'85 toyota frame repair

By axeman Date 03-21-2007 22:34

A truck I'm interested in has had a frame (rust) repair done; a picture (that can be zoomed in on) is posted at
http://slimer.s5.com/rust/frame_patch.jpg
The owner/seller also said in an e-mail:
"It was welded up the side and over the top. I dont know much about welding but that is what the guy did."

Question is, can anyone tell me from this admittedly minimal info if the repair has a chance of being good and what I should look for when I go to check it out (or even if I should bother), and/or what I should ask the person who did the job, if I can contact them? The rest of the frame is supposed to be sound.

Thanx!

By yorkiepap (***)

Date 03-22-2007 01:22

Hey axeman,
I can only offer a personal opinion and some food for thought. I've welded over 41 years and comments from the other experienced welders here should give you some info. to consider regarding these kinds of repairs.
1.) A lot of welders shy away from frame welding because of liability and usually welding done without manufacture information usually creates more problems.
2.) Rust can be a nightmare and render any kind of welding fruitless. Metal has to be prepared very effectively to obtain maximum weld strength and safety. Also, welding creates what is called a HAZ( Heat Affected Zone), that usually softens the metal in that area, or creates a brittleness. Also can create more cracks than the original crack.
3.) The information provided is really minimal. Since the seller indicated he doesn't know much about welding, and "that's what the guy did", I would definitely pass on this vehicle IMHO. Frame cracking is a serious problem and most times with a vehicle rusted as this one is described, there are probably other undetected cracks.
I'm sure others will offer their opinions and suggestions and provide more thought.

Remember...Buyer Beware...Good Luck....Denny

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 03-22-2007 05:25

Clicked your link, result- remote linking forbidden error message. Could just be me. Running Mozilla on Linuz.
Bill

By axeman Date 03-22-2007 19:00

try copying and pasting the address into the address box instead... that should work.

BTY, looks like I'll be able to talk to the welder who did the work at his welding shop.

Thanx for your words, yorkiepap; I'm aware of many of the difficulties surrounding frame welding, just don't know enough to be able to tell if a job would have been done well enough to account for all of them. Bodyman's response to the Sourdough thread on frame repair, for instance, makes me wonder if this may have been over built.

By axeman Date 03-22-2007 19:04

also, the way to zoom in on that picture is to hold the cursor on the picture until the emblem appears in the bottom right-hand corner of it - click on that

By CWI555

Date 03-25-2007 03:15 Edited 03-25-2007 03:18

I don't know how interested you are in this truck but I notice some things in that picture that would make me shy away from this one. I strongly suggest finding out why they felt it necessary to repair first. Usually, if one area has severe enough corrosion to warrant repair, others will as well, such as the upper left corner of the picture. If your looking at this on Ebay, I would definitely stay away.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 03-22-2007 23:52

Beware of a novice repair on a frame!! If the rest of the truck is worth the money, I would Buy it. A good welder can repair it the right way if it doesn't cut the mustard as it sits.
It will probably cost you a couple hundred bucks, see if the owner will negotiate a lower price.

By Mwccwi

Date 03-25-2007 04:58

Check out this link- if the info here is true about brand spanking new vehicles I sure wouldn't want to be the scape goat if someting serious were happen
http://www.weldreality.com/Bad%20Weld%20Trucks.htm