Has anyone found rust on their Tundra's?

[GaeTim]

Yesterday I took off my front driver side wheel well molding on my 2000 SR5 to find all the mounting brackets literally rotten off, there was vertually nothing holding the molding in place! I had to make all new brackets for the driver side molding and one for the passenger side.

I also noticed that other bolts and screws all over the truck seem to be rusting, eg. the door step plate screws. I think I will replace them with stainless steel and don't get me wrong, I love my Tundra but I just wish Toyota would start using more rust resistant scews and bolts however I guess they have to have one flaw

Has anyone else found rust on their Tundra's? Tim

[currybob]

No, but I'm in the South East so no salt during the winter.


Bob

[DevinSixtySeven]

yes, once i moved to salty ohio-by-the-sea. if there were a body of water this salty, even anchors would float.

rust will form along the frame welds, on exposed bolts, and drip from said bolts to other areas. your exhaust manifolds and exhaust pipe in general will look pretty foul, as will the block. rust will also form behind the chrome bumpers and all over the non-braking surfaces of the stock rotors (including in the vents, look for rust spray inside wheels and the brake caliper). you'll also get paint chips on the forward lower bed corners, you can get plastic "heels" to cover those corners from the dealer (or carson toyota, they're less expensive), and on the hood if you don't have a protector of some sort.

por-15 or rustoleum takes care of the frame. there's really not much you can do about the rest that you're not already planning--swap oem parts for corrosion resistant aftermarket stuff. when replacing oem bolts, make sure to get an equal grade if possible.

-sean

[mandzach]

my buddy taught me this cheap fix - go to a farm supply store and buy a $15.00 spray canister -the ones they use to spray for weeds and such with the wand and short hose going to the canister you can pump up the pressure in. ok well get one then pour your used motor oil into it and pump it up then put down a tarp and drive your truck onto the tarp -then spray away at the under side of the truck- wipe off extra oil from exhaust and stay away from front rotors but it works awsome and it stops rust from forming - he does it once a year befor winter and it has no down side except it takes a hour or two for the oil to burn off the exhaust but thats no big deal. real cheap fix-also chack my pics for what i use on my new truck as a undercoating.

[Tundrav8yamaha]

tundra uses cheap bolt hardware on the bed of the truck and all the general hardware

[mandzach]

Originally Posted by TUNDRAV8GEORGIA

tundra uses cheap bolt hardware on the bed of the truck and all the general hardware

i completely disagree ! toyota in my experience uses the best hardware of any manufacture vehicle i have ever had the pleasure of working on.
i had a 89' 4x4 befor this as a winter rat and any single bolt i touched came out without a fuss - try changing the shocks on a domestic 4x4 with 180,000 miles on it and have it being 15 years spent in road salt during winters- the bolts may look like the are cheap cause of oxidation or rust but when you put a wrench to them they come out like a breeze. i've wrenched on many - to many cars and trucks in my day and i almost always had my torches out during work on domestics undercarrige. -never once on a toyota except for a killer basll joint that had probably been touched (messed up) by some backyard mech. befor i got to it. talk to guys who wrench for a living and they will confirm what ive stated above without a doubt.

[Mike Donofrio]

Originally Posted by GaeTim

Has anyone else found rust on their Tundra's? Tim

My 2000 SR5 TRD, is starting to get 'cancer' just above the windshield. It has about 105K miles on it and spent it's first year in NJ, I have since move to the sunny Bay Area, and I drive to Tahoe alot in the winter.

Now, I am on my third windshield--so it is likely that that it was scratched or something during one of the installations. But the spot is about 2" in diameter and the roof panel will likely have to be replaced soon. I agree with you, the metals that Toyota uses are generally very thin (at least as far as body panels) and the fact that most parts manufactured overseas use recycled metals means that they will rust from inside not outside

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by mandzach

my buddy taught me this cheap fix - go to a farm supply store and buy a $15.00 spray canister -the ones they use to spray for weeds and such with the wand and short hose going to the canister you can pump up the pressure in. ok well get one then pour your used motor oil into it and pump it up then put down a tarp and drive your truck onto the tarp -then spray away at the under side of the truck- wipe off extra oil from exhaust and stay away from front rotors but it works awsome and it stops rust from forming - he does it once a year befor winter and it has no down side except it takes a hour or two for the oil to burn off the exhaust but thats no big deal. real cheap fix-also chack my pics for what i use on my new truck as a undercoating.

Years ago (when I was a kid) you could get a "used oil spray" at a service station for a few bucks. It would drip oil for a week. Buzz

[GaeTim]

I'm sorry to hear about all the rust goin' on out there

I have sprayed my vehicles with motor oil, chainsaw chain oil, transmission fluid, and some other stuff too infact my dad still does it at 74 years of age!Here in Canada we have a process called Rust Check also Krown is another one, they go on thin and they are affective. They will do the truck for about $130 per year and it can also be bought in a pray can for touch-ups. I usually keep on top of it as much as I can but after a while it just gets worse and worse ...that's what happened to my '83 4x4

I think I'll just move to Arizona!!!

[DevinSixtySeven]

someone, alan i think, mentioned a product called "boeshield", made by boeing corp...also a spray, intended for exposed uncoated metal.

-s

[TIGERTUNDRA]

You can do the same with kerosene, just let the truck cool down first