Well i just got back from some night time Christmas wheeling and i jacked up my 4runner pretty bad. I hit a nice sized unexpected ditch that brought my rig it to a complete stop...myself and passenger bonked our heads on the windshield...i ended up driving away but not realizing what damage had occurred.
I continued on with more wheeling in some of the tightest spots i've ever been....where i think (but didn't hear) more body damage happened.

When we finnaly got out, the doors were "hard" to open and they made sounds like somebody was dying. Both wheel wells are literally caved in. The drivers side has lots of new dents with deep scratches which i'm not sure how/where/when they actually happened during this short time off road.

I'm now mixed between being really mad at myself and seeing this as a wake up call to building a dedicated trail rig. :cry:

My point for posting this is what can happen to your 2nd gen with 33's and a 1" BL if you wheel really hard. I'll post pics later today.

 

Yeah have done crap like that too. I hate to say this but it is a part of wheeling, breaking something, fixing it and then going out their just to beat on it again! I was waiting for you to post pics for your finished result.

James

 

Yep, stuff happens but it still sucks. I never thought this much damage would happen just from droping into a stupid ditch.
Its kinda weird how much my wheel wells got crushed in considering i've wheeled a "level 5" trail that included some difficult obstacles where my front end was getting fully compressed from bouncing off these rocks

Now for the damage. Drivers side...


Passenger side...



The part that i never felt or heard. Its hard to tell but my rocker panel also got dented the entire length.




I wonder if BJ spacers would of prevented my fenders from crushing? I'd be surprised. I also have rock sliders that i haven't welded on yet...guess thats what i get for being lazy.

Lesson learned? Be more careful off roading if your running 33's with a 1" BL on stock suspension.

 

that sucks man.

the only other damange i've seen like that is when JR at pismo jumped his 2nd gen 4runner like 10 feet in the air and the back of the front fenders were damaged like that.

guess you'll be getting those sliders on real quick now. maybe go fiberglass fenders?

on the bright side, your rig now has some more "character".

 

This is one thing I dont like about the Japanese trucks, the wheelwells are part of the front end. This pushes everything back and makes a mess. Make sure you check your radiator to see if their is any damage since it is bolted to the core support.

Do you have any pics of the whole truck after the BL?

James

 

I think you were going too fast.

 

The fenders themselves are not a big deal, new ones are cheep but it looks like you hit pretty hard. I'd start checking everything else to make sure all is well. How is the alignment now?

 

You've got me all nervous now ... what width are your 33's?

 

I agree with Robinhood.

 

Maybe it is just me but when I wheel I go slow. As for the marks on the side of your rig, if you didn't notice that happening, you need to turn down the music, and pay a little more attention to what the hell you are doing. Good luck in getting everything fixed. Hopefully you didn't bend the frame or anything serious.

 

So your saying that you didn't hear or feel when you mangled that quarter panel? How loud did you have the stereo cranked. That sucks about the damage. Please do tell the rest of the story there's gotta be more to it then dropping into a ditch

 

Sorry to hear/see your misfortune.

Several things I noticed...

Wheeling at night and obviously not knowing the terrain or going to fast or both.

A hammer/dolly will fix 95% of that easily...except the paint.

Sliders woulda stopped a lot of that.

I just wonder what "really" happened too.

 

That sucks man I hope everyone is alright.

 

I always get body damage night wheeling

 

Nice avatar.

I too would like to hear what really happened.

 

Ok, sorry i didn't tell most of the story but now i basically know everything that happened. After going back to where i was wheeling, i found the "culprit".

I know how the fenders got crushed (the ditch) but the rest is what i couldn't figure out. Yes, i was playing my music kinda loud (factory front speakers only) so that explains why i never heard the rusty 55 gallon drum that i drove over while in a tight ravine...the drum ended up somehow fliping out from underneath my Runner and was then drug/crushed all along my body...the drivers side rocker pannel, both doors, and quarter pannel all got dented and scratch. It basically rolled inbetween a wall of dirt (the ravine) and my 4runner. It did more damage than what the pics even show. Honestly, I was more focused on how much i was leaning rather than my music playing. There was red paint all over the drum.

The worst though, was the fender damage which happened first. They got caved in while i was in 4-Low, 1st or 2nd gear, and on a flat road. If i was driving fast, i probably would have not even posted this. Plus i'm against fast wheeling unless you have a rig built for it or know what your doing.

