Leaf shackle mount frame repair...

I am a bit out of my depth here.
Had a rust spot that was apparently worse than I thought, where the leaf spring shackle attaches to the frame, and now the shackle and mounting point are completely rusted away from the frame and has traveled back and up about an inch and a half if I had to guess. So I need to get a frame repair but I don't know much about all that.

I'm thinking I'll just take it to a shop (I don't have the welding skills this probably needs) but I'm unsure of the price range I should be expecting, or even what is available and what route I should take. I've done a bit of research on it but wanted to ask those smarter than myself directly as well, since I know this is a fairly common issue with the 1st Gen Taco.



Any ideas, advice, or Intel would be greatly appreciated. The attached pics are of the effected spot to give you a better idea of what's going on. I can get better/ more is needed.

Thanks for the help.

 

Most thorough solution would be to get a pre-made frame cap with the leaf hanger included. It's a lot of welding of course and the shop will probably have to drop the fuel tank for access: https://www.autorust.com/product/ta...-spring-mount-left-passenger-side-tac-157r-l/

 

That is the Spring Hanger not the shackle .

Your first plan would be to inspect the rest of the frame real good may as well get it all done.

No friends that can weld ?

Labor for jobs like that can vary by region.

The hard part is getting the bolt out of the bushing and the rest of the prep work .

20 minutes welding for me

 

Thank you. Shackles move, spring hangers are stationary.

Anyway, I'd say OP should expect a couple hundred labor, not incl parts, basically as follows:

Dick with the spring eye bolt, cut off existing hanger, clean and prep weld area, fit and measure thrice, burn it in.

I'd try to look for a shop with a lift but a competent weld shop can of course do this on the ground

 

And I don't see much reason a halfway experienced friend w a 110V MIG couldn't do this sufficiently.... although it's very important to note that this is based on the stellar (sarcasm) strength and quality of these frames to begin with. If, say, 25% of the repair weld had sufficient penetration (albeit roughly equally distributed) you'd still be ahead of how it rolled off the factory floor LOL, assuming said repair plate is used.

I didn't look at prices of the plates but most weld shops will just wanna throw some plate or angle at it -- which is perfectly fine. Really the ONLY question is if the pre-made plates save TIME on the repair 'cause time is money

 

What I like about plates like these is how much time it saves, especially when it comes to the careful measuring, cleaning/prep, and general unforeseen shit. Huge cost savings IMO, doing something twice or scrambling to deal with something not going to plan is a real good way to double your budget real quick. This especially applies to work that you or the person doing it is not used to doing or has not done before.

 

It comes down to if who is doing the work( $$$$) has never seen a Tacoma in this special up close and personal way.

Then maybe it is faster to go with the fabricated parts.

I quoted a Job with the Auto Rust pieces it was quite more expensive in the end I don`t think they are any more cost effective but if one has not done this type of fabrication in the past I see it as a simple solution.

The only real downside is so many of these jobs on closer inspection is more work ends up being needed so your weekend project might end up as your project for the next to weekends waiting on the added parts to arrive.

After everything is all squeaky clean I would not want to put the vehicle into use again if at all possible.

 

I was thinking further on this.... seems to me if OP is trying to minimize expense (particularly labor expense paid to others/professionals) he could "prep" by doing a few things that might save others a lot of time:

1) yank that spring eye bolt and make sure it comes out easily. Reinstall with copious grease or anti-seize. If it's rusted into the bushing, better you take the time to cut it and find a way to replace it than pay someone else
2) if the tank must be dropped do a dry run of that and make sure everything will come out and go back together practically by hand. Again, if fasteners (or tank straps?) need to be replaced now is the time
3) consider pulling the bed? This will make access for any welder much easier and really should save time for them. Imagine being able to just crouch next to the vehicle vs crawl up under it.

This is all predicated on the assumption the OP can turn a wrench but just can't weld, so we're aiming to make it as easy as possible for the fab shop.

Finally, if you do all this, be up front with the shop and tell them you're on a budget. Tell them you've tried to run through everything that might need to be removed and all the fasteners in question are fresh, such that they should only need to crack them with a ratchet and then spin them off virtually with their fingers. Tell them you've yanked the bed hopefully in the interest of also saving them time.

Most shops should understand this and will likely do their best to get in and get out and try to minimize your cost if you've done your part.

I dunno, am I wrong? Over-complicating the whole thing? Should he just take it somewhere and say "fix it?"

 

It comes down to what to part of the country you live in.

Depends just how much work shops have much easier to do nice clean Tig work on the bench .

Don`t want to turn down the job but really don`t want to touch the work so quote really on the high side.

Then you get into the insurance thing some just can`t touch it others the rules can be so very strict.

Why prices can be so very different across the country.

I have known of a few places that would go out of the way to help and others will say the price is the price no matter what you may have done to help save time.