2005 Rusted Out Frame

I thought about having somebody weld a knew piece of steel to replace the beam under the radiator, but since it's in litigation then maybe I shouldn't touch it, also thought about drilling some holes where needed for drainage, afraid if I touch anything they might deny a claim? Well I hope you guys get favor that have the older models because that all sounds the same to me.

 

I know at least for me I’ve already had a safetcap welded in at my rear trailing arm on passenger side so that ship has sailed lol.

If you are referring to that auxiliary crossmember that the skid bolts to I’d just leave it be. It’s not really structural in any way besides being a mounting point. I think we will probably know within the next couple months if this lawsuit is going anywhere or not. It’s either going to get shot down relatively quick or press on.

On another note have you checked your cooler lines that bolt to that crossmember? If the crossmember is falling apart those might also need replacing if they are super corroded.

 

Can't tell for certain on the cooler lines cuz there is still a thin strip of rusty metal hanging on just below them, I was concerned about it though, that was the reason I thought about having a new bar welded to protect those lines if I hit something in the road, also because it's so rotted out there ain't much holding that skid on in the front. Yeah it's not too good with those cooler lines right up against that rusty steel. Thanks for the info!

 

Actually, the 4runner and Tacoma do not share the same frame. Tacoma is a North America designed and built truck, 4runner is a Japan designed and built truck. Early pre-Tacoma pickups/hilux and 4runner did share the exact same chassis, but they are totally separate vehicles now. My 4runner is 21 inches shorter than the 3rd gen Tacoma I had, and a fully boxed frame, Tacoma is open c-channel in the rear. The fully boxed frame is more susceptible to rotting from the inside out (aka, 1st gen Tacoma?!), so if one lives in a moderately to heavy salted area, sea air or northern climates, this fully boxed frame can rot away.
yes, it's a pain to crawl under my rig and Fluid film it, but my 4runner has zero rust anywhere. I plan on keeping it for at least 30 years, so it is worth it to me. But on the upside, crawling up underneath it allows my to also keep an eye on any potential problems otherwise not related to rust.

 

Thanks for the information, many people had told me that and steered me wrong on them having the same frames, ha, most of my frame seems okay but if I move up north by family in Ohio I would definitely have a problem and would have to do something like that fluid film I would imagine. Sounds like they made a piss poor design.

 

This is another reason why the lawsuit that was started may fall flat pretty quick. They claim 4Runner frames were also made by DANA, which I’ve never known to be true. Doesn’t mean the 4Runner frames don’t have their own issues of course, but still. Targeting 05-11 t4r and then putting up documents that may or may not be with factual info doesn’t seem like a good case for them.

 

Moved from Ohio to South Charlotte 5 years ago and it was the best thing to happen to my frame. I was shocked when I moved here to see old Ford Rangers from the 90s and Honda Civics from the 80s still on the road routinely. They were gone from OH decades ago, but nothing kills them here....

Never got really under it until last summer and I gasped at the rust. Fortunately it was mostly surface rust. Took a few weeks a few hours a day to get it all. Scrape, hammer, wire wheel, POR15. But its solid now from the rear wheel area to the front skid plate. Oh yeah drop your wheel, you may find your cable is rusted and the worst damage above the tire. I had to replace mine.

Salt destroys these frames. You have to be diligent. Even when in Ohio I sprayed off the salt at a car wash every week salt was on the road. I was fortunate since it never ate through the frame. Salt destroys metal, no doubt about it, its chemistry. But I should have POR15d it years ago. If you live in salty areas, do it now, you can get a quart on Amazon. And get a drop sheet of plastic & gloves that go to your elbows. Its nasty stuff.

The further north you go the worse your frame will be hit. OP was from Boston, and notably never posted back.

 

I have a new spare tire mount inbound to me. The original was rusted to hell and the wire was kinked. I was glad it at least was able to be lowered so I could remove it. Ended up having to drill a couple holes in the rear cargo floor to get the bolts out because of how badly corroded and seized they were and how tight it was.

I saw the new models are chains instead of steel cables.

 

Yeah I thought about buying it but I just recabled it. I made this post last year with instructions. Turns out nobody tried that before. Still holds like a champ.

