Too much frame rust?

I am thinking about buying a 2010 4Runner Limited with 180,000 miles. It is in Illinois and I am wondering if this is too much rust and I should walk away? It seemed to drive fine, but I know this is a common issue, just not sure how bad it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome to the forum first off!

Those pictures do not, in my opinion, look all that terrible based off of being g 14 years old. How do the other major systems of the vehicle look?

 

what you have pictured there is not absolutely horrible, however, the front body mount weldment should be carefully looked over, especially on the passenger side where the ac drains water. There should be some drain holes there, but they shouldn’t be big. You have to look at them from straight underneath to see the area well. Also look at tthe LCA frame mount area.

In any case, resist paying top dollar just because it’s a “reliable” toyota. The value proposition gets dicey with any vehicle is this old. There’ll probabaly be some heavy maintanance due on it, at best. Make sure the frame is worth the work that will need to go into it.

 

Welcome.

That just looks like a neglected undercarriage that has not seen regular cleaning. A lot is going to depend on the price, maintenance history, drive train condition, accident history, etc. Make sure to have a reputable independent mechanic do a full pre-purchase inspection. And don't cheap out on not doing the compression test.

 

The rust that are pictured looks manageable.

 

Pass.

 

Not a expert on rust.
But you would have a tough time reselling or trading off down the line.

 

It's not bad for a 14 years old car in the midwest. If I was you I would take my time and find one that's from down south or out west.

 

Pass as well. There are so many out there in better shape. You're going to spend time and money chasing the rust on that one to achieve another 180K.

 

Just noticed the big chunks inside the passanger side frame rail, covering some drain holes. That’s a fair amount of material that would have me concerned. I bet it came from just behind the body mount area drain hole.

 

I agree. This isn't unusual for 6-8 year old truck that lived in a rust belt. It will continue getting worse until it becomes a structural issue. It does not appears to be quite there yet.

If this is your truck, start doing oil spray treatments. Use oil-based treatment like Krown.

If you are looking to buy, pass on this one and look for one that has less rust. You can't undo existing damage easily and this one looks like half used up.

 

I don't see terminal damage but I do see a bunch of work to remove what is there and follow-up for prevention.

 

It's a 14 year-old vehicle. @jpn should expect to drive it into the ground if he buys it.

 

Thank you all for your responses. After reading your posts I have decided to pass on this one and look for one with lower miles and less rust. I am now more determined to find a nicer one and I am so glad I joined this group! I believe you may have saved me a lot of money and trouble trying to iron out the rust issues.

 

If it's 30% under market and all maintenance has been done, yes. Otherwise, no.

 

Fine to drive, not fun to work on.

 

@jgalt nailed it. Repairs and maintenance work can end up costing lots more money or lots more bloody knuckles. Working on rusty trucks sucks.

The "too much rust?" threads come up a lot on the older Land Cruiser forums. There's a difference. Land Cruisers are rare. 4Ru (there goes one) nn (there goes two more) ers are everywhere. Best case: Recheck AutoTrader in a couple hours for new listings. Worst case: Head south and make a roadtrip home in a 100% rust-free truck.

 

It's not ready for the junkyard yet but I would pass on this one. My 23yo 3rd gen spent its whole life in the northeast, driven daily, with a previous owner who was not as obsessive about maintenance as I am......and the undercarriage/frame have less rust than this.

Rust is the absolute worst and can cause alot of issues to pop up that are not showing now. Like I did with my 3rd gen, I would take one with a few problems I can fix with replaced parts over one that seems good but is rusty. This coming from someone in Boston where everyone's undercarriage looks like the titanic.

 

Probably a good call. I started out considering a used 12-14 year old 4runners, but around here the rust is just a nasty reality. Unfortunately, the prices people were asking for these rotten 4runners was stupid. I ended up putting off a purchase until it made sense for me to buy new.