[Txc500]

I'm looking at a 2007 FJ that presented itself recently. It looks good around the body with some rust underneath but mostly surface and some scaling but not rotted.
There is rust on top of the fenders under the hood in the engine bay. Not soft but rusty.
How concerning are these spots, and are there other things to focus on. I've had a couple 4Runners and done some research but thought I'd put it out to the experts. Thanks

 

[Datajockeys]

A couple of weekends of rust remediation aught to fix it up.

 

[Txc500]

Thank you, that's what I'm thinking but I want to get some objective opinions. You know how we get when we want something....

 

[norm356]

I think Datajockeys was kidding.

That amount of rust is a hard pass.
The rust in those photos is badly into the body shell, way beyond simply cleaning up some rust on the frame/chassis parts.

 

[FJPhill]

I'm looking at a 2007 FJ that presented itself recently. It looks good around the body with some rust underneath but mostly surface and some scaling but not rotted.
There is rust on top of the fenders under the hood in the engine bay. Not soft but rusty.
How concerning are these spots, and are there other things to focus on. I've had a couple 4Runners and done some research but thought I'd put it out to the experts. Thanks


View attachment 1197305
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Hard pass from me, this amount of rust will take a good amount of time and money to get done right.

 

[Miikee]

Sleep on that decision, in the meantime rust never sleeps.
Hard pass here too.

 

[Lee44]

If you have to have that FJ, that rust should certainly bring the price down, but I'd pass too.

 

[Txc500]

I think Datajockeys was kidding.

That amount of rust is a hard pass.
The rust in those photos is badly into the body shell, way beyond simply cleaning up some rust on the frame/chassis parts.

Ah, thank you for clearing that up. Looking at the comment now, I get the sarcasm, lol. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Datajockeys]

Sorry. Warped sense of humor. It seems another unique thing about FJs is when buying one, we are more interested in underbody corrosion than the body, interior and accessories.

This is a good reminder to all to get under their rigs and remediate rust yearly!

 

[Txc500]

Sorry. Warped sense of humor. It seems another unique thing about FJs is when buying one, we are more interested in underbody corrosion than the body, interior and accessories.

This is a good reminder to all to get under their rigs and remediate rust yearly!

Haha! No problem, I can appreciate that! Makes me think I need to decide what to use to rustproof my 4runner.

 

[Bad Wolf]

That is similar too many FJ's in the Northeast. Toyota dropped the ball on the undercarriage .

 

[norm356]

"Toyota dropped the ball on the undercarriage ." - do note that this is a 15 year old truck, so that amount of rust is pretty normal in the industry.

Where Toyota dropped the ball was in making everything else about their vehicles last almost forever that rust is nearly the only thing that kills them (or lack of fluid changes).

 

[Txc500]

"Toyota dropped the ball on the undercarriage ." - do note that this is a 15 year old truck, so that amount of rust is pretty normal in the industry.

Where Toyota dropped the ball was in making everything else about their vehicles last almost forever that rust is nearly the only thing that kills them (or lack of fluid changes).

It's interesting I also have a 2002 RX300 with 322k on it. I brought it to New York from Florida in 2005, never undercoated it and it has very minimal rust underneath

at 20 years old.

 

[5G4R]

Could be a nice little long-term project
Wire brush and some oil spray to slow down the rust or take it to the next level with rust reformer and a sealant

 

[norm356]

Note that most of the red rust on the frame and suspension parts is cosmetic and the body shell on most FJs is still pristine. The body shell on the FJ is most like the unibody RX, and the body shell does tend to resist rust very, very well.

OP's body shell, however, looks like hell, and is much worse than most.

 

[Txc500]

Note that most of the red rust on the frame and suspension parts is cosmetic and the body shell on most FJs is still pristine. The body shell on the FJ is most like the unibody RX, and the body shell does tend to resist rust very, very well.

OP's body shell, however, looks like hell, and is much worse than most.

OP's meaning the photos I uploaded?

 

[Kaiju]

OP's meaning the photos I uploaded?

Yes. The actual bottom side of the body sheet metal is badly rusted as well.

"Toyota dropped the ball on the undercarriage ." - do note that this is a 15 year old truck, so that amount of rust is pretty normal in the industry.

Where Toyota dropped the ball was in making everything else about their vehicles last almost forever that rust is nearly the only thing that kills them (or lack of fluid changes).

At least Toyota remediated some Tundras at one time. But they didn't learn their lesson later on with the FJ, which is a real shame. My brother actually remembers Toyota pulling the bodies off of brand new Tundras at a couple of warehouses near the port of entry in the Port of Portland just to replace the frames. Glad I never bough one of those "remediation jobs".

Toyota to recall 110,000 Tundras over rust

Toyota will recall 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-2003 model years to address excessive rust on the vehicle's frame.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Dakota65]

I'm looking at one that looks close to that. The frame doesn't look to bad but all the other parts would take a lot of time. I suppose the rear axle and springs are pretty ugly? I'm thinking an FJ like that should be priced around $2,000 less

 

[Txc500]

Agreed, I think this "could be" saved due to no real soft spots yet, but there is a lot of scaly body rust underneath and some on the fender tops under the hood. Rear axle is very rusty. Problem is, the seller is not a car person, and seems to take my price reduction explanation as that I'm just trying to lowball him on a very desirable car. Unless I can get it for a price that will allow me to have some fun with it and not worry about losing my butt, I'll stay away from it.

 

[Dakota65]

Maybe if he hears that from enough people he will realize that he is going to have to lower the price