 

Mine was rusted to hell at the piece that sandwiches the spare up to the mount so there was no going back otherwise I would’ve contemplated rehabbing it. The price on the new ones is a bit high, like $145+ but someone on eBay was selling some brand new ones for $75 and free shipping and I couldn’t pass it up. I like the chain model too, it’s what 2nd gen Tacos have too

 

This is what I treated over this past weekend (pics after a coat of POR15)





The ass end of the frame was pretty pitiful. Busted all the dingleberry pieces of metal and wire wheeled for a good couple hours to get the flakey crap as much as possible. The frame endcaps are essentially gone. Then degreased with simple green and used some of the POR metal prep for shits and giggles. I’ve not been to impressed with the stuff to be honest. It’s worked well for some minor jobs but it’s otherwise pretty weak phosphate converter.

Hit it with 2 coats of POR15 once it was bone dry and then topcoated with duplicolor engine enamel while the final coat was still tacky. This process worked with me on some OEM Toyota steelies I rehabbed so I hope it does the same for the 4Runner. I’m not a huge proponent of POR15 but this will do.

Today I followed up on some spots I missed in the rear frame as well most of the inside of the rear crossmember with Eastwood Internal frame coat (green for contrast).

I’ll give it about 5-7 days before I do a final layer with CorrosionX HD and then leave it alone for 6 months, give it a follow up visual inspection and then let it be.

 

If some people are saying the frames are rusting from the inside out how you going to take care of the inside of the frame if it's boxed in?

 

There are openings in the frame that allow you to spray the rust proofer of your preference inside.

 

I’ve already hit the entire inside of the frame from front to back with Eastwood internal frame spray after I gave it a good rinsing and removed as many flakey chips as possible with one of those flexible magnet sticks.

I followed that up with Corrosion X as a final coat and to get to anything I may have missed.

I used a cheapo endoscope cam to see if I got good coverage.

 

But if you cannot remove the rust first I would think it would still eat through like cancer.

 

Okay I just seen the other post about how to remove the rust, sure sounds like a lot of work, lol

 

It is a lot of work and many would argue a waste of time but o-well. That’s what I get for jumping into a purchase.

 

Looks like the class action team has until this Friday to respond to the Toyota team’s motion to dismiss the case.

 

Wow, thanks for letting me know, I was just under mine yesterday and took what was left of the skid plate off and the crossmember IT attaches to was pretty well gone so I broke it off by hand, had to order those coolant lines that attach to it because they were pretty well gone also but luckily didn't leak.

 

I still need to probably replace my lines as well. They look a bit crusty but aren’t to the point of leaking.

I downloaded court documents that were submitted on Thursday. Still left at 05-11 model years and basically the plaintiff’s team is arguing the validity of a warranty pamphlet given after signing the contract, as well as basically saying the warranty doesn’t stand to begin with because the root argument is the vehicles original frame coat is inadequate from the factory to begin with. Basically saying the coat is failed as soon as it was put on the vehicle and you can’t warranty a faulty product to begin with.

 

Also I checked the NHTSA website for various 4th gen models and it looks to me like the frame rust complaints are starting to come out of the woodwork. Prior to all the lawsuit announced stuff and NHTSA investigation the 04-05 models had relatively few rust complaints and now they are rolling in pretty steady.

 

Yes I wouldn't have known anything about it if I wouldn't have googled it and search the internet, I had never heard anything about it. I called the attorneys with the class action lawsuit but they never called me back, I called my Toyota
Dealer and got the runaround so I will now have to call the corporate office. Thanks for the update

 

Has anyone heard any updates on the lawsuit? I just bought an 05 v8 sport edition that the radiator support is almost gone (mistake on my part for not looking harder before purchase) and has a decent amount of surface rust in various spots on the frame.. I plan on taking a wire wheel and cleaning up as much of it as I can before coating it in either Eastwood or POR15

 

I’ve seen no updates since May 2nd. The last document uploaded, without me paying to acquire it, seems to be in regards to in-person proceedings/oral arguments.

 

As jdevtac has said, the frame and crossmembers has some retention areas. Dirt, gravel, debris gets in, can't get out. The debris just stays there year after year, holding moisture and roadsalt for most of the year, unless you live in a dry climate like CO, NM, AZ.

