bent frame....wtf!
08-10-2008, 11:49 AM
#1
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bent frame....wtf!
Picked up a 4runner a couple months ago for a hunting buggy.
Since then done a ton of work to it. Financially I've spent more than I want to, but I'm past the point of finding another vehicle.
Just the other day I was putting some new tires on and was taking a good look at the front end for replacing the bj's this week. I knew from the beginning the alignment was fu ked, but as I started looking at it real close I noticed somethings weren't lining up.
The camber adjusting bolts on the lower control arm were both maxed out in the opposite direction from the other side. I called a buddy over in the shop to take a better look at it. I feel like an idiot, I took a good look at it before I bought it, but I still missed a major flaw. The mount holding the lower control arm is bent a half inch up and right. You can't really tell unless you sit back and look at it while it's up on a level hoist, and even then you really have to compare it to the other side, but it's definitely bent. Even the front dif bushing is harsh leaning over to one side.
Last time I buy a vehicle without putting it up on the hoist
Luckily I got a buddy whose a foreman of a body shop in town and we figure to get it fixed properly but sparingly it shouldn't cost more than about $300.
So anyone ever been in this situation before or had any experience with this stuff. I'm curious on how I should approach this. Never dealt with a bent frame before. Buddy runs a very reputable shop with the newest tools, but I'm kinda skeptical that it'll always have front end/alignment issues.
The other night I told my roommate the buggys got a bent frame, he''s like 'hells ya, your gonna turn into a beast now aren't ya'.
I don't know what I'm gonna do, I can't have this thing breaking down in griz country.
Since then done a ton of work to it. Financially I've spent more than I want to, but I'm past the point of finding another vehicle.
Just the other day I was putting some new tires on and was taking a good look at the front end for replacing the bj's this week. I knew from the beginning the alignment was fu ked, but as I started looking at it real close I noticed somethings weren't lining up.
The camber adjusting bolts on the lower control arm were both maxed out in the opposite direction from the other side. I called a buddy over in the shop to take a better look at it. I feel like an idiot, I took a good look at it before I bought it, but I still missed a major flaw. The mount holding the lower control arm is bent a half inch up and right. You can't really tell unless you sit back and look at it while it's up on a level hoist, and even then you really have to compare it to the other side, but it's definitely bent. Even the front dif bushing is harsh leaning over to one side.
Last time I buy a vehicle without putting it up on the hoist
Luckily I got a buddy whose a foreman of a body shop in town and we figure to get it fixed properly but sparingly it shouldn't cost more than about $300.
So anyone ever been in this situation before or had any experience with this stuff. I'm curious on how I should approach this. Never dealt with a bent frame before. Buddy runs a very reputable shop with the newest tools, but I'm kinda skeptical that it'll always have front end/alignment issues.
The other night I told my roommate the buggys got a bent frame, he''s like 'hells ya, your gonna turn into a beast now aren't ya'.
I don't know what I'm gonna do, I can't have this thing breaking down in griz country.
Last edited by JDMSLIK; 08-10-2008 at 11:51 AM.
08-10-2008, 02:55 PM
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For what it is worth, here is my experience with having a bent frame.
I have a '90 Toy pickup as an offroad vehicle and one day I completely buried it up past the frame in watery-thick sandy mud. (look in my avatar)
It was a dumb idea at the time, but we tried yanking it out sideways. My buddy had a 30 foot towstrap and would back all the way up to my bed and can on it. He would jerk the strap as hard as he could but the truck didnt budge.
It ended up pulling the frame behind the cab over to the left a good 3 inches. Finally, after getting it unstuck, I saw what kind of damage it did.
Driving the truck home, and to school to use the frame rack, the truck pulled pretty hard.
Here are a few pictures of how I straightened the frame.
I am far from being an expert at pulling frames back straight. I doubt mine is even close to being perfect, by some people's standards.
However, the truck drives awesome again. It drives nice and straight and will not pull once you let off the wheel.
What I am saying is that you probably will not have anything to worry about after you and your buddy pull it straight. The biggest thing I can stress is examining the frame for stress cracks near and at the place it bent. Chances are it kinked at the place of bend, but when you exert 8000+ pounds of force on a frame rack the metal is pretty malleable.
Dont sweat it too much. There is almost a 100% chance that you will not notice anything abnormal after you straighten the frame and give it an alignment.
Best of luck!
Brett
I have a '90 Toy pickup as an offroad vehicle and one day I completely buried it up past the frame in watery-thick sandy mud. (look in my avatar)
It was a dumb idea at the time, but we tried yanking it out sideways. My buddy had a 30 foot towstrap and would back all the way up to my bed and can on it. He would jerk the strap as hard as he could but the truck didnt budge.
It ended up pulling the frame behind the cab over to the left a good 3 inches. Finally, after getting it unstuck, I saw what kind of damage it did.
Driving the truck home, and to school to use the frame rack, the truck pulled pretty hard.
Here are a few pictures of how I straightened the frame.
I am far from being an expert at pulling frames back straight. I doubt mine is even close to being perfect, by some people's standards.
However, the truck drives awesome again. It drives nice and straight and will not pull once you let off the wheel.
What I am saying is that you probably will not have anything to worry about after you and your buddy pull it straight. The biggest thing I can stress is examining the frame for stress cracks near and at the place it bent. Chances are it kinked at the place of bend, but when you exert 8000+ pounds of force on a frame rack the metal is pretty malleable.
Dont sweat it too much. There is almost a 100% chance that you will not notice anything abnormal after you straighten the frame and give it an alignment.
Best of luck!
Brett
08-10-2008, 04:38 PM
#3
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I tore my rig apart and put it on a straight frame
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...arning-122175/
The frame was free + costs of like sandblasting material and paint. The rest was labor.
worth every cent (literally cents) and the 4 days it took me to complete it all.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...arning-122175/
The frame was free + costs of like sandblasting material and paint. The rest was labor.
worth every cent (literally cents) and the 4 days it took me to complete it all.
08-10-2008, 05:36 PM
#4
Registered User
If you're not a perfectionist/anal/obsessive about it......or you don't have a free frame (sweet deal...
)....and you didn't notice it much before, pulling it straight ought to be fine. I have a bent frame (with some stress cracks...can be welded) and just need to put new lower control arms and IFS crossmember on it and should be right as rain. I also have a buddy who's xtra cab got side swiped REAL bad. His frame was worse than mine. The frame is not perfect, had to crank the pass torsion bar up, but drives just fine. He also does body work.....and is the one who straightened my frame.....mostly. 
)....and you didn't notice it much before, pulling it straight ought to be fine. I have a bent frame (with some stress cracks...can be welded) and just need to put new lower control arms and IFS crossmember on it and should be right as rain. I also have a buddy who's xtra cab got side swiped REAL bad. His frame was worse than mine. The frame is not perfect, had to crank the pass torsion bar up, but drives just fine. He also does body work.....and is the one who straightened my frame.....mostly.
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