. However, last year I started bringing my 08 Saab 97x in for undercoating (Fluid Film, along with another product) because it looked pretty much like your underbody and I panicked a little.

If it were me, I'd find a place that uses Fluid Film or one of the other recommended undercoating/Rust inhibitor products. In my area, the first thorough treatment costs $375 and when you go back for a re-treatment its only $200. Well worth it to me. People now advise against rubber undercoating. Theres a lot of info to read on the forums.

 

My concern would be the areas you can’t see or get to.

 

Yup, I listed off most of usual critical areas that usually hide the areas that are killer. The OP mentioned he’s got an appt to get the frame inspected, and hopefully those areas get checked.

 

My main focus would be any area where salt, sand and moisture has had a chance to pool or settle in a flat area such as internal frame floor. That is where you will have the worst salt water intrusion into the porous steel molecules. As the frame dried out after being exposed to each 'immersion', microscopic salt crystals formed in the steel. This continues for each drying and wetting cycle.

If you are seeing surface pitting, scaling, and rust flaking off in the vertical areas of exposure to the degree shown, I imagine it will be so much more evident in the flat areas or anywhere pockets of saltwater slurry have settled as well as the thinner steel areas under inner door frames, rear hatch, wheel wells, etc.

It really needs a professional inspection. You can arrest the salt crystallizing, treat it, and protect as others have mentioned to some degree. I would hope the professional inspection would include utlra-sonic thickness testing or some other non-destructive method (NDT/NDE), but I bet it doesn't. They say 99% of indications are "visual", duh, but those other 1% will burn you. Incipient cracking will show up a lot sooner in a frame in the condition shown.

Toyota just beat on my 1st gen. Tacoma frame with a hammer to determine/monitor failure points periodically over some years. It took 3 years for them to finally replace the frame after the service bulletin for those when they had one perforation via the "hammer" method.

We have no such frame replacement for the 4Runner. Also note my truck was based in the south for the vast majority of its history and only spent its first winter in New England. Just my experience, YMMV.

P.S. I would never by a Toy from the rust belt unless it had gone through the thorough winter prep/TLC like some of these folks are doing.

I am currently looking at FJs for a project vehicle and do the "hard pass" on any I encounter from certain states, especially when there are no bottom frame pics!

 

I saw a perfectly clean FJ exiting the interstate up here in the salt belt. I was behind it a 100 yards or so, and couldn't figure out why it looked off. I got closer and noticed it looked weird because the gas tank was hanging off the bottom, held on by one strap. Rust is real!

 

The first thing I would do is treat those front LCA cam adjusters & bolts. They're pretty crusty. You don't want to have to cut those out if you ever need to work on the lower control arms.

 

I would also look at the radiator core support, it’s usually the first to go bad

 

Looks typical for a Northeast Yota of this age. Not terrible, just needs some attention. Luckily you've rescued this one and it'll get to live a salt free life down south.

I agree with everyone else, give it a good look over and spend some time on preventative maintenance. On mine, I used a few different sized wire brush attachments on an electric drill to remove all the loose stuff. A scraper or flathead screwdriver will help with the bigger pieces of scale. After that is completed, wipe down with acetone or paint thinner, then coat with rust prevention paint of your choice. I used "Rust Bullet", which requires two coats. It's silver, so I top coated with satin black Rustoleum. I used the oil based stuff from a can and applied with brushes and a roller. I didn't do the entire frame, just the rusty areas. After that, I had it sprayed with Fluid Film. Three years later, it's still holding up great.

I just want to emphasize that when everyone mentions undercoating, they're talking about a liquid like Fluid Film or Woolwax, not the rubberized goop. The rubberized coating just makes things worse, as it traps any moisture underneath and rot continues from the inside. It's also vital to spray the Fluid Film, etc, INSIDE the frame as well.

 

Looks typical for a Northeast Yota of this age. Not terrible, just needs some attention. Luckily you've rescued this one and it'll get to live a salt free life down south.

I agree with everyone else, give it a good look over and spend some time on preventative maintenance. On mine, I used a few different sized wire brush attachments on an electric drill to remove all the loose stuff. A scraper or flathead screwdriver will help with the bigger pieces of scale. After that is completed, wipe down with acetone or paint thinner, then coat with rust prevention paint of your choice. I used "Rust Bullet", which requires two coats. It's silver, so I top coated with satin black Rustoleum. I used the oil based stuff from a can and applied with brushes and a roller. I didn't do the entire frame, just the rusty areas. After that, I had it sprayed with Fluid Film. Three years later, it's still holding up great.

I just want to emphasize that when everyone mentions undercoating, they're talking about a liquid like Fluid Film or Woolwax, not the rubberized goop. The rubberized coating just makes things worse, as it traps any moisture underneath and rot continues from the inside. It's also vital to spray the Fluid Film, etc, INSIDE the frame as well.

 

It is kind of a rust bucket. As others have said, you will need to check all points where the suspension connects. If ok need to treat the whole frame asap. Never trust a dealer!

You would think Toyota could have spent some money to better coat the frame so this wouldn’t happen.

 

This dead horse has been whipped since 1996.

 

Good thought, but unfortunately, the place where corrosion really causes havoc is inside the sleeve on the LCA. Yes, the adjusters look bad on the outside, but that's not what locks them up. As proof, here's one of the adjusters taken out of my 2021 T4R when it was 4 only months old up here in the rust belt. We pulled all of them out and liberally applied Never Seize to the shank area that resides inside the LCA sleeve.

As for the OP's vehicle and LCA adjusters, sadly, I'm pretty sure they're toast.

 

Which is pretty much what I meant by treating those cam adjusters and bolts. Not just spraying something on the outside surface.