Rear body damage on 2nd gen 95.

W

walrusmt

New member
Hey friends,

My 19 year old son got mad, put his 95 in reverse and smashed it into a 200 year old oak tree. The truck is cherry beyond that. He bought the 4runner and has now purchased another vehicle (hey it's his money - he'll learn eventually I hope).
I now have the truck (for a song, literally) and will be replacing the tailgate assembly with used and the bumpers as well. I'm miles away from the vehicle and have no pictures currently. The bumper mounts are bent and there may be some bed damage requiring some work.
My question is this. Has anyone done repairs like this before? Can I have the bad bed section cut out and replaced with new steel? It seems like the other parts can be simply bolted on.

Thanks in advance!
 
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It will help a lot with pictures. But most likely you should be able to straighten out the panel pretty well. I got rear ended(a week after i got the truck :censored::sniper:). The rear tailgate got pushed in quite a bit, enough for window not to roll up. But i took out the window and pushed out the panel to nearly perfect. NOT perfect but close enough for me. If i really want to complete the job ill sand, bondo, smooth, repeat until i have a perfect finish.
But in my case it will be easier to just replace the tailgate.

and uh oh ya
:worthless
 
All you really have to do is bypass the window sensor, roll the glass out (MAKE SURE YOU PUT NO STRESS ON THE GLASS) and push the dent out. I did the same with a cement pole, except I wasn't mad just oblivious lol
 
bad damage

Thanks,

I've attached a picture of the underside of the damage.

The red line is the original line that the rear body was on before he rammed it into a tree at 20 mph. I accidentally deleted all images from my computer, email and text (no idea how that happened). He hit the tree so hard that it bent the tail gate in at least 10 inches and shattered the glass, etc.

You can tell from the images that the rear bed is mashed, as are the bumper mounts. This is not a simple pop out like I've done before. I'll have better pictures when I'm home for Christmas and can take the tail gate off and really see how badly smashed in the bed of the cargo area is. I don't think there is frame damage, just needs a whole lot of new parts and steel. I like the work honestly and will not sell the truck. Fixing it is the only option for those who will inevitably come on and say to sell it LOL.
 

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More Pics

My lovely wife just sent me these pics (at 1:30 in the morning eastern time - she's awesome!)
As you can see the damage is not pretty. The temporary tag is there because he literally only drove the truck for 13 days before crashing.
 

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I've been looking and found a complete tailgate with working glass and everything in the color to match. It will need to be shipped from Florida and they guy is asking $500. For the whole deal. Is this ok? Are these really that rare?
 
Working ones in good shape are. I sold one that the top was a little rotted on for $200 a few years back.

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Try Nix99.com (shipping might be brutal) or look for a local off road club and ask if anyone has one.
 
They're cheap in junkyards but finding the matching color you need is the trick. That right there probably makes the replacement one you found worth it. Plus, what's the chance of finding a nice one sitting in a yard in the rustbelt hell he's in.
 
I called around, there are 4 within 400 miles o Indianapolis. None closer than 200 miles and color is "unknown". I know these old tailgates are rare. I sold a full size bronco shell that was dented for 350 10 years ago. You are right about the Rust hell! Lol
 
Ok guys, There is a replacement tailgate assembly on the way with the glass, motor and all the guts. Cost $400 including shipping, but since it matches the color of the truck I figured it was worth it. I won't get to it until after Christmas (I'm in Colorado now) and I'll post the progress.

Thanks again.
 
Update on tailgate repair

Well I finally made it home to see the tailgate I ordered. When UPS delivered it my wife asked if they would put it in the garage (10 feet to the right of the front door). The TYPICAL Indianapolis UPS driver looked at her, walked in the garage and dropped it on my garage floor (from 3 feet - much crashing inside). When she asked him why he did that he just looked at her and walked back to the truck.
So yes, it's trashed and UPS is issuing a refund to the seller who will then give me the money - But that puts me 2 months behind and still looking for a tailgate.
I've literally never had anything delivered by UPS over 20lbs that didn't look like they drug it behind their truck. Not in 20 years. Typical rust belt union mentality honestly (o.k., bit of a rant, but man I was and am mad)

So when I get another one I'll continue the thread regarding the repair.
 

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RiFF RaFF said:
My UPS, and FEDEX guys are also into off roading. Packages are always gently handled. Gotta love my Brown Clown. Doesn't hurt I usually hook them up with a nice cigar.

:eyebrows:
Click to expand...

Yes, and my wife isn't exactly hard to look at either. I did find out that this was a temporary driver used in November and December, those poor guys make less than $10/hr here in Indiana - so I guess I can understand his effort... Still waiting for UPS to come out and do an onsite evaluation.
 
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