Alright guys so I've had my 4runner for a few months now and finally have some cash to fix a few things. I have some rust on the typical places, fenders, under the back seat, and at the bottom of the cab and want to know the best solution to fix it. I realize this has been gone over many times, and I think I know how to tackle the fenders and bed rust. Probably just cut the fenders and install flares, and chop out the bed rust square and weld a new piece in. But the bottom of the cab has me stumped, it's rusted through (no pics) its covered by vinyl tape, just wondering the best way to fix this?

Also what's really holding me back is the nice new paint job it has. Its bubbling on the fenders, around the tail lights, and the raingutters on the cab. Because the PO painted it, I have no idea what condition the body was in prior. I guess what I'm asking is should I sand the entire thing down and go from there fixing and do poor man's paint job? Or just patch what I need?

Also while digging around looking for more rust I noticed that close to where the torsion bars mounts towards the back there's some screws that go up towards the body. On one side it is much closer to the body than the other. Is this normal? What are these? (pics to help identify)

Sorry for the long post and I know these are some serious noob questions (grill me if you must), but I love my truck and just looking to learn. Any help is appreciated!

 

some more hopefully

 

thought I had this pic posting worked out..

 

Can't seem to get other pics up, kind of in a hurry. I'll try again later.

 

It would depend on just what your state allows for this type of repair..Some are ok with Fiberglass patches

Then some insist on metal being welded in

Like any place it depends just how strict they are.

I myself have used both methods they both take about the same prep work.

Get things squeaky clean.

 

I would fix any rusty spots ASAP and not worry about the possibility of rust under the seemingly good paint. If the PO painted over rust, it will eventually bubble-up underneath the paint. If you suspect this may be the case, you can cheaply paint the lower rusty part of your truck yourself with Rustoleum (without removing any unnecessary old paint, just a light sand w/220 for adhesion), then if you need to paint more, you won't have any problems matching the color. You can do a really nice job yourself, just take time with the prep work. You can use rattle-cans but it's cheaper to buy paint by the quart -- use a high-density foam 4" roller; mixing 1:1 with the appropriate solvent will cause the paint to level so you don't see any roller marker and won't run on vertical surfaces. You can always wet-sand with 1000grit if you need to. I painted 2 cars and 2 trucks with Rustoleum and have no regrets.

 

Thanks for the replies, looks like I'll go the fiberglass route, being I no welding skills. As far as the paint goes, I still don't know how I could match it. It has pro paint job so my end up repainting whole truck with rustoleum job as you suggested. Always wanted a tan one anyway.

Did some more research, only have a phone so kinda hard, but seems those bolts are torsion bar adjustments? Should these be equal on both sides?

 

If you've got rust in various spots at the bottom, fix, tape, and paint just what you need. Obviously you need to make a nice pattern. Since you've got a some on the roof, you'll do more up there but it'll hardly be noticeable. If you fix more rust in the future, you'll be able to get the same paint and can just expand your repair coat.

Here's an example:




Notice darker color around bottom edges