Went off the Road

[Maritimer]

I went off the road, down the bank, through the ditch, and came to rest against a 4*4 sign post, which I creamed right off.

The bumper is dented, and the grille is broken a bit. The repair estimate is $850 for a new bumper and grille.

A few things are bothering me, as the visible damage is minor, but the off road ride for 100-150 feet from a speed of 50mph was far too rough for my liking. I don't trust the lazy insurance estimates that have been made because they in no way checked out underneath to my satisfaction. They see a ten-year-old hunk of junk, and I see a classic pampered beauty.

1) Just a few days after the accident (truck was deemed drivable) I had to go into Toyota for an oil change and they said the calipers on the front left brake were seized and needed to be replaced along with the disc. I have ZERO clue about brakes, so this is either a corroded caliper or something due to insane bumping. The brakes are only a year or so old.

2) I want to get a non-"fat lip" bumper, and I'm not sure what or how to order that. What's an attractive and simple bumper I could get on instead?

3) Today, after filling up the gas tank for the first time after the accident last night, my dash is throwing check engine lights probably related to P0441 or P0446. I got those under control last summer with a new valve, but here they are again. My filler pipe is probably rusty, but it was doing the job just fine before last week.

Basically I don't want to end up with a slew of problems because of a surface examination of the truck by insurance. How tough is this truck, and how picky should I be about checking the whole truck over, and not just the body and bumper?

 

[Nelsonmd]

Insurance is always going to quote you very low. They don't want to cut you a check for the actual damages, so the only way you will get them to pay for everything is to have them pay the shop directly, or sue them. If you are concerned about other damage, then you should take it into a shop you trust, and ask for a detailed inspection. You may have to pay some money for it, but if it reveals something else damaged from the accident, then you will have to have the insurance estimator come back out and talk to the shop about it before they will pay for it.

I don't think the brakes issue you have has anything to do with your accident. You are in the rust belt, and this is a common issue, the brakes rust like hell. Look into the tundra brake upgrade, or just replace them, but you should do this yourself. It;s pretty easy.

You could look for bumpers from older 4runners that don't have the fat lip style. Otherwise you are looking at off-road bumpers.

You should check your filler pipe. Check the link in my sig, I had a rusted through filler pipe throwing a P0440. I didn't notice any fuel leak either, though the rust was really bad. It is about $125 for a replacement, and not too bad for the install.

Overall, these are very tough trucks. I wouldn't worry about that much. Have the shop check your ball joints, bearings, tie rod ends. I think that's about it. Not much in the back to crew up with the solid axle.

Anyone have any other ideas what to look for?

 

[ironhippy]

1) ditto what nelson said, I had to replace the brakes on my '98 twice in 3 months before I knew about the tundra upgrade

2) again Nelson is dead on I know I saw a thread where a 98 and 2000 swapped bumpers but I can't find it. Here is a related thread http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63856-front-bumper-swap.html

3) The excessive bumping may have created a whole if the filler pipe was rusty enough, my rear heater lines in my '98 cracked due to rust after a kicked up a rock off road.

I really only replied to get a bit more background, did you fall asleep or something? That type of accident, after the snow is gone, seems to imply a rather large mistake. I'm not trying to judge, just interested.

 

[MAD 69]

Try Certifit.com for a new bumper - they have them for $56 and new valence for $16 - for the 96-98 years and I believe the 99-02 are about the same price.

If your caliper is seized/ruined you should just go ahead and do the Tundra Brake Upgrade - I'm waiting for my brakes and rotors to completely go before I do this mod. I have been buying the parts when I have the money, I already have the 199mm calipers from a 2001 Tundra, I just need to save some money so I can get the rotors and new pads.

 

[Pikeman]

Not sure what type of road you were going down, but I can say our vehicles are not the best at high speed off-road without high dollar shocks. If you have stock or even some of the more poplur lifts it will be rough at 50mph off road. Another reason could be that you were still at street pressure in your tires. Airing down for off road use isnt just to allow it to form around rocks or trees, it also provides additional cushion.

How tough are these trucks? I have been wheeling my truck hard for the past 2.5 years with no issues until last week and there are several others that have been wheeling them longer and harder. Based on the way you described the brief off-road trip you were going way to fast for the condition/ terrain and out of control(otherwise would not have hit the 4x4 post). You should look under the truck for signs of damage such as dents and fresh scrapes. Since the Toyota tech was quick to point out the brake caliper, he would have mentioned if there was other damage with $ signs flashing before his eyes.

Simple clean bumper otions, factory fat lip or non-fat lip local salvage yard or Certifit.com. The cut-off Fatlip 99+ Nonfatlip 96-98
Clean simple bumpers
Outdoorlogic, CBI off road, Addicted offroad or some of the others people have posted on here. For a cleaner look get a plate version without the hoops.

 

[MTDewX8]

Snow gone? dont think so, cause that depends on your geography.
we had 4" fall last night and then get cold so its sloppy HARD in the morning and softens as the day warms up.

if you want to see the CBI front bumper look at my build in my sig.

heavy but I like it, although might be more than you want to spend. ARB are nice too and there bolt on.

 

[Hepar]

I think if you go for a non-fatlip bumper you'll have to cut off the sub-frame in the front.

 

[Maritimer]

I really only replied to get a bit more background, did you fall asleep or something? That type of accident, after the snow is gone, seems to imply a rather large mistake. I'm not trying to judge, just interested.

Head on sun, sand, and a weird corner. It didn't help that my mind was preoccupied. It's rather ego deflating.

 

[Maritimer]

Good to know about the brakes. It would be cool to get the insurance to pay, but I'll be happier with minimal accident damage, since a ****ed brake would imply that many other things could have gotten ****ed as well. Not having the time to do it myself I got the brake done already, and the Toyota guys had the truck up. So, since they already had money on their minds, and I asked them to take a look for accident damage as well, I'll figure things are generally fine.

Wow, the bumper thing sounds confusing. With a heavier bumper would I have to do new springs? These guys the insurance wants me to go through don't seem to know a lot about 4Runners.

Probably bite the bullet money wise and replace the filler pipe and maybe get new tires that I need.

 

[ironhippy]

Snow gone? dont think so, cause that depends on your geography.

He lives in my city so I was pretty sure I was correct in my assumption

Head on sun, sand, and a weird corner. It didn't help that my mind was preoccupied. It's rather ego deflating.

That sucks, happens to the best of us

If you want to wait indefinitely )) I'll give you my 2000 bumper when I eventually upgrade to an off road bumper. However I have no immediate plans or finances to do so, so you'd be waiting.

 

[Ron Helmuth]

glad you're okay sir.

 

[brian2sun]

Wow, the bumper thing sounds confusing. With a heavier bumper would I have to do new springs? These guys the insurance wants me to go through don't seem to know a lot about 4Runners.

I don't think the bumper is a big deal. I've seen it done on here before.

Insurance companies don't have the right to tell you what shop you can go to. So if you don't trust that shop's skillz, tell the insurance company to kick rocks and have them pay you cash and you can go wherever you want. In fact it's better to get cash because often shops will turn in a bid to the insurance company for say $1000, but they only do $600 in actual work and they pocket the rest of your money. Body shops and insurance companies love to negotiate with your money and WITHOUT you being there. But you have the right to not participate in that crap and just say, "give me cash".

 

[Pikeman]

Yeah teh collison shop just called me on estimate for my lower ball joint failure and trying to claim $4k in damage. I am going down there after lunch to have them walk me through it and then I am going to tell insurance Company to let me do it since I know it is way over inflated. If anything I have another collision shop that I know will take good care of me and shoot straight.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Yeah teh collison shop just called me on estimate for my lower ball joint failure and trying to claim $4k in damage. I am going down there after lunch to have them walk me through it and then I am going to tell insurance Company to let me do it since I know it is way over inflated. If anything I have another collision shop that I know will take good care of me and shoot straight.

Not sure exactly what you mean here, but yeah, I would say LBJ's at very least need to be replaced (it is a catastrophic latent failure).

$4k? You need the breakdown on that. LBJ's should only be a couple hundred (Mayeb 400 at most) and it doesn't sound like the body damage was that extensive. Definitely get the breakdown.

 

[Maritimer]

If you want to wait indefinitely )) I'll give you my 2000 bumper when I eventually upgrade to an off road bumper. However I have no immediate plans or finances to do so, so you'd be waiting.

Sounds like a plan, lol. The dent is seriously not too large, and given the general condition of things with the truck, I'm partial to the idea of hammering it out. Told that to insurance and they had a little fit about needing to send out an assessor because they don't insure damaged vehicles. :gun4:

 

[fightman80]

Seriously man, the bumper is a easy job...I did mine this past winter and had no problems. I did mine for under $200.00, but that was including the chrome bumper, new turn signals, 2 tubes of epoxy (to repair my busted lower plastic valance), some new nuts, bolts and washers, and a can of Plasti-dip to paint the newly repaired valance. Not to mention, I paid in Canadian Dollars....stuff costs way more here to buy!

My truck went from this:

To this:

And finally, to this:

I had never done something like that before, and really just used common knowledge of tools and some help from the 4Runner Documentation thingy.....to help me do the job!

 

[the great him]

its not hard to rack up $4k in damages , i think that shop is probably pretty close to being right on... by the time they R&I the fender and do work to that and the door, new paint, all your suspension, brake caliper, brake rotor, brake lines, LCA, LBJ, strut, spring, fender flare, and other misc parts ect ect ect you are looking close to that. the little bit of damage from my runner getting hit is close to $1600, and he only slightly bent and scratched my bumper, lower valance, and brush guard, and scuffed the wheel, all of which can be buffed out except for the bent bumper. so it adds up fast

 

[Maritimer]

I'm no expert on internal mechanics, but I spent a good hour under the Runner yesterday looking things over and it looks sweet. Literally just a dented bumper. I am having a bit of a mental fit over the rust and grime under there, though, and can't wait to degrease and strategically POR-15 this summer.

 

[Maritimer]

Now I'm dealing with the windshield seal lifting in the top left corner.

I'm trying to figure out if the jarring merely broke the seal, or there is weird pressure being put on the windshield frame because of slight bending due to the hit to the front end.

Insurance and the repair shop are ****ing useless because they want to spend as little effort truly examining the truck as possible. This is the **** I wanted to avoid--tons of little problems that are hard to pin down but would obviously seem connected to the accident.

Now I know why I'll never buy a used car that was in an accident.

 

[C C]

Ill give you the bumper off my 98 sr5 (non fat lip) if you can find me a newer bumper (99+) or just one off a limited