Safe T Cap frame repair experiences

What’s yours? Good? Bad?

I’m looking to have a certified installer complete a rusted frame repair using caps from safe T cap.
Is there anything I should be aware of before taking the plunge?

 

Nope.

 

Helpful,


Depends on how far gone it is, pictures would help

 

Likewise

 

SafeyTcap will definitely be better than having a zombie frame

 

I didn’t pull the trigger as my frame was far too gone but this is what I learned

1. Get it looked over, check the strut joints and cross bars as those aren’t Safe T Cap parts.
2. Make sure the front end isn’t shot, otherwise you’ll probably lose that portion in the future due to rot
3. Sand blasting the frame is the way to go. It sucks but there’s no way you’ll get all the internal rust out
4. Do not seal the frame, it’ll trap moisture. You want to etch it. Like POR-15 but with the entire kit
5. Cover the frame in another wax layer, like welding wax or something that will trap the salt and can be washed away and re applied every year
6. If the frame is rusted your fuel tank probably took a hit. It’ll need to be dropped if you’re fixing the driver side leaf spring mount which means you’ll probably discover rust on there. Hopefully not horrible.

 

I did them myself, it's not a pretty process but it works

 

Had a shop do mine on the very rare occurrence that I let someone work on my truck. They charged $1200 and the finish was perfect. Attempted to perform myself, but I didn’t feel confident in my fabrication skills. They also zinc coated the piece so it wouldn’t rust. I’d say if you have a hole that can be fixed with a safe t cap along with a reputable shop, then go for it and you’ll be happy

Here was the spot they fixed:


Shoot don’t have any after photos..

 

I had a certified shop look it over and there’s only one spot that is bad. They said I’m lucky because most Tacomas they see are much worse.

 

Thank you for the helpful comment. It is the passenger side that is bad. So POR 15 is designed to paint directly on prepped rusted or seasoned metal surfaces to stop rust permanently". I can paint it right on top of the rust? What is meant by "prepped rust"?

 

I used por 15 on mine and I essentially scraped and knocked off as much loose rust off and then thoroughly cleaned the frame a few times. After that dried I applied the paint in 2 thick coats. Seals up and hardens like a rock. Super messy nasty job with rust in my nostrils but feeling pretty confident in the durability overall

 

Eh no, that's not the only spot that's bad.

That's just the spot that is the worst. I can almost guarantee most of the rest of the (inside) frame is almost as bad, it just hasn't rusted all the way through yet.

Saying that there are frames that are worse than this is not saying much.

Honestly not a big fan of safetcaps and whatnot, at least if you're going to do it "right" (admittedly a subjective term). They're good bandaid fixes, but it's extremely difficult to properly "prep" a frame to remove all the rust from the inside of the frames. So where ever you install the caps, it's just going to keep rusting and eventually rust through somewhere else.

IMO, either do the caps and limp it along for as long as possible or source a frame from a warm weather state.

 

I bought this truck for $2500 3 years ago. If I put a safe T cap will it last another ten years garage kept and minimal usage?
That’s all I care about. I’ll put a couple thousand into a decent suspension and frame repair. It’s not a show truck after all.

 

He has no experience with Safe T Caps
at all. In fact he lives in California which is not a rust problem state.
I have had DIY Safe T Caps on my daily driver over 4 years now with no problems.

 

Okay so there’s 3 types of rust treatment. There is rust inhibiting, rust encapsulation, and rust conversion. Rust inhibiting is like slow motion effects, it just slows the progress of the rust and will come off after a wash or two (PB Blaster for example). Rust encapsulation is POR-15, it encapsulates the rust and prevents moisture from touching the rust and thus stopping any oxidation from happening. The company HIGHLY recommends cleaning, etching (basically creates a healthier coat of rust to adhere to), and then coating the metal/rust area. Don’t do this and the POR-15 WILL fail. It does well from what I’ve read. Rust conversion is an option for those trying to tackle rust hidden inside the frame if sand blasting isn’t an option. It converts MOST of the rust but anything is tiny cracks is hard to get to and usually means it’ll come back down the road (Hence the recommendation for sand blasting). Once you convert the rust, you 100% need to seal it. Because you’re converting inside the frame your best bet is a heavy coating of wax. It’ll wash out over time but it’ll limit contact from salt and moisture. In all three cases you need to knock “Scaling off” which is the chunky bits that trap moisture and block the products from penetrating the rust (hence the “prepped rust”). A scaler or needle gun help tackle these areas, Harbor Freight has some affordable options. Based on your photos I’d consider cutting out that section, maybe run a chain on a plumbers snake to slap the inside scale down, vacuum out the loose bits, converting the inside where you can reach, get a heavy coat of welders wax or cavity wax, then weld the new plate, and finally seal with POR-15 kit. I’ve done a lot of research on different products, POR-15 if done right is the most resilient. Eastwood has a reliable converter. And YouTube has a lot of examples of people cleaning the rust up for prep

 

Who would do this kind of work? I’m not into doing it myself as I would rather pay someone to do it for me.

 

Certified safe t cap auto shop. They have a bunch listed on their website.

 

Depends on where in CA. In coastal areas the rust is pretty bad. In some cases worse because they get pounded with salt all year long from the sea air vs. just in winter.

But you're right, I've never personally welded safe t caps on my truck, although I never claimed I had. So I guess you got me there.

It's not like other people, in this thread even, said very similar things who clearly did have personal experience with bad rust.

It depends on a few factors. Like how bad the rust is on the rest of the frame (on the inside and outside), and how well you treat and keep it clean and dry post-repair. It will definitely last longer than it would without the caps, for sure. Hell, booger welding some rebar to the frame will make it last longer than as is, lol.

If the road salts accumulate and sit inside the frame, that's bad no matter where it sits at night. Garage is good, but not the end all be all. There are a lot of folks who get super anal about end-of-winter (or more often, even) deep cleans of the inside of their frames and underbody. I've seen threads where people made special attachments for power washers, or their hoses, etc... Those people seem like they have the most success with a long lasting vehicle. The more you clean it, the less you need stuff like POR-15 or frame repairs.

Before you dive into it though, I'd try and determine for sure what the rest of the frame looks like on the inside, and see if it's worth it to proceed. Those borescope cameras are pretty cheap nowadays, and you might even be able to rent one from an auto parts store or borrow one. Just tapping around on it with a ball peen hammer does the trick, too (a common test for perspective buyers).

But what do I know, I live in CA. I can't even spell rust.

 

I went to one and they gave me a $1000 quote.