My car had a booboo

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Ok, so here I am, after completing a successful run on the dunes and coming out a hero amongst a distinguished party which included a Range Rover and Benz G500 amongst others, I had to get cocky and try an impossibly difficult maneuver, the price, a disaster and big wack at the bottom of my SWB

I was trying to use the edge of a very small sand bowl to turm around, ended up in a disaster, I guess you could say I was trying to show off my skills ops: Any way, the airbags did not deploy, as I was going probably less than 5 mph!

I ended up heavily bending the standard Toyota Bar and underbody hinges, a huge gash in the bumper, and possible dislocation of the front suspension. I took the bar off, I think I can take it somewhere to be straightened, I was going to make it all black anyway so I am not worried about the chrome finish. As for the bumper, I can find it second hand given that the car is so popular here, perhaps upgrade it to the later style bumper which include fog lights.

The biggest problem is having the right fender out of alignment by a very small margin, which I assume would require the body shop to make right.

Can any one help me determine whether I have bent the frame/chassis? Can I take any measurements to ensure that the frame/chassis is in good order. Driving back on the highway, the car tracked straight, but the steering wheel was not at the right angle.

I could take the opportunity to install an ARB Sahara bar? but that would make the front look a bit odd.

Thank you.

[Fazza Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fazza]

Bazprado,
who made the Booboo?? :shock: :shock:

Best bet check the wheel alignment first if your steering wheel is off centre.

I am amazed that the air bags did not go off :?: (maybe it was not a sudden stop)

A body shop should be able to check you chassis for alignment, but at what cost :?:

It sounds as if you play some (possibly) expensive games :roll:
cheers,
Fazza

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

oops!! Sounds like it could be an expensive boo boo :shock:

What did you hit?? A wall of sand or something harder?

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Actually, it was a hole at the bottom of a small sand bowl, nose down I hope it is not a disaster since I just bought her a few months ago, she was an off road virgin It was a sudden stop, airbags were not deployed, it is tracking straight but the steering wheel is not in an upright position when going straight down the road. Besides the almost negligible gap increase between the fender and the front hood, everything else looks fine.

A friend of mine told me that I should be worried if the gap between the front door and front fender has changed, luckily, this did not happen!

I wish I could upload pictures here to show you and get more opinions, why does it have to be so difficult? Most other sites let you upload directly

More info. to follow!

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

Photobucket.com is your friend.

Upload your pics to a free photobucket account. It even creates the [IMG] tags for you so you can link them to PP.

Good luck with the truck.

Cheers
Chippy

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Would any one here know the exact distance between the two beams protruding past the radiator behind the bumper. It is the only way I would be able to determine whether I had bent the chassis, which I highly doubt....

I took the front of the car apart yesterday, there is a small metal part under the right light which was slightly bent, I can six that my self, my only remaining worry is that the right fender leans in slightly at the front corner near the signal lens, are there any support panels that I can push out to make this go back to normal? Very odd, beside the small steel piece right under the right light, the bumper and the protection bar (accessory), there does not appear to be any other damage. In this case, what the heck is causing the fender to be misaligned? it is just a 3-4 millimeter issue and I can live with it, but it bugs the heck out of me :roll:

Cheers.

[Fazza Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fazza]

Bazprado,
No I don't know the distance between the chassis rails at the very front BUT consider the up & down difference??? (Your chassis could be twisted)

Just to make you worry a bit more. :twisted:

Cheers,
Fazza

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Taken her to the body shop for a glance this week, my search has revealed that the piece under the righ light is bent due to the force of the impact, but I coubt chassis is bent. Assuming the worse, is this a big job or is the car headed for the junkyard? It was a very low impact hit, a big one, but very low speed, probably 1-2 KPH !!!!!

[StormyKnight Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close StormyKnight]

Assuming the worse, is this a big job or is the car headed for the junkyard?

Unlikely.....usually anything bent can be reformed (straightened) again. It's only when the costs involved exceed the value of the car that it will be written off.

Have you informed your insurance company & are they assisting you with your enquires? :lol:


Cheers
Richard

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Only have 3rd party cover, they wont insure in full if car is older than 6 years, go figure.

[big al Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close big al]

Not that bad.

The front end has to crumble the radiator into the block very very hard and then some to deploy the air bag which happens in a nano second;This did not happen so Idoubt very mutch you have bent the chasie ,which is the strongest part of the 4+4.Take it to a 4+4 shop for a wheel alignment and this should determain the true extent of the damage.Check the radiator support perimetor for slight bends,this may explain the panel missalignment. Good luck Baz.... ops:

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Hey Al,

I took it to a shop for alignment and boy, was it off! Any way, I bought the bumper myself and then took it to the body shop for both paint and to align the front fender, they did not do the best job on the fender, but then again, the car is over 1o years old So, unless you look for it, you really can't tell. I am taking her out to the desert tonight for a New Year's party, should be fun!

As for the Toyota bull bar, it was badly bent, I will take it to the same body shop and see whether they can bend it back... I will then paint it black and reinstall it if I can.

Have a Happy New Year.

[carrot Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close carrot]

Assuming the worse, is this a big job or is the car headed for the junkyard? It was a very low impact hit, a big one, but very low speed, probably 1-2 KPH !!!!!

Maybe I have a lower standard of 'roadworthyness,' but I would highly doubt you'd want to get rid of your prado! The prado that I bought came from a damaged vehicle auction, it had been in a front-on accident and had been written off by the insurance company. Nothing mechanical was affected, just the bumper, lights, grille and airconditioning tubing... all the panels at the front were a little bent but I bent them back.

Measure the distance between the front and rear wheels on each side, and the diagonal distances between the wheels. I'm no expert, but I think if your chassis is bent a little you'll know over time by wearing out suspension bushes, uneven tyre wear, etc. Then you can choose if you want to fix it or live with it.

Good luck! :wink:

[big al Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close big al]

Tip for Baz

If you decide to replace the bullbar there are two diferent widths.One for the flare models and the other for the non flared models.I doubt it will straighten very well.Good luck.... :roll: