Bent rear end or frame?

[ukrsindicat]

Great group! I have a question to the bigger audience.
I went by the Firestone to get my alignment done.
The front aligned without any issues, but there is no alignment for the rear (news to me) on 4runner (straight axle so... yeah). After 5K miles on brand new tires, I have significant wear on the inner side of both rear wheels (I know, they look like 50K tires). The Firestone told me that the frame/rear end is likely bent and need to go to body shop to get straightened at the frame or rear end to bring the rear wheels in the proper alignment. I do know that the vehicle was hit in that side, so maybe that what caused the bend.
Has anyone dealt with this before? How significant is the labor?
I wouldn't want to get rid of this truck because the frame is super clean.

Update:
I jacked up the vehicle to check for anything funky. It “seems ” that there is a difference in wheel to body distance that possibly points out to bent rear end. Thoughts and prayers are welcome. Here’s the video:
December 5, 2023 - YouTube

Update 2:
No wobble of tires, bearings seem to be ok(the right rear bearing and the seal were replaced recently).
I did the forward and rear of wheel measurements using laser measure. Please see the photos. I marked the crosses at the same sector of wheels on both sides and shot the measurement in the from side of the wheels and the rear side of the wheels. I found that the front measurement was about an inch longer than the rear measurement. Also I measured the distance from the wheel forward of the fender on both sides of the vehicle and found the difference.

Bent rear end ? - YouTube

Whats the best way of solving this issue?

 

[ukrsindicat]

Photos Part 2

 

[MikeinNH67]

Wow, that's some crazy wear. By the alignment numbers, it looks like it would be a bent axle to me. From what I've seen, bent frames would usually show an oddity with how the chassis mounts are as in one will look off or have a mark where it moved some. I would get a helper and try measuring from set points on the front of the frame to points on the axle to look for anomolies. Maybe 4 spots in parallel, left/right near diff and same near brake shield. You can also measure from the front end to the rear control arms, do front side by frame attachment and back side by axle. I wouldn't trust much measuring to the body seeing it was in an accident.

 

[inscarguy]

There might be a few things going on here. You mentioned it was hit. First off the vehicle should not be lifted on the lower control arms and associated brackets. It looks like those brackets already have some bends to the,. The metal on those is much thinner than the frame. From my experience being a mechanic and an insurance appraiser, it looks like the rt lower arm or bracket is damaged as the front of the arm is not centered in the bracket. It also could possibly be a bent hub on the axle at the top causing that type of wear on the tires. If it's the arm then the rt tire will be dragging inward causing the same wear. It looks like it's doing the same thing on both sides. With both sides being worn the same it could have been after the accident. Depending on how it was towed or moved they could have clamped or hooked it in the wrong places, bending something. I'm leaning to the latter as it's pretty much even on both sides. If it was hit on one side it's unlikely that the same damage would be on the other side.

Judging by the alignment specs the rt is far more out than the left. I would take measurements of the diff in the hub area and lower control arms.

 

[rdruss]

Have someone follow you down the road and have them watch the rear wheels, if one or both wobble, then you have a bent axle or hub on that side. I had curbed my car badly years ago, bad enough to break the front ball joint, but the rear axle shaft was bent too. I didn't know it until got car back from shop and several weeks later a friend told me my passenger side rear wheel had a wobble, sure enough, removed that axle shaft and it was bent.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Just from eyeballing it you can clearly see how out of line the control arms are. The mount brackets on the axle look bent out of position. You can also see how cockeyed the bolts are through the bushings and bracket. You shouldn't jack your truck up like that first of all. I doubt it's a serious issue. If you're mechanically inclined and have decent intelligence you can probably fix it for free pretty much. What you need is a tram tool and the point to point data to verify the frame is straight and locate where the problem lies. It might be hard to find the point to point data because typically that information is hoarded by body shops and costs money. You can find it though if you try hard enough, I've had to find it before. I'm putting my money on one or more mounting brackets bent out of position. You can probably fix it with a hammer or some kind of pry tool and muscle. I would also go ahead and get new control arms or refurbish the bushings. They've most likely been damaged. Hopefully it's nothing major.

 

[ukrsindicat]

Thank you, Jake.
Here are the photos of control arms and brackets. PPS: for some reason this forum website doesn't let me post additional photos so using Google Photos with links
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wWRURCtew3VPcu9Q8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wNBHeWG6bBJMd5c1A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/a96TvqhWwVmBrswAA

"What you need is a tram tool and the point to point data to verify the frame is straight and locate where the problem lies. It might be hard to find the point to point data because typically that information is hoarded by body shops and costs money." - I don't mind paying the shop to do the evaluation. What kind of shop should I look for ? What specialty?
My go-to-shop thinks that the rear axle housing bent and needs to be replaced. He proposed to get the replacement axle housing on Car-Part for $800 and $800ish for labor. I don't mind doing it, but I want to make sure that this will fix it and we are not just shooting the truck with the parts cannon and wasting money.

 

[ukrsindicat]

Have someone follow you down the road and have them watch the rear wheels, if one or both wobble, then you have a bent axle or hub on that side. I had curbed my car badly years ago, bad enough to break the front ball joint, but the rear axle shaft was bent too. I didn't know it until got car back from shop and several weeks later a friend told me my passenger side rear wheel had a wobble, sure enough, removed that axle shaft and it was bent.

THanks, RD.
I was going to do that, but decide to jack up the truck and film it from the rear instead. Here is the video: Bent rear end ? - YouTube

 

[ukrsindicat]

There might be a few things going on here. You mentioned it was hit. First off the vehicle should not be lifted on the lower control arms and associated brackets. It looks like those brackets already have some bends to the,. The metal on those is much thinner than the frame. From my experience being a mechanic and an insurance appraiser, it looks like the rt lower arm or bracket is damaged as the front of the arm is not centered in the bracket. It also could possibly be a bent hub on the axle at the top causing that type of wear on the tires. If it's the arm then the rt tire will be dragging inward causing the same wear. It looks like it's doing the same thing on both sides. With both sides being worn the same it could have been after the accident. Depending on how it was towed or moved they could have clamped or hooked it in the wrong places, bending something. I'm leaning to the latter as it's pretty much even on both sides. If it was hit on one side it's unlikely that the same damage would be on the other side.

Judging by the alignment specs the rt is far more out than the left. I would take measurements of the diff in the hub area and lower control arms.

THank you. I included some upclose photos of control arms for your opinion.

What is the best way to take measurements of the diff in the hub area and lower control arms?

 

[ukrsindicat]

Wow, that's some crazy wear. By the alignment numbers, it looks like it would be a bent axle to me. From what I've seen, bent frames would usually show an oddity with how the chassis mounts are as in one will look off or have a mark where it moved some. I would get a helper and try measuring from set points on the front of the frame to points on the axle to look for anomolies. Maybe 4 spots in parallel, left/right near diff and same near brake shield. You can also measure from the front end to the rear control arms, do front side by frame attachment and back side by axle. I wouldn't trust much measuring to the body seeing it was in an accident.

THank you, Mike!
I did the forward and rear of wheel measurements using laser measure. Please see the photos. I marked the crosses at the same sector of wheels on both sides and shot the measurement in the from side of the wheels and the rear side of the wheels. I found that the front measurement was about an inch longer than the rear measurement. Also I measured the distance from the wheel forward of the fender on both sides of the vehicle and found the difference.
Here are the photos of wheel axle measurements (orange lines are the ones that were measured)
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Thank you, Jake.
Here are the photos of control arms and brackets. PPS: for some reason this forum website doesn't let me post additional photos so using Google Photos with links
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
Shared album - Yuri V - Google Photos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wWRURCtew3VPcu9Q8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wNBHeWG6bBJMd5c1A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/a96TvqhWwVmBrswAA

"What you need is a tram tool and the point to point data to verify the frame is straight and locate where the problem lies. It might be hard to find the point to point data because typically that information is hoarded by body shops and costs money." - I don't mind paying the shop to do the evaluation. What kind of shop should I look for ? What specialty?
My go-to-shop thinks that the rear axle housing bent and needs to be replaced. He proposed to get the replacement axle housing on Car-Part for $800 and $800ish for labor. I don't mind doing it, but I want to make sure that this will fix it and we are not just shooting the truck with the parts cannon and wasting money.

The wheel alignment shop should have the equipment to very the frame. Not sure why they couldn't confirm the frame dimensions. They should have also verified you rear wheel base if they think it's possibly a bent axle housing. Most body shops that do paint and body work can do this for you also. When I look at the photos I notice that both sides have shifted about the same amount in the same direction.. the control arms, and coils. This indicates to me the axle is most likely fine. Hope it's the easy solution for you.

 

[ukrsindicat]

The wheel alignment shop should have the equipment to very the frame. Not sure why they couldn't confirm the frame dimensions. They should have also verified you rear wheel base if they think it's possibly a bent axle housing. Most body shops that do paint and body work can do this for you also. When I look at the photos I notice that both sides have shifted about the same amount in the same direction.. the control arms, and coils. This indicates to me the axle is most likely fine. Hope it's the easy solution for you.

The alignment was done at Firestone, but I don't think that they are that good...at all.

"When I look at the photos I notice that both sides have shifted about the same amount in the same direction.. the control arms, and coils."
Jake, is there a way that you can point to me where you see the shift? I want to take a closer look
THank you for the great feedback!