Somber advice for rollover death of a 2000 Limited

[Soul Odor]

Hi all,

I rolled my truck on an icy highway about 2 weeks ago, had basic insurance that I chose not to use and so I now own a beautiful green and tan limited 4 runner who may never see a road again.

It drives fine (they drove it out of the snow and onto the flatbed), the 4 wheel toggle still works great, and mechanically it appears completely good to go. If it were the apocalypse, I could still drive this truck. 373k km.

(Un)Fortunately, it's not the apocalypse and this is no longer an insurable vehicle (without the amount of money it would take to fix the frame). Thus, I'm looking for opinions.

My current plan is to find another runner or tacoma body and swap the whole drivetrain over. Massive job, but I have some spare time and very little to lose and this seems like fun.

What would you do?

 

[JayRolla]

I would completely part it out and start fresh.

 

[Xinirgi]

Put it on Kijiji and part it out. There's virtually no 3rd gens at local wreckers, so getting spare parts is a hassle. PM me some info/pics I might even take some parts off your hands.

As for the rest of your question, save the money and buy another vehicle and start again. Swapping over stock stuff seems pointless to me.

 

[Arnezie]

can't see pics:worthless

 

[Soul Odor]

Whoops sorry, fixed the pics hosting.

And thanks, I'm totally down for selling off individual parts, I hadn't yet got enough money to do any custom work but I was taking really good care of her.

 

[mudmaster]

Turn it into a wheeler.

 

[02SE]

I've seen bent axles, bent axle housings, damaged driveline mounts on engine blocks, and transmission, and transfer case housings, etc. from similar rollovers. I'd inspect the entire driveline first, to see if it is worth parting out.

 

[NHRunner]

I second the part out, given that you're in Alberta. From everything I've seen, it's so hard to find decent partouts in Canada.

 

[Soul Odor]

So after asking for advice from a lot of different people and looking at my financial situation, I'm going with the "duct tape and pray to god" scenario until I can come up with enough money to replace it.

1. Don't have the room or tools to dismantle it right now
2. Don't have the money to replace it right now
3. From all inspections so far the damage is only that one minor bend in the frame and a lot of body damage.

This is likely because the roll was 80% through hardened snow. The snow appears to have acted as a crash mat, until I rolled into the trees.

So, drive a bunged up looking runner while I earn enough money for a replacement, and then sell it whole for parts. Should only need a few months.

Sketchy? Yes. Pseudo-legal? Yes. My best option right now? Also probably yes.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the advice, and I will be selling it whole for parts a few months down the road. I have a couple of local people who may be interested I'll get it touch with, if you'd like to be added to the list, please send me a PM.

Thanks again!