I have a 1990 4runner V6. I've have put about 100K miles on my truck and when I first bought it I hit a large rock with the front drivers side tire. This blew out my shock and when I put new rancho 9000's on it I noticed a dent in the front shock (pic 1)! It appears to be the bump stop hitting it. Also, the front sway bar is rubbing on the upper divers side A-Arm (Pic 2). Is this a frame of a IFS problem? I have had two alignments since and neither of the technicians have noted a problem. Would a IFS truss fix this?

 

I think those shocks have a tube within a tube. It is the innermost tube where the piston travels up and down. The outer tube houses extra oil and gas. Thus, I don't really see it being a big deal, but correct me if I'm wrong. It would be helpful to know if:
a) your truck tracks straight still?
b) is there any dent on the other side?

 

No dent on the other side. The tuck tracked straight when I had a new alignment. Good news on the shocks, that would explain why the shocks seem to be fine. I was also concerned about the notch ground down on the sway bar. When the front suspension flexed it would make a horrible squeaking noise and now I want to put it back on trying to fix any problems before I do that. I guess I could just grind it down so it does not squeak but I'm not a fan of hiding problems.

 

Update! I went the the alignment shop and they sent me to the frame shop who told me that my frame is bent at where the upper A-arm bolts to the frame. They want $400.00 to fix it. I haven't had much luck getting a response this thread, but has anyone fixed their frame with simple tools? If so, how?

 

well it can be done but I would really recommend the frame shop. I've seen and help do frames with chain and a porta power hydraulic jack but this is a daily driver or regularly used vehicles we're talking about. If you spend the money now its over and done with and your frame should be straight and true. The at home method would likely cause severe problems down the road with components that are bolted onto the frame due to the fact that if its not done right the bolts going through the frame etc would have excessive pressure on them and may not actually be straight anymore not to mention odd wear on suspension and steering components....I'm sure you picking up what I'm putting down.

 

Yea from shops are professionals and will slowly bent or stretch your frame to the right postion with huge hydraulic's. A frame is hard to bend, so its also hard to bend back. Especially a Toyota frame. You prolly could not do it your self unless you hit that rock again backwards but uh yea. Personaly i prolly would not even mess with it. Unless you got $400.00.
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95 Toyota 4runner SR5 V6 3.0 4x4 Automatic 150,000 Miles

 

musta been a good hit on that rock i'd go to the frame shop 400$ sounds like a great deal. I've heard of places here charging 200$ an hour and they dont garantee a straight frame after.

 

Thanks for the response everyone! Correction to my last post, it is the lower a-arm and I was lucky enough to find a guy locally that has fixed many many of these. He pointed out exactly where it is bent...at the rear mount for the lower a-arm. Not actually on the frame, but he also noted that the frame may be twisted. This caused the mount to spread outward. I got the printout from the alignment shop.

Left
Camber: 0.5deg, Specified Range (0.22-1.22deg), ok
Caster: 1.51deg, Specified Range (1.73-2.73deg), not ok

Right
Camber: -0.51deg, Specified Range (0.22-1.22deg), very not ok
Caster: 1.65deg, Specified Range (1.73-2.73deg), not ok

I can remember a total of three events that cased this.
(1) Left side - Slide off the road this winter and almost rolled my truck
(2) Left side - yes, hit a big rock!
(3) Right side - from a deep mud hole that i drove through really ticking off some chevy guys that were just suck in it.

Seems like the right side is worse. that or the rock hit my head and not the wheel...haha

 

Well i was really hoping that the chain or wench method was more solid. The other idea i had was to get a lonacre Digital Caster / Camber Gauge (http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...d=1219&catid=5) and bend the frame enough while mess with the alignment settings...then bolt or weld in an ifs truss. Has anyone tried this or even used this gauge?

 

Similar issue on my previous frame. Sept someone backed into the pass side front tire and it bent the frame inward rear of the upper a-arm. The lower-arm rear mount was bent inward to.

I frame swapped my rig last summer instead of bothering w/ expensive frame shop. My frame ended up being free after i sold parts off it. I restored it (sandblasted, sanded etc, re-coated) and re-assembled the whole truck.

Not really a practical thing for someone w/ a 4runner.

In your situation I'd get a new lower A-arm, upper a-arm, ditch the sway bar (you DONT need it) and have the frame-shop fix your frame. So $400 and maybe $50-$75 for the new A-arms (should be able to find em CHEAP on craigslist from folks who have done SAS's).

goodluck!

 

Very interesting. I wish i had the time and equipment to do a frame swap. Bad a-arms are haunting me a bit, but they did not have any visible damage, and the guy at the frame shop seemed to think they were OK. I wanted to do a mild sas, but after reading about all the clearance issues i gave up.

 

I did the whole swap in exactly 4 days, I had extra hands 2 of the 4 days. It was a hardcore marathon run but definetly doable. I planned it in the middle of August specifically because I could expect dry weather (i dont have a shop, just a driveway). Got every nut n bolt, part and misc stuff all bought and ready to go before I did it. Went off flawlessly surprisingly.

I only reccomend swapping the A-arms just for safety and they're usually cheap. They probably ARE fine as they're beefy sob's but never know.