The ditch was very grassy so i never saw it coming. At the most, I estimate that i was going anywhere from 5-8 mph...and BAM! A complete stop. The ditch was only 12-16" deep/steep...enough to stop 33's at a slow speed. Like i said, i can't believe how much it crushed my fenders...ESPECIALLY after wheeling the crap out of it with the same set-up. I think the ditch was just the perfect angle and depth for it to slam my wheels into the rear of my fenders but now that worries me...

I have (yet to be installed) O.M.E. T-bars/shocks, and BJ spacers but i can't see any of it preventing the same fender damaged in the same situation. So if I replace both fenders, it just seems like a question of when will it happend again?

Something else i should note: I was not aired down...i don't think it would of made a difference anyway since my fenders were crushed in 2-3".

I fully agree that wheeling at night can be bad...but its also fun.

10.50 BFG A/Ts on 15X8 (4" backspaced) rims. After what happended to me, i'd be nervous too...lol

Is it AT ALL possible that IFS suspension can compress/flex at an angle? ...like when i hit the ditch? I'm just really stumped on how hitting that ditch did so much damage with 33's and a mild lift like so many others have...

 

Ok, sorry i didn't tell most of the story but now i basically know everything that happened. After going back to where i was wheeling, i found the "culprit".

I know how the fenders got crushed (the ditch) but the rest is what i couldn't figure out. Yes, i was playing my music kinda loud (factory front speakers only) so that explains why i never heard the rusty 55 gallon drum that i drove over while in a tight ravine...the drum ended up somehow fliping out from underneath my Runner and was then drug/crushed all along my body...the drivers side rocker pannel, both doors, and quarter pannel all got dented and scratched. The drum basically rolled inbetween a wall of dirt (the ravine) and my 4runner. It did more damage than what the pics even show. Honestly, I was more focused on how much i was leaning and navigating rather than my music playing. There was red paint all over the drum when i found it.

The worst though, was the fender damage which happened first. They caved in while i was in 4-Low, 1st or 2nd gear, driving along a flat road. If i was driving fast, i probably would have not even posted this. Plus i'm against fast wheeling unless you have a rig built for it or know what your doing.

The ditch was very grassy so i never saw it coming. At the most, I estimate that i was going anywhere from 5-8 mph...and BAM! A complete stop. The ditch was only 12-16" deep/steep...enough to stop 33's at a slow speed. Like i said, i can't believe how much it crushed my fenders...ESPECIALLY after wheeling the crap out of it with the same set-up. I think the ditch was just the perfect angle and depth for it to slam my wheels into the rear of my fenders but now that worries me...

I have (yet to be installed) O.M.E. T-bars/shocks, and BJ spacers but i can't see any of it preventing the same fender damaged in the same situation. So if I replace both fenders, it just seems like a question of when will it happend again?

Something else i should note: I was not aired down...i don't think it would of made a difference anyway since my fenders were crushed in 2-3".

I fully agree that wheeling at night can be bad...but its also fun.

10.50 BFG A/Ts on 15X8 (4" backspaced) rims. After what happended to me, i'd be nervous too...lol

Is it AT ALL possible that IFS suspension can compress/flex at an angle? ...like when i hit the ditch? I'm just really stumped on how hitting that ditch did so much damage with 33's and a mild lift like so many others have...

 

For future reference, I don't think that the body lift or the 33's are at fault here, I think that if you did the same thing in a stock truck on 31's you would get the same damage.
I would start looking at other components and make sure nothing is broken.
Personally, I don't listen to music when I wheel because I prefer to listen to the truck, that is just me though.

 

 

Your probably right but regardless i would like to know how to prevent it from happening again without a taller BL, bracket lift, etc. (keep in mind i was going less than 10mph).
From past wheeling, my 33's did nothing more than barely rub the inside fender wall but this ditch crushed them.

yeah, amazingly my alignment didn't change. Idler arm is already trashed but it's getting replaced soon. So far everything else seems to be fine.

99% of the time I'm the same way, it's always the 1% that gets me.


OK, i need some expert knowledge here...will IFS flex at an angle in a certain situation like hitting rock or ditch?
i.e. rather than straight up and down, is it possible it can move like \ / even if its very minimal? The answer would help me decide what to do next...this damage has me thinking the only solution is a SAS.