Crappy day for my Taco

Friday, I made a run from St. Louis to KC to pick up a garden tiller that I had bought. It was a great trip up to the point where I got back to St. Louis.

I had just got off the interstate and was going through an intersection when some kid who had his license for 2 days made a left turn on a yield in front of me. Tore the crap out of his car. It busted all the passenger side windows, set off his air bags, peeled the whole side back like a can of sardines, etc.

I heard one of the witnesses ask the kid why he turned. He replied that he thought he had a green to make the turn...guess he didn't see the sign next to the light that said "Left turn yield on green". It may have been that he was distracted by the 3 other kids in the car with him, which is illegal for new drivers in MO.

I let the cops handle it and got the info I needed from them. The cop and the tow truck driver that hauled the kid's car thought I should be able to drive my Taco home. It wasn't leaking any fluids and looked drivable. I was only 2 miles from my house. I took off, but noted that the steering felt a little funny.

I got the Taco home and parked it in the driveway and started looking everything over. It twisted my bumper and pushed the right fender and radiator support back. I looked underneath and saw the right outer tie rod hanging, unattached. Guess I was lucky I made it home.

I had it towed to the autobody shop. Still waiting to hear back if it can be fixed or if they will total it. I have been collecting info on 04 double cabs for sale, as I was told to find what I can so they insurance doesn't try to low-ball me if they total it. Not sure if the kid's parents contacted their insurance yet, as mine is still handling it at the moment. Guess they will wait for the police report to come out before making any fault decisions, although it was clearly his fault.

I hate this waiting game and driving a Nissan Sentra sucks.

 

Sorry to hear that! Going 1st gen again if it's totaled or with a 2nd gen?

When my Outback was totaled and I got a rental they asked me what I drove and said they figured I probably wouldn't be thrilled with a little sedan so they gave me a Frontier. It was actually perfect because it gave me a week with one to weigh it against the Tacoma.

 

sorry to hear.




but i have to say........
driving your truck with no tie rod, on the road, for 2 miles, is IMPOSSIBLE. you would blow your tire right off the bead and your truck would be skidding and sliding everywhere.



i know this because i have tried to do it off road. onroad would be a million times harder...






but i hope it all works out for you man, that sounds shiitty. remember, trucks can be replaced, body parts can not.
any pictures?

 

Sucks to loose time and money to someone else's stupidity. I hope it gets settled to your satisfaction.
If your insurance knows about it, then by now the kid's will also. They will dig through the cop's report and decide how to proceed. Let them work it out. Get all the numbers together and figure out what it will cost you to replace the truck. Have all that ready before they call so you don't have to wait to make a decision. Good luck.

 

Hopefully the images attached. You'll see the tie rod hanging. As long as it was rolling on flat ground, the tire tracked fine, as i drove it up the street and started driving onto the roll back. Once the weight shifted on the roll back, it went sideways.

 

I am hoping they fix it. I have had the Taco almost 10 years and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. It would be a shame to loose all that. I was planning on giving it to my kids when they turned 16, which is still a few years down the road. They are as disappointed as I am, and they keep telling me the Nissan isn't manly...at least it gets good gas mileage.

 

Good news...got a call from the body shop, as they had questions about my side marker lights in which I had added additional turn signal lights. Unless they find something substantial the Taco will be repaired.

 

Great news! Honestly, I have torn up vehicles much worse than that, and the shops were always able to put them back together. If the shop is mod friendly, then it's a bonus since they have often fixed the "shortcuts" I may have done bolting on things. The big thing is to visit the truck after they pull off the bent parts to make sure the frame isn't badly damaged. The radiator support can be replaced, but a bent frame requires pulling. I know they can pull it back into shape, but I've always be scared of metal fatigue. Looks like that monster bumper saved you. That would be the first thing I replace.

 

glad your okay, can i ask how you drove with no tie rod?
im so curious.
was there a bunch of squealing going on? a broken tie rod like that is not something i would even think you could drive on....
would be driving with your tires like this \| but at a more dramatic angle LOL

 

Too bad about the damage but it looks like the Plate bumper took a lickin' and kept on tickin'!!!

 

Actually, that is the idler arm, not the tie rod. That's why he could drive it home.

Glad you will be able to get it fixed.

 

Nope, only when I had to back it out of the driveway and turn it around to put it on the roll back. On level ground it drove fine. when I turned the wheel, it felt a little wobbly. I guess that was from steering with the left wheel and waiting for the right wheel to track with the rest of the truck. Had I known it was broken at the scene of the accident, I would have had it towed. I didn't catch it...neither did the tow truck driver when he looked at the truck.

Now when I backed it down the driveway, the right wheel did turn. I had skid marks backing down the driveway and out in the cul de sac where I turned around. Once I got it straight and headed up the street it tracked till I started up the bed of the roll-back. Then the guy winched it on the rest of the way. Even winching, he still had to straighten the wheel. I really depended on how much of the truck's weight was on the front wheels.

 

Nope...tie rod...rack and pinion doesn't have idler arms.

 

nice!! got pretty lucky!
when mine broke off road i drove mine a little bit. hehehehe but mine didnt track at all.

id agree that is definitely a tie rod.

 

Depends on your caster/alignment setting. If there is enough,,it will track fine without the tie rod attached. Looks like everything might have got shoved back a tad and added more caster, possibly.

Have seen some that would track just fine without a tie rod connected,,and others that shook like a overloaded washing machine. All in your alignment settings.

Glad it's fixable.

 

If it were my truck , I would be heading down to the body shop to figure out if they are changing all the parts that were damaged . Dont let them straighten anything .
Are they using original Toyota parts or aftermarket junk ?
Might be something to look at
Now is the time to make sure the repair is going to be done properly .

 

makes sense. interesting!
i was thinking about this last night and id assume toyota would make it track as straight as possible from the factory to not put excessive wear on the rack/tie rods.

 

Most cars have positive caster. (Think of a shopping cart casting wheel) the wheel tracks behind the pivot point so going forward is why it was able to drive. Anyway, glad everyone was okay! Glad you'll get your truck fixed!

 

Make sure the accident claim stays open for as long as possible. Some shops close out the claim immediately and tell the Ins company's it's done after fixing it.

Once they close the claim,,it's out of your wallet for labor to replace a new defective that was replaced after the accident. If the claim is left open,,then it is covered for 6 months with most Ins company's.

Stuff the INS company's don't want you to know and something to look into.

 

I went the the shop after work last night. They took me back to show me the damage and everything that will need to be replaced. They don't straighten, unless it is the frame. I was lucky...the frame wasn't bent, but my right bumper bracket was. I was shocked that it bent.

Anyway, it is a good shop, one I have used for years. I trust them, as the owner is as picky with his stuff as I am, so I know it will be done right. They use Toyota parts, and have ordered the stuff we discussed already.

The only part that sucks is my front bumper...3 month build time, but hey, you can't rush perfection. I still have my factory bumper, so we could put it on if necessary.

Oh, and I won't settle till everything is done to my satisfaction, and to make sure I don't have any lingering side affects down the road to me or the Taco.