Reviewing damage from an accident the PO had...

Florida weather has finally let up allowing me to take a more detailed look at my Tacoma after purchasing it last week. Over all the truck is in excellent condition and has been driving wonderfully.


I decided to look at the spare, check the pressure, and go through the motions of dropping the spare as I have never done it before and didn't want the first time to be on the side of road.

It appears to never have been used, I topped it off to 35 psi and put it back on the truck.


The previous owner (PO) informed me before the sale that there had been one small accident with the truck causing the front bumper and bull bar to be replaced (he even had the body shop paperwork for the repair). In looking closer at the truck I am seeing a few odd things.

1) The front bumper seems to sit pretty low off the body, does this look normal?


2) The battery tie down appears to have been extended to make it reach the bumper. I tried to remove the extension and found that the battery would hit the coolant reservoir, so I left it as is. This makes me question if it is the right tie down, or the frame/body piece is in a different location?


3) I see tabs under the front bumper, do I have a cover missing? (Both sides are the same)


4) I didn't take a picture but the windshield washer reservoir is pretty cracked as well. If I were to fill it to the top I think fluid would leak out.


Right now I am chalking this all up to minor issues caused by the accident, like I said earlier the truck looks and drives amazing. Any input or thoughts though that you guys might have would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

The bumper looks like it is sitting lower. To answer #3, not you are not missing anything there. Not sure about #2, I dont have a V6

 

My truck was in accidents from the PO as well. One side of my bumper sits about the same as yours. As for the battery tie-down, that's definitely been extended because mine doesn't have that extra piece and fits perfectly fine. As for the windshield washer reservoir, I couldn't really tell ya if its from just normal wear on the truck or from the accident because mine is broken too lol (big hole in the neck of the reservoir).

 

Thanks for the input so far. I'm going to see if I can adjust the bumper up some tonight when I get home, from what I have read it's only 4-6 bolts. I am still a bit baffled by the battery hold down, nothing seems bent, or pushed out of place to cause it not to reach. I think I might take the battery out tonight to get a better look.

 

Here is a shot of the battery in relation to the overflow reservoir

 

Yea the bracket should be able to bolt right into the hole without that metal piece.

 

Agreed, but nothing that I have seen so far on the body/rail that it mounts to makes it seem out of place (requiring the metal piece). It's like the hole is too far forward, which would seem to be opposite from the type of damage expected from an accident.

 

Nice TRUCK!!
The wheel wells should have an inside cover so that water and dirt cannot get into the engine compartment. it is difficult to tell from the pics.
There might be a portion of the bottom missing.
Battery tie down--that is not a stock setup--But it looks STURDY and should work well.
it is possible that the original one was lost and he replaced it.
AGAIN--NICE TRUCK-You will be happy.
Do not sweat the small stuff-ENJOY the truck.
Fender support--Mine is the same-nothing attached.
Where in FLA are you????

 

first off the 18" 4Runner wheels look good on the Taco, I like them more now

#1 you can probably adjust the front bumper a little bit but it's not that far off

#2 the battery bracket should reach the core support, maybe they got one from another Toyota and put it in?



#3 those tabs are on every fascia piece, could possibly be for the S-Runner body kit but I think the 2wd is different.

#4 the washer reservoir could be cracked from the accident but as long as it can hold a decent amount of fluid and still function I wouldn't be too concerned. replace in the future if it will endure any harsh roads as more cracks may occur.

 

For the windshield washer resi i would just get a universal one or something new because any one you get from the junkyard will crack pretty easily. They are notorious for being extremely easy to crack when they are old.

Battery tie down issue might be because they replaced the whole radiator support(mayyybbee). I would try to take the little coolant resi off and try to bend the metal pieces forward so that the coolant resi sits closer to the radiator support. Then see if the battery still hits the coolant resivor.

 

Can you explain this in a little more detail? I was able to adjust the center of the bumper up but when it came to looking at the sides I didn't see any adjustment room. The bumper sat in the middle of a rubber grommet and the only adjustment I saw was left to right. I am happy with the center being higher, now I just need to make the sides match!

BEFORE


AFTER

 

I also installed a leaf spring clamp kit to help with a clunk I was getting some times going into gear and also when coming off the brakes. Did a short test drive and I could not duplicate the problem anymore, a few days will tell for sure. Also once I am sure it fixed the problem I'll trim the bolts down a bit so they don't stick out as far.

 

I was examining your pics that you posted. To me, it looks like the front support is pushed too far forwards. Appearts as though theres a bigger gap between that and the radiator. That would probably be the cause of the extension on the battery bracket

 

You have/had axle wrap.
New leafs will be a permanent solution if your current solution doesn't work long term.

 

A quick search found springs that lifted the truck, none that kept the stock ride height. Where might I source new springs?

 

I ordered mine from General Spring of Kansas City to correct lean on drivers side. Here's the product code:

90-237 2001 - 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 / Prerunner Driver Side rear leaf spring, 4(3/1) leaves
90-235 2001 - 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 / Prerunner Passenger Side rear leaf spring, 4(3/1) leaves
No issues after nearly a year.

Mine also had gremlins after a previous owners mishaps. But those are gone now. Nice taco btw.

 

I got some Dorman leafs on ebay, about $80/set.

Might seem like an odd ? but people do odd things/ Any chance the battery is oversized and they extended the tie down to accommodate it? The fender and hood all align off the front support if memory serves, seems the whole thing would look funky if the support was out of place.

 

Thanks for all the compliments and input. I spent more time on the truck this afternoon. For starters I went all day with no clunks from the rear end, so I feel that the leaf spring clamps are doing their job.

I also got the fiddle with the sides of the front bumper to help line it up better. Here is the end result.

BEFORE


AFTER


I know it doesn't seem like much, but it looks better, I am happy with it and leaving it alone!

I also found some superb wiring done by one of the previous owners which consisted of mashing a wire into a spare pin of the front turn signal, putting some RTV on it, and running it up to the side running lights. I assume they were trying to make the running lights flash whenever the turn signal flashed. I cut the wire out, which I don't think was even making contact anymore and taped up the wire.



It got late so the painting of the leaf spring clamps will have to wait for another day . I also spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out what the deal was with the battery tie down. I took the battery out but couldn't see anything really out of place. Maybe the battery is a bit bigger than stock, I don't know.

Again thanks for all the input!

 

Your battery does appear a little big. With mine, the handle for it fits underneath the bracket and then the bracket fits in the hole. Could be your issue. Or, check where the bracket catches behind the battery. Could be messed up or have something blocking it.