slustan

So i was driving around doin some last minute x-mas shopping and some old women cut me off so i tapped the brakes to avoid hitting her. Well, the town hadnt salted yet so the ABS didnt do anything, truck just went straight into phone pole @ about 10-15 mph, bumper is screwed up, inner and outer passenger fender, cant open passenger door, front valence, radiator is pushed back but is not destroyed, its still full and amazingly it still turns over!

Well, to add insult to injury no collision coverage. On top of that a young girl hit the same patch of ice and then REAR-ENDED me!!

Heres my question, collision shop says its gonna be expensive since its unit body? Is it even unitbody!!?! I dont think so!!! The fenders seemed in expensive, I need a new battery and fan and fan shroud, but the radiator didnt push up against the fan, just one of the blades. He also said that the axles was moved 2 inches back?!?! I dont know how since the extent of the damage wasnt over that far, my other question, if the suspension is all scerwed up but the frame wasnt touched, instead of gettin new control arms and all that crap, could i just chop all of it off and do an SAS??!?! trying to look on the bright side here, and also anyone have experience replacing fenders, i was told id have to cut old ones off and weld new ones on, i need to do inner and outer? but like i said, it turns over and even drives!!!

kyle_22r

what are you driving? 4runners are body-on-frame construction, at least the last i checked. sounds like the shop is trying to screw you

slustan

1992 p/u, 4wd, v6, sorry, shoulda mentioned it

slustan

then i was told that the cab itself is built like one part so id need to cut the old fenders and weld new ones on, am i being screwed with here?

Jonathan

If it's a 92 PU it's not Uni-body (in fact I don't know of any Toyota truck or 4Runner ever built as a Uni-Body). And the fenders can be replaced you don't have to weld on new ones. I think you need to head over to a different body shop. With that low speed of an impact I wouldn't think suspension stuff would be that screwed up either. Get another estimate, I think this guy is trying to screw you, or either he has no clue what he is talking about.

kyle_22r

the inner fenders have to be welded to be replaced, but the outer ones are a bolt-on affair. this shop is definitely after your money

slustan

anyone do this type of work/had this type of work done, how much for a radiator support, passenger inner and outter fender, splash guard, grlle?

im seriously considering the SAS if suspension is screwed? any thoughts on that?

ctcost

Exact same thing to mine ('91) slustan without radiator, fan or battery...guys at the stealer calculated it out at $4000 plus without looking underneath...But if you Google around for the parts you need and have a good rubber mallet...I foun d i could mostly fix mine for like $250 with aftermarket parts...there are alot of fenders as low as $30...Bumpers like 40-80...Valance...meh...$30....Lights like $19 a pair on ebay...Even though i know i will win my suit i'm seriously considering just doing it this was and getting it over with.

Good luck!

ttr125mar

Yep, samething here except my core-support is pushed in about 3-4 inches on the driver side and the inner fender has two 1 inch dents. I was going to heat it up with a torch then beat it back in place and use a come-a-long to pull the core support out but a friend said he is buddys with this auto body guy with a machine that pulls your frame and he will give me a good price. I didnt go yet, after holidays I will go but if he wants to much (I hope not) I will just do it my way.

Thanks,
Mario

slustan

control arm on passenger side, but frame looks darn straight, so the SAS is lookin better everytiem i look at it

yotaluver

i have a stock bumper you can have for $50

Bigblock

My little tangle with a tree cost me a radiator and a 4 Runner front cap which had to be married to a '89 pick-up.

slustan

what did that front cap cost ya? i need the inner fender on pass side as well as outer, splash shield,rad support and i think the left suspension took the brunt of the hit since its bent back about 2 inches. any ideas there? i crawled underneath and took a look and the frame looks straight, i slid into the pole just right the it was almost sideways and missed the left frame rail and hit the tire. THe mounting holes for skid plate still mount up so im guessing the frame is straight, radiator mounts still there but radiator was pushed back by grill and is about 2 inches off of its mount.

Funny part, with battery cracked in half, still turns over and runs nice with no check engine light, but if fixing suspension is very expensive i might consider SAS'in it.

slustan

couldn't post here b/c files too large, but here are some pics, anyone feel free to comment or drop any tips on what i can do, it'd be greatly appreciated!

http://community.webshots.com/album/237798226PrihxJ

Jonathan

Man those pics look a lot worse than what I was thinking. Looks like you had a lot of movement up in the engine compartment. Here is a pic of my old 92 PU after I was rearended and was pushed into another truck. They totaled mine out and it doesn't look nearly as bad as yours. Basically my whole front end would have had to have been replaced (bumper, grill, both fenders, hood, radiator.)




Notice where the doors meet the cab, the right side is way off!!! Most likely some pretty bad frame damage

slustan

see, the only thing i was thinking with mine, was it didnt hit the frame, if ya can see, it slide sideways into the wheel, the door on my pass side doesnt open cause fender pushed back by the wheel.

Jonathan

Yeah I see what you mean. You probably have some pretty messed up suspension by the looks of those pics. My passenger door wouldn't open either, but that was because the fender had been pushed so far back it wouldn't move. Sorry to see that happen to you man, hope you get it all worked out.

slustan

Thanx a lot, appreciate all the help yeah, the suspension looks terrible, drivers side looks straight, hopefully its just a control arm, but the torsion bars still there, still in place, so i'm hoping its just a bent control arm, but like i said, frame looks pretty solid, if it comes down to the suspension costing more than the SAS then ill do that, i have the cash and i love the truck, i just don't wanna part with it. still runnin strong and only 90k, im just breakin her in.

slustan

stopped in at the collision shop today to check up. still sayin its uni-body, had to take him out and show him it was only rad support and inner fender that come close to bein "uni-body". Kinda scarey actually, but hopefully he'll do the body work and ill take care of the suspension. just an update, thanx again everyone.