Broken Front Struts

My 09 has a ton of brand new parts underneath including a new frame as per the recall.

Was driving on my street and both of my front struts just broke entirely! I don't do much rigorous driving in my truck and this happened while driving 15mph on a residential street

Has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions on what to tell the Toyota dealer I bought it from? Insane

 

Now come on they couldn’t see that while putting things back together for you with the new frame I think that was look the other way type of deal I would gripe about to see how far you get but they might tell you to jump in the lake

 

Not sure when they did the frame. But come on man get under the truck and do some inspecting once or twice year. They didn’t go from perfectly good to broken overnight.

 

@gotoman1969 Trust me man, I've only owned this truck for a year and I take good care of it. I mean if you look at the pics they're rusty but definitely no condition to just break off like that.

That's the result of some major stress that I have not put on this truck. That's why I'm asking whether anyone has seen struts break like this in that condition.

Funny thing is I just got an inspection and passed so the mechanics certainly didn't notice (that is if they were even looking closely)

 

@Geeves77 Yeah man who knows

 

Yeah, it happens.
You see it more on trucks that are lifted with top hat spacers.

Is your truck lifted?

 

Looks like the spindle or the part that ties the spindle to the LCA is about to fail too.

 

@TnShooter No lift. I guess it just happens. Any suggestions on replacement shocks? I was thinking Bilstein 5100's

@BLKTRUCK I guess that's gotta be replaced too. Should I go OEM on a replacement for that?

 

Those things should probably have been replaced a very long time ago. Just get some 5100's.

 

Strange they broke about the same time, but guess would be possible weld defects or crappy shocks in general. In fairness they look a bit past due. Also might have been seizing the bushings? Maybe get aluminum body shocks!

 

5100’s are good shocks.Definitely better than stock.
So are 4600 if you aren’t going to lift the truck.

It looks as if the the control arms are newer than the lower ball joint mount.
How long ago was the frame replaced?
If it was recently, you’d think who ever did the frame/control arms would tell you about the shape the shocks were in?

 

When my frame was replaced i got new LCA. You should of too

 

I think OP did, but his are just dirty.

 

FWIW The dealership may have torqued the lower strut mount on the LCA while the vehicle was unweighted and suspension at max height. That would result in undue torsional strain on the strut when the LCA was back in ride-height position. However, those struts look baked so that may have been the last straw!

 

Did it come with a warranty of some sort from the dealer you bought it from? Otherwise, replace them and have a good mechanic look over the truck.

 

This was exactly what I was thinking.

 

That is wild. It almost looks like is was broken, then started rusting.

Someone not like you and cut thru the struts?

 

I've been doing machinery warranty investigations for years. What does the fracture face look like? The wounded metal often tells a story..... Got more pictures that show it?

 

Sorry, you bought a vehicle as-is. No warranty. You were lucky to have the frame replaced under the limited recall.

I suggest finding a free or cheap stock suspension from a 3rd gen that they took of for installing a lift. You can usually find front and rear shocks with fronts still assembled with the coils for under $100.

Don’t spend your money on 5100s unless you’re actually going to drive off road.

Save the extra money on future maintenance with all the rust the truck has. New bolts, replacement straps/mounts…

lastly, do not go to an undercoating shot like Ziebart. Before this winter (ideally in the next few months) get some Fluid Film or Wool Wax applied all underneath. Do this every fall before winter in the rust belt and your new frame will continue to be new for decades.

 

Edit: rust belt/ocean/boat ramps/et al