Rust questions...

[Vayhemar]

Thinking of picking up an 85 Toyota this week and wanted to get some opinions on this rust...

This is a pic of the frame right above the front diff. Apparently this is some sort of drain plug that has been missing and has since rusted this side of the the frame. The driver side is intact and still has the plugs. Also in this pic you can tell the front springs are pretty much flat, which is par for the course with these trucks IIRC. How hard is it to fix the frame? Would an AAL fix the sag or should I just wait and get some new lift springs, shocks, etc?

 

[Blkvoodoo]

How hard is it to fix the frame?

Depends on how bad the rust really is, if it goes back into the bodymount/ shackle perch, it could get tough.

Take a welders pick hammer and tap the frame, see how far back and forward of that spot the rust is. check the bottom of the frame rail as well.

Is it worth fixing ? depends on how much they are asking for the truck. If it runs well, and the price is cheap, it may be worth repairing.
While your tapping the frame with the pick hammer, do the same to the frame rail next to the fuel tank (inside if you can) and on the other side of the truck as well, these trucks are good for rusting thru there as well.

As for the springs, if you want to lift it anyway, get new, or move the rears to the front ( will require steering mods as well ) keep in mind, the spring perches on the front axle are not level with one another, you'll need to add a 3/8" plate spacer to the driver side perch to get it to sit level.

Theres a bunch more, but you need to figure out how much work you want to do to this thing before you buy it.

 

[Vayhemar]

The price is definately cheap IMO, compared to what I've seen these go for on eBay and yotatech. In addition to the flat springs it has a bad radiator and an automatic trans. I'm going to try to look at it this evening, anything else I should check for besides looking for rust? [other than the obvious, check oil/trans fluids, etc...] The only thing I am really concerned about is head damage since the radiator is bad/don't know if it ever overheated...