Bent Frame

Any advice? See the right side of the bed and the hitch shows signs of abuse. Bought it 3 months ago. It runs great. Looks like someone pulled a trailer that was too much for this truck. No signs of abnormal tire wear. Seeing that lean bothers me. Any advice?

 

Sure the suspension isn't just fuckered? Bed is actually tight? Why'd you buy it if you knew the frame was bent this obviously?

 

Have a body shop put it on a frame rack, they'll tell you what's not right, if anything.

 

I got a great price on it. The frame has the expected rust issues. I welded 2 patches on it. Suspension seems good. I put new shocks on. Leaf springs appear good.

 

Post more pics of sides and frame.

 

Get some real measurements on a known flat surface

 

Thanks to everyone for the input. I will get some better pics and some measurements this week.

 

Are you sure It's not just the Toyota lean!

 

I was gonna say, looks like a bad case of 'taco lean'. It being that bad though I would think it would be rather obvious when looking at the front driver's side suspension compared to the passenger side.

 

Please elaborate on the "Toyota/Taco lean." This is my first experience with Toyota/Tacoma. Also, eon_blue please explain further about the front suspension. I see some tie rod ends in my near future, but I haven't noticed anything abnormal up there. I am surprised that there isn't any signs of abnormal tire wear.

I will get some better pics today, but I won't be able to measure until this weekend. As to the measurements: Are there any critical points I should measure?

 

Toyota lean is generally the whole truck. Not the bed leaning opposite of the cab lol

 

Absolutely this, this isn't the taco lean.

Check the rear suspension and measure from different areas on a flat level surface. Measurements from the ground to the frame should show you whether or not the frame is bent somewhere.

 

"Taco lean" is a term used to describe the slight lean some Tacomas get on the driver's side of the truck. Over time the weight of the driver, battery and gas tank (all of the driver's side of the truck) can start to make the truck lean in that direction. Some suspension kits come with a 1/4" spacer to compensate for it when you install them.

I was mostly just joking about the taco lean on your truck, like I said before if you had taco lean that bad I would imagine your front suspension/coil on the driver's side would look completely sagged or compressed. If the suspension looks normal on both sides then it's safe to say that that's not the issue, could likely be a bent frame

 

Here is a picture of the damaged hitch/bumper. I am guessing that someone tried to pull a trailer that was too much for a little truck. The bumper slopes down and away from the truck. I loosened the bolts on it and jacked it up as high as it could go and then tightened the bolts. No noticeable change in the slope. I would have to drill new holes in the frame to level the bumper.

 

I was joking. HAHA! Not really though...

 

I weigh in at about 230, but who knows about the last guy. Anyhow, my next step is to do some measurements. I will try to get a few points along each side. I sure would love to have a set of scales that would tell me how much weight is on each tire.

Thank you all for your help.

 

Your bumper looks like the one I threw away