For example, the '08 I bought used, one-owner Colorado vehicle, the frame was absolutely PACKED with Western Colorado silt. Not a BFD, we sit at about 20% humidity year-round, any moisture gets sucked out quickly. No rust that I could see crawling underneath, wasn't til I swapped the XREAS out and was poking my fingers in the frame slots I found all that silt packed in.

Anyway, I had it on jackstands, crammed the gardenhose spraynozzle in various frame openings to flush the silt out.

The front of the frame and the rad crossmember didn't drain worth a damn. I had a hell of a time getting the front (trans crossmember forward) flushed clean. Wouldn't flush through the front of the frame, wouldn't flush through the rad crossmember, couldn't get it to flush backwards towards the trans crossmember either. Just not enough openings, I ended up laying on my back for about two hours, holding the spray nozzle into the tiny openings, drinking beer sideways listening to the radio, soaking wet.

jdevtac mentioned the rearend also. There was plenty of debris there but it flushed out much more easily.

So if you have time try flushing the frame with a spray nozzle right about now.

 

I talked to the attorneys a couple weeks ago, they said they have more claims coming in all the time,
I asked were they all from the north and she said no they're coming from all over now. I'll report back to you all if I get any more updates.

 

If you talk to them again you should ask them why the heck they picked 2005-2010 4runners lol

 

I have a 2005 4Runner with 150,000 miles - all but on 1 mile from the ocean here in Bahamas. I have zero rust on the body and only minor rust under the body/frame. Even the muffler is original and light rust.

The paint is like it was when I purchased the car new.

There is a iron steel part of the frame in front of the car that "sees" all the rain and wind and it has the most rust on the car.

BTW.. The car starts and runs like when I bought it with 5 miles. Starts up on first crank. Never Burns or uses oil. Original shocks. Original exhaust. Never had so much as a lamp burn out. Interior still in excellent condition.

Never owned anything like this Toyota. Bought my daughter a new 4 cylinder Camry for school, and now she's in Denver working for a big Broker, and the car has never had a engine or tranny issue - just like my 4 runner. She'll get 400,000 miles on it if she falls in love with the low maintenance and reliability. She's got 30,000 miles on it 5 years later.

My 4runner was built in Japan. I've owned it since new. Maybe the US factories for Toyota builds use steel from somewhere else?
Ha think?

 

I am looking to do a frame swap on my '04. Does anyone know if a v6 frame fits a v8?

 

I have a 2005 4runner with 150,000 miles. When I bought the car new from the Toyota dealer they must have undercoated it (black color paint), as there is almost no rust down under. The cab and paint is perfect too - like brand new back in 2005. Not even a speck of rust!

After seeing your pictures, I'm glad the Toydealer I purchased mine from had his cars undercoated because I would have never thought it could be such a problem. I live in the constantly salty air of Nassau, Bahamas.

I personally wonder why Toyota doesn't undercoat from the factory. I also think the dealers who sell new Toyotas should spend the money on the undercoat, and pass the costs on to the customers.

My car came from Japan and was built there; so, it's possible Toyota did the undercoating (black color paint) - not my Bahamas Toyota dealer.

As far as the drive ability of my 4 runner, no other car I ever owned ran so good; started so well (I did go through 3 new AM starters $80 to $120 each)). Tranny with 150,000 miles - I'm happy about that. Had the dealer change the transmission fluid at 100,000 miles, but the book says doesn't need to be changed (ever?).

Coolent: I did this myself last year. Original was in excellent condition. I think it was changed once at 100,000 miles in 2010.

Alternator, water pump with steal gasket, radiator, all accessories are original. AC compressor failed - replaced with one from Amazon.com for $209.

I have 2 back up AM starters. Starters - even the OEM - last 4 years.
I have back up water pump and thermostat house/unit. I live in Bahamas - so can't get parts quickly.

UPDATE: These frames were "dipped" at the factory, and mine apparently was done correctly - as there is little to no rust on my frame. I sprayed the steel bar by the radiator with corrosion X as it had some rust and ferrous oxide flakes.