3rd gen Tacoma hood misaligned after off roading

Thanks for the reply bro. Yea I hope that’s all it is ive checked the front body mount locations and no cracks or shifting is noticeable.

 

Frames bent, part it out now.
Good luck with your truck.

 

So, eF around and find out.

When offloading hard, the frame will flex. What I suspect happened, is you flexed it to the point of the fenders shifting. This could’ve shifted the hood. Likewise, the fenders could also be slightly out of alignment.

I would carefully check all body seems pay attention to the front end and these seems the doors and front fenders

 

Yea man it was all on accident I cought a bad bounce and slammed the brakes causing it to bottom out. Thanks for the reply tho maybe it is the fender that slid over to the left

 

Before you think you did it- do you have pics of before? Tacoma panels aren’t known for greatest body lines. I don’t have an issue, but have read numerous complaints over the years. But then again, many here complain about everything and expect a handmade vehicle.

 

That’s another thing, I don’t have pics that you can see but I do remember the hood always being a little more to the driver side than the passenger. I just don’t remember how much. Newer cars always have shitty body lines it seems

 

My hood has always been a little off, especially after replacing the body mounts up by the radiator.

I tried to adjust the hood once, but with my ditch light brackets it made things way too tough.

Yours is better than mine OP, I probably have another 1/8th inch on that passenger side. My drivers side is about the same as your passenger side. My truck has been wheeled lightly, never bottomed super hard. It's been like this for so long that I don't think it was off roading that caused it. Just shitty body lines from the factory.

 

you tried adjusting the bump stops

 

I was the fortunate/misfortunate owner of one of the first FJ cruisers sold in the US.

The front panels weren’t that strong and were prone to severe flexing off-road, or if you mounted a heavy bumper upfront.

Something is bent or cracked.

 

It probably happened after you installed your ditch light brackets. Just readjust your hood. Case solved.

 

I also noticed a difference after replacing the radiator body mounts with polyurethane. I think that’s where it all started Lol

 

Thanks for the reply bro I will try to re adjust !

 

Yup, more than likely. Your gaps are fine. All Tacoma's have shitty front end gaps.

Regardless of what the guys in this thread say, nothing is wrong, nothing is bent or cracked.

 

just poking at you brother

Take a look at all the body seams. If they are out on one side, they are often out on the other side. One side gets closer, one gets wider.

 

If you go this route: outline the hood mounting(s) with a Sharpie before you touch/loosen any of the bolts so you can place it back exactly where it was before you tried this. Things can go south quickly when doing these adjustments and you could end up with it being worse than it is now. The hood is very heavy and re-aligning them can be a nightmare: "move one side: now it's off on the other side"... "hood front lip is now off": wash-rinse-repeat. Doors are even worse and they weigh a ton.

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Noted. Thank you bro

 

I'd double check the bolts on the hood mount hinges. Appears it shifted a tad. Maybe wasn't tight enough after ditch lights were installed?

 

NoProblemo.

I'm speaking from experience on both the hood and the doors. I removed one of the front doors on a Volvo 240 one time to replace it. I marked everything prior. I put the replacements' hinges in the exact spot of the originals: The gap in two directions were off. The doors on those cars I swear weigh as much as a safe and they adjust top-bottom, front-edge-back-edge, and in and out and have shims in some cases. It was never right again: I could never get the gaps adjusted correctly. I have a feeling the two doors were made/welded a little different when they were made, or there is some secret to mounting them.
(experience??)

 

1) The amount of people that know nothing responding with "you bent the frame" is far too many.
2) If the impact was hard enough to shift body panels, it was hard enough to potentially throw your alignment off.
3) Open the hood and look at the radiator support, especially around the mounting points at the edges. Does that look like it shifted?
4) I'd loosen the hood bolts a hair, close the hood and see if you can shift it back to a better alignment. Same for the fender. This may take some trial and error. If this sounds daunting for you, this type of work shouldnt take a good body tech more than an hour. Having a body guy take a look underneath it may also put you at ease if all arm chair mechanics here saying the frame is bent have gotten into your head.
5) If you are going to keep driving like this, invest in the right suspension setup for what you are doing (Kings).

 

I was at Glamis parking lot two weeks ago (jumpy buggy season is open) and at Buttercup 2 months ago (no jumpy buggies). Damn big hills at crazy angles and what I believe are called "witch eyes" (deep dimples between dunes).

I was going to wait riding until I had a jump buggy or a sand bike.

Just observing, not criticizing (at least not much).