Been throwing around the idea of selling/parting my white truck again and building my (Colorado) 86 4Runner into a daily-driver/wheeler.

But, I life in MN, so I have rust issues to deal with. The truck today is virtually rust free, with only the rear fenders showing any signs of rust-through. I would open these up a about an inch all around and have them "professionally" re-molded.

Anyway... w/ Most toyotas in MN sufering from severe body and frame rot, I will only do this if I can come up with a good plan to prevent this from happening...

My thoughts thus far:
Clean frame and under-body very well. Remove surface rust and re-paint.

POR-15 (or something else?) areas that need it. Probably coat all seams and interior of all panels with this stuff.

Rhino-line/Line-X fender wells and seams

Remove all water/salt trapping trim.

Wash often.

Is it possible to build a DD/wheeler that can be driven all winter and not rust to pieces in two years?

I've given some thought to this idea a number of times. I've seen a couple J**ps that have the inside of the whole tub sprayed with bedliner. My thought was to flip the bed over and do the entire underside. My experience with the rust on the bed is that it starts at the back of the joint and works its way to the outside. By the time you notice it, it is almost too late to do much of anything. Coating the whole underside should be a good start.

The other place that seems to be a starting point is the tack welds above the rear wheels of the wheelwell to the bedside. It seems that this is more of a problem when you have a topper and that the issue is the weight bearing down on these welds. Again, as these pull apart the rust starts inside the seam and works its way out.

Some people advocate the fiberglass beds, others advocate flatbeds... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

POR15 only likes rusted metal so you can skip that. I would clean the frame real well and hit it with a few coats of paint. The important thing is to keep it from rusting the inside out like they like to do. Drill the existing drain holes larger in the bottom of the frame so any water can drain out. Make sure they are not plugged with dirt or rust scale also.

My state loves the road salt and my frame is still holding up great due to keeping the drain holes open in the bottom of the frame.

Neither works too well on a 4Runner. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Drilling the frame drain holes larger sounds like a wise idea.

how 'bout fiberglass sides for the runner <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I was waiting for you to pipe in!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

It's basically rust free right now - other than just the top of the rear fenders. My cousin owns a body shop, so I'll have him open them up/fix them up well... Getting rid of the rust isn't the issue...

Preventing new rust is going to be the challenge....

Rust is like cancer.....you gotta get it all out or it will come back and kill you.

Your idea of cutting the rust out is a good idea. For the rust belt I always prefered fiberglass replacement panels over metal...provided nothing structural got removed. If there are any places that even hint of rust, you have bring them back to clean metal too....lots of sander and angle grinder work if it's bad. Even go as far as picking out the seem sealer and checking for rust in the seams.

Once you get all the rust, you HAVE to seal it up Quick. Preferably with a good bare metal primer first, then a base coat primer and then paint. Even on the bottom of the car and the frame....Although I think you can skip the base coat primer. And use good quality paint too....this is your first defence agasint the rust.

The undercoaitings like Rhinoliner and rubberized undercoating work well, but it has to be put on properly. Thinner coats are better!!! You don't want to glop the stuff on there at all. Most rust proofing shops spray the stuff everywhere and lay it on really thick. The problem there is that most of those coating will dry in a rippled, course surface. When you glop the junk on those ripples can become little pockets that hold moisture and create rust. If done right AND maintained those coatings are great.

You want to make sure the surface is clean and dry obviously and spray it on in thin coats. All you need to do is cover the metal good. Check on it every couple of months....if you see it wearing off at all, just touch it up. And, then those wear spots that keep reoccuring you can use a heavier coat on. It's important to get a good coat ont he seams too, don't forget.

Other than that, it's really about just keeping after it.

Agreed. I guess I should have asked the question a different way...

If you had a Gen1 4Runner that you HAD to drive year round in the rust belt... What steps should be taken to ENSURE a rust-free life?

Any other thoughts? Ideas? I'm seriously considering doing this...

There is no way to ensure a rust free life, but check this out! That thread was my quest to rid my 4Runner of all rust, and it proves that there is no way to stop it... Just go after it.

My frame was blasted and plasti-kote painted when I got her in 1998. So far, no frame rust. The body just needs a little attention from time to time.

Take the chrome strips off that are around your wheel wells. They breed rust underneath. Other than that, just keep 'er kleen!

I have an '84 4runner with some rust around the rear taillights and was considering cleaning up the whole underbody and then sealing with the undercoating material but...there was no rust. Now, for all I know the only reason the rust was appearing near the taillight assembly was maybe because they got scuffed up against some trees and just began rusting from there. As for the underbody, all that accumulation of grease and gunk, oil from the road, etc, etc...is probably PROTECTING the underbody from rusting, you know. I believe the best thing I could do is...leave it alone...unless there is indication that rust is developing there.