My frame repair thread (Lots of pics)

I don't normally frequent vehicle forums, but I thought that my frame repair may serve as a good plan for someone else who wants to tackle this project. If nothing else, it may help other people by showing them what the repair process includes...or even give them some ideas. I took pictures as the project progressed and will post them here for your viewing pleasure.

I recently purchased a '04 taco. So far, I absolutely love it. Even with the frame issue I encountered. When I first looked at it, the rust was very well hidden. It was recently undercoated and slightly patched up. I have all the tools necessary to fix any rust issues, and didn't think that this truck would be too difficult of a task to fix up. It was a little tedious, but definitely rewarding once it was finished. This little black Toyota should see many more years of use!

When I first bought it. Looks good on the outside, right? Well that's not what's important!


I drove it to work (10 minutes away on back roads) for a few days until I got the garage prepped to tear the truck apart.



The gloves are there just so that no one would get stabbed by the rotting metal. It was a relief seeing that the brake lines were all in good shape and that Toyota used grade 8 bolts from the factory. The only bolt that broke throughout the whole procedure was one of the small mud flap bolts. Easy to replace.



Some shots of the rust. The second-to-last cross member was missing a few attachment points due to the rust. In two of the pictures, you can see how the factory used "boxes" to reinforce the frame at certain points. Like above the rear leaf shackles for example.

I was noticing that these boxes were where a lot of the rust was located. It seems like mud/water/salt got trapped in those areas and began to rot the frame from the inside out. No bueno.



The previous owners welds (or whoever did them) look a lot like snot, but they did get good penetration. Still, I didn't trust it. This was thin metal that they used to "patch" the frame with.

I say "patch" because the last owner didn't remove any of the old rust. Instead, they booger-welded some sheet metal over it. One of the reasons I think this truck was worth fixing is because these patched areas are the only structural places with any rot. All of the other rotted areas were non-critical and could be patched up pretty easily.



Cut out some 3/16" plates for each of the shackle brackets. Just to stiffen them up a bit. Had to use a ball joint press to get those leaf spring bolts out..sure beats whacking them out with a hammer and metal rod!



Tacked on the stiffening plates and cut a length of box tubing to keep the frame in place for when I remove the cross members. From what I understand...these tacos are supposed to have some sort of spare tire winch? Apparently mine's missing.



Some good examples of the rust that this truck had. You can see a big section of frame that was "patched" over before I bought it.



Some of the junk that fell out of the frame after the first hole was cut. I ended up shoving a hose from the shop vac down the boxed section of frame. There's a local place that sprays down vehicles with this stuff called Fluid Film. I may stop by there and have the truck sprayed before winter. Especially the inside of the boxed section.



First pic is me practicing overhead on 1/8" before welding the truck. Second and third pics are of the main patches. The patches you've seen so far are all done with 3/16" plate, while the frame was close to 1/8" if I remember correctly.

Thicker isn't always better though. With any vehicles frame, you're welds may crack where very thick metal meets very thin metal. No matter how good your welds are. Even if it's just slightly, a frame is meant to twist. Having these thick patches alone didn't seem like a good idea, so I went ahead and made up some more stiffening pieces with some 1/8" plate.



I replaced most of those boxes from the factory with gussets. Gussets should collect less mud and salt while driving. After all of the smaller rust spots were taken care of, I cut the legs off of the gas tank cross member. Made up some new, stronger legs...but cant seem to find any pics. That passenger-side shock mount was also fixed. This picture just doesn't show it.



Some angle on the frame just for good measure. I had some lying around, so why not?



Picture of what I did to spread the frame. The bolts for the gas tank cross member were just a hair off. I had to spread it apart about an 1/8".

Here's the last picture. It's of the Tacoma in its painting stage. After grinding down and de-greasing the frame, I painted it with two coats of chassis saver and two coats of thick rustoleum enamel paint. I used a brush for each coat, and made one coat white so that I would see if I missed any spots. Paint is cheap enough...and I don't want to do this job again any time soon.

 

Done the same to my 98. Got the girl to make it to 300k. I was happy.

No one should be afraid of fixing their frame.

Thanks for the write up.

 

Nice job !!

Myself I can never think to ever take pictures !!

 

Well dome! May last longer than a factory replacement. Now you have the strength for a tilt bed

 

Saw that you replaced the ends of the frame where the bumper bolts up. Mine need replacing, and the oem frame has a circular hole on the bottom of the frame at the very end on each side. I believe it is for the use of a class 3 hitch.

Did you have a hitch or did you add one by any chance? What power welder did you use?

Great work by the way! Apologies for the late bump

 

Hey! Sorry for the late reply. I don't check up on this too often.

Honestly, I probably won't be towing with this Tacoma. Having a bed works for just about everything I would need to carry. All of the welding for this frame was done with a Hobart Handler 140: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hobart-handler-140-mig-welder

As long as you bevel your work and move nice and slow, you can get good results with a small welder. Just make sure to practice before welding anything critical.

 

Great work, doing the same here. Did you remove the fuel crossmember? If so what was the trick? I have the rear xmb eb out which holds the spare. Plan on sanding this down to remove trust and apply KBS frame coatings.

 

I replaced my fuel cross member , the only trick I came up with was spreading the frame. Its not fun.

 

I had diferencial springs and all other rear crossmembers out also

 

I used a sledgehammer. It just needs to be bumped the right direction so you can angle it out.

 

Anyone have a source for Toyota bolts? Like to replace the bolts with new.

 

Wow, blast from the past looking at pictures of my yota. I miss this thing - it was one of the few vehicles that I actually made money on! I'm sure it's still out there on the road, it ended up in the hands of a nice older gentleman who never goes over 50mph!

Still have ambitions of picking up an 80's / early 90's toyo pickup for a true restoration project....

When in doubt, the dealership is always happy to take your money! I remember welding in some new grade 8 nuts when repairing the front crossmember (there was nothing left).