YotaBruce

Hey y'all.

I'm new to the forums and I have a 1991 22RE which I am IN LOVE WITH.

I recently got into an accident (I rear-ended somebody on the highway).

The damage was on the front right end of the car, and I reckon I'll need a new headlight and quarter panel, but....

MY FRONT TIRES DON'T FACE IN THE SAME DIRECTION. The tires are off by seemingly more than 10 degrees, so I don't think I need a simple alignment.

I was hoping to diagnose my truck without a shop, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what is causing this steering issue.



Any advice would be greatly appreciated as far as how to diagnose my baby.
( I attached pictures )
Thanks!

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

welcome to YT, sorry to see what happened to your rig!

i would get under the front end and take a look at everything. the IFS on a toyota is pretty much fully adjustable in terms of camber, caster, and toe. i would inspect to make sure nothing broke in the accident, so inspect all connections between parts. since i'm assuming you're saying your toe setting is off, i would look specifically at your tie rods and perhaps the control arm eccentric adjustment bolts area to see if anything is tweaked...well, it's most likely tweaked, just how badly is the question.

if the issue is just tie-rod related, it's a cheap simple fix. if the problem is control arm related then it's not so bad either - but if your problem lies in the crossmember/mounting points for the control arms, then you're SOL and the only real fix is to try and bend it back or chop it off and go solid axle swap. i would see what you can find on your own, replace the parts messed up, then take it for an alignment. i like firestone lifetime alignments since you can repeat visit without paying again - GREAT for IFS rig that either gets wheeled often or gets parts replaced!!!

MudHippy

That's a bent frame if I've ever seen one. And I've seen more than a few...

YotaBruce

Oh no! Don't tell me that man!

Is it worth even trying to fix? Or is it even possible?

I have 100 dollars to my name. haha

MudHippy

It's ALWAYS worth fixing a Toyota...IMO.

It's ALWAYS possible to fix a Toyota...that's a fact.

For $100? That's pushing it. But junkyards don't usually charge too much for a good used frame. $500 would be top dollar. And you might be able to get a frame shop to straighten it out for less $ than that(and a whole lot less effort than swapping frames).

INFINITY

x2 form highonpotery

MudHippy

The thing with these rigs is, you pretty much can't crash/run into ANYTHING with your front wheels going over say 5 mph(or even less if you're slowly sliding forward down a muddy trail straight into a tree trunk...ask me how I know). Especially if the wheels aren't pointed straight ahead at the time(but it can happen even if they are), and/or they're striking/being struck on their side. Or you'll have a fairly high likelyhood of tweaking the frame(atleast a little...almost a guarantee). UNLESS you've installed a brace/truss/crossmember between the rear LCA mounting brackets beforehand.

Like this one.


http://www.sdori.com/SDORI_Products.html

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

i didn't even think of bent frame with that little body damage, but definitely possible! i know that w/o that truss installed it is VERY easy to spread those two LCA connection points with a hard downward impact while offroading or even minor "jumping" thinking the rig is a prerunner in the sand. glad I have a truss on my rig.

between these two points on the frame, you should have around 17". if it's more or less, it's tweaked

YotaBruce

So I finally got my hands dirty today!
So proud of myself (The most work I've ever done to a car was brakes/rotors/calipers on my truck)

1) I replaced both tie rods (inner and outer for both) -- After adjusting them to the max, the tires were still cockeyed.

2) The spindle that the outer tie rod connects to was offset, so I hit it with an acetylene torch and bashed its brains in. This made the wheel start off in a straighter position before any tie rod adjusting.

3) My neighbor bent my rim back (it was in pretty grim shape) and my tire WASN'T EVEN DAMAGED. Reinflated it and good to go.

4) I took off my quarter panel and banged it out and spray painted it. It was a pain in the ass to get the mounting screws into the existing holes, but elbow grease did the trick.

With the new tie rods, the "heated up" "banged out" acetylene spindles, fixed tire and body work, you can barely tell the accident happened.

I just need a head light and I'm good to go.

PICS INCOMING SOON. (If anybody out there cares) haha

Thank you for your help!

P.S. - My power steering is whining really bad whenever i turn the wheel. How do i tell if it's the power steering pump or the steering box or what?

Yall are a great help

YotaBruce

Not bad huh? 39 dollar fix. Love Toyotas

I'm looking for replacement headlight parts/ new HID kit.

Which would be cheaper and do you have any recommendations?
Thx

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

$39 fix is good but I would inspect the front end periodIcally to be sure everything is staying as it should...
Other issues sometimes creep up..