Did my larger battery cause this?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-3rd-gen-battery-and-tow-package.407344/

 

Not sure I believe this

 

I got 9 years and 9 months out of my stock 2001 Dodge Dakota battery .

 

Hold on lemme check your math.....


By God he's right! I keep forgetting you're an engineer lol

 

better believe it, Johnson controls, not Johnson controlls

 

So do i!


But, you know how to confirm that?











It only took eight posts to explain my idea. And, that is no guarantee it is a good one.

 

What if we just spray expanding foam all over that area then structural epoxy over that?

 

Pfft! Just expanding foam.

Then, you're ready for a full send across the English Channel.

 

English Chanel haha. For real though, make a kit! @MESO is balls deep in his twin snails install, maybe he'll break out his 3d scanner and model the tray

 

found this picture in OP little fishs profile, maybe this might explain why that panel is ripped,woof!

 

Was wheeling yesterday and rolled over a limb and it pushed another part of it into the bumper. Was crawling slow, and don't think it's related to the cracks I'm seeing. Spent some time with the heat gun fixing the bumper and noticed the tears upon reinstallation of the bumper.

 

Good tag!

 

Great find.

I would wager to bet it was the limb. I just looked at your pics again and the original path of the sheet metal is about here. So something certainly pushed it rearward.







Notice here how your two bolts are bent back at a 90 degree.







And then compare it to mine.

 

Maybe it’s possible but I’ve never seen one last that long and even if it did I wouldn’t push it that far just for reliability issues. A 10 year old battery in my book is just poor maintenance but each to his own.

 

Tony this is a classic chasing the weak link situation. Plus this is caused by dynamic, not static loads.
The FJ was notorious for cracking inner fenders even with no additional loads.
Adding weight then going hard offroad will always result in cracks because... gravity.
You can fix this area with your method and then the cracks go somewhere else. Eventually you fix the whole front end and the place you originally fixed starts to crack.
The real solution is to use something that is purpose built (paging @therealprotaco ) like a Suzuki and drive your truck like it was designed to be driven... on the road or light offroad dirt roads without hundreds of lbs hanging on it. Put the weight in the bed or cab where it belongs.

 

Wait, those bolts are supposed to face forwards/rearwards?

 

Use Great Stuff. That shit is amazing.

 

I see where you and @Skydvrr are coming from. I suppose I am out in left field.

It's all good though. Just spitballing.