So heres my story... The other night I was driving home from work, driving in the right lane, and suddenly a Jetta in the left lane slams on her brakes and literally turns her car right into mine. The only visible damage on my 4Runner was a dented wheel and Tire, tiny bit of body damage above the wheel well and some jarring on the front end. Her insurance company decided my truck was totalled, and offered me $1,000 to buy it off me, or I could keep it and take $500. I opted to keep it as I Love her and thought repairing it really wouldn't be too hard. SO yesterday it got towed to my shop and they tell me the frame is bent and it is basically not drivable or fixable. I have heard there is a method of heating up the frame and bending it back in place but that it is not the safest or most reliable method. My mechanic thinks I should just part out the car but I want some more opinions! Any tips would be greatly appreciated! OR if anyone knows a good frame shop in Portland that would be sweet!

 

Damn! That really sucks. It sounds like you should have got more than 500 bucks! Sorry, I can't help you with a good shop, but I am located in the Portland area if there's anything else.

 

 

Will take some pics today...waiting to get it towed back to my place...

 

you could always frame swap,

 

What year 4runner is it?

 

xAbunch...

 

So looks like there is slight frame damage behind my driver side front wheel.... you can see in the photos the tire is back further than it should be. sounds like to for the frame shop to even get my truck up and measured its going to cost an arm and a leg. Even if I were to fix the frame I hear its easy for it to get messed up again. Really dont want to get rid of my 89 4 Runner!!! Any ideas?

thanks, Sofia

 

Doesn't look too bad to me, maybe just needs an alignment. If you can get it aligned to spec you're good IMHO.

 

Frame swap..
Pick up an 85' or lower frame/front axle and swap that in

 

calm down man, i have rolled a toyota and not bent the frame. just get it aligned and go on with your day to day routine... most insurance co's will call totaled if they can save money.

 

so swap the frame out huh... Why would it need to be an '85 or lower? this seems like the best idea. Is it pretty labor intensive? Thanks for the input peeps! Have had a lot of people freakin out around me and telling me what to do but giving no real good advice. 'ppreciate it!
Sofia

 

From your post it seems you are unable to repair this your self for one reason or another .

We still have no real idea of the damage . Is it really the frame or is it in the suspension parts . To really know what you are looking at you need to be under the front and compare the good right side to the left damaged side .

Weather it can be fixed well that depends on your budget . is it practical if you have to pay shop labor most likely not.

With out seeing this in person it is hard to say. I know all to well about keeping your baby running.

If you have the room I say get another one same year that runs and go from there

the only person I know out that way is From Celica GTS Forum a2ndopinion@verzion.net

He is a certified vehicle inspector in Oregon in Beaverton somewhat of a Toyota person.

good luck

 

Pull the frame. A good body shop has a frame machine. We pull them all day long.

 

I had one back on the road that was worse than that, and it drove great with just a new lower control arm (from salvage yard $40) and a new tire and wheel (about $270). Plus removing the fender, grill and pulling the radiator support back into place so the fan could turn.









It wasn't pretty but it drove and handled normal, I couldn't see any frame damage and the Taco frames suck compared to the older trucks. Here it is after I got it drivable:

 

I agree with this poster....DO NOT HEAT AND BEND A FRAME ....it crystalizes the steel and you may never have a problem with it or it may crack in half if you get it in a bind some rainy night....that would suck in a big way.

 

You dont have to heat it,the frame machine will do all the work.

 

Yep.....that's what they made them for.

 

awesomeness you guys rock!

 

new info has arisen...the frame shop guy just scoped it and said he could fix it for about $500, unless there is suspension damage which would be another couple hundred. I asked if he used the heating method and he said no he avoids it as much as possible, but said that it looked like my frame had already been heated once before.... hmmmmm this seems to make it a little less appealing to fix again. am I wrong?