Crash Damage. Bent Rear Axle

I have been looking at crashed 3rd gen Tacoma's to bring back to life, however most have rear axle damage that I am curious about. Has anyone here fixