Crack in drivers side sheet metal...

MeBe4running

MeBe4running

New member
Hi all- hope everyone is having a great summer and getting out and about in their 4runners. I certainly have been which brings me to this query. I was changing the drivers side, side marker light bulb and noticed this large crack through the wheel well (see image) I know this is thin sheet metal but to see it cracked like this does concern me. I know I will have to find a welder to weld the crack from cracking further and of course once I have had a few dealers opinions as to what caused the break and the best way go about repairing it. Anyways wondering if anyone here could shed some insight on what could of caused this?

Thanks,

Mebe
 

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I'd just weld it up and not lose too much sleep over it. I'm sure if you approach the dealership, they'll charge you an hour of shop time just to tell you it was caused by abuse and aftermarket parts.
 
Hellamatic said:
I'd just weld it up and not lose too much sleep over it. I'm sure if you approach the dealership, they'll charge you an hour of shop time just to tell you it was caused by abuse and aftermarket parts.
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Yup I would do the same.

Just weld it up and keep an eye on it. I would try to put a steel plate over it and than weld it for extra strength.

If I remember correctly your vehicle is modded with a RTT? So dealership will mostly likely say it was from abuse/overloading.
 
Usually when I run into an abnormal condition such as this I try to find out:
What caused it? Vibration, bending or stress?
Once you have identified the cause, fix that and then you can proceed with a repair of the broken piece.

Right now this point is the weakest link, hence partial failure. By reinforcing it during repair you are going to just chase it to the next weakest link. We need to meet for dinner again so I can take a look!
 
Holy crap... That's not looking too good. Out of the choices listed by 1Engineer I would guess that bending/stress was the main cause, based on how the crack opened up.

With bolt points on both other body pieces and the frame, I would check all the panel gaps and see if they are still even. if they are, it may have been a hard hit that flexed things (cracked the panel) and settled back. if the panels are off, it would suggest a bent frame or (a permanent) shift in body panels.

Did you take any memorable hits on any of the recent trips?

Have you had an alignment recently? that would tell you if the frame is out of whack. or you could crawl under it with a friend and take some cross measurements, but that's not near as accurate (and I haven't looked to see how symmetrical our frame is).

You're a bit far from me for dinner, but toss me an email and lets catch up!

Okki
 
This is kinda scary, the FJ's had a major problem with this from 07-10, same as the Parado. It would get so bad it would actually start tearing the outer fender. Their fix supposedly was a stronger inner apron. I know we are a very similar platform, I wonder if anyone else has this as well and just hasn't noticed it yet? :nono:
 
That sucks! Pretty thin sheetmetal to weld too.

Drill a hole at the end of that crack to keep it from spreading and then weld it up good as new.
 
Most likely the ARB front bumper and it's weight hanging out front causing the crack.Did you keep the added 2010 and up front bolt on frame supports when you went with the ARB front bumper .

As stated the pre 10's had this ,especially FJ's with a heavy aftermarket bumper and the supports were added for extra support along with added frame doublers to stop the problem. This is the first I've read on a newer post1 0' 4Runner or FJ.Here's some from the older models......Do you have inner fender bulges / cracking?? - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

4th Gen 4Runner with FJ Cruiser style inner fender bulges & Cracks???? - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
 
1engineer said:
Usually when I run into an abnormal condition such as this I try to find out:
What caused it? Vibration, bending or stress?
Once you have identified the cause, fix that and then you can proceed with a repair of the broken piece.

Right now this point is the weakest link, hence partial failure. By reinforcing it during repair you are going to just chase it to the next weakest link. We need to meet for dinner again so I can take a look!
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I agree 100%, I do a fair amount of sheetmetal work on aircraft and like stated above that is now the weak link and it was caused by something and that should be narrowed down first. As [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] said, stop drill the crack to reduce further extension of the crack, doesn't need to be a huge hole just enough to capture the end of the crack.
 
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The first production run of FJ Cruisers also had front fender cracks due to heavy off road bumpers. That's the first thing I thought about when I saw this.

I seriously doubt that Toyota ever engineered the 4Runner to have a heavy bumper like the ARB up front.
 
landcruiser said:
bumper stresses and flexes frame to which sheetmetal is attached to.
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Front bumper is mounted on some high strength steel, which should handle some 200lb extra weight. But the frame cross members don't seem to be high strength. I'm thinking maybe the frame got twisted because of uneven tow/hit?
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I would clean off the brown stuff to really see where the end of the crack (s) are. Then I would stop drill the crack like Antman suggested. If the sheetmetal is too thin to weld, you can make a doubler and bond or rivet it on. I wonder if this is a common problem?
 
KodeRush said:
Front bumper is mounted on some high strength steel, which should handle some 200lb extra weight.
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ARB bumper, lights, and winch will top out over 200 pounds.

Last time I checked the FJ's bumper alone was 168 pounds.

I do recall the FJC problems were with the heavier bumpers (which often had winches and other stuff bolted to them). And of course recovery and tugging will likely make matters worse.
 
Thanks All!

This is a GREAT,GREAT help. Im planning to take the whole bumper off for a full inspection. The truck has 92,000 on it now and I really don't want to find a bigger issue down the line. Clearly this is a stress related crack and its most probable suspect is the ARB bull bar bumper. I will admit, that the bull bar whilst driving through tuts and corrugations shakes up and down more than I would like it to. I feel that related to the air bag design crumple zone on the bumpers mounting brackets. The support is just not there. Therefore the excessive movement.

On a brighter note I have just completed 6,260 mile trip in two weeks (I know a lot of ground) whilst sleeping mostly in the 4 runner. Its been GREAT. The only problem is this dam crack, otherwise nothing.

I will let you know the outcome, though I think you already know it.
 
I just checked my truck and I have a crack in the exact same place. I can't really tell yet how far it extends as the sound insulation on the outside and the crack going under where the fuse box is in the engine compartment make tracing it difficult.
 
Yep, I have a crack in the same place too. Awesome. That sheet metal is super thin. My guess is I'll drill, weld, and maybe add some plate to that area. Or see what the FJ guys did to resolve a similar issue.
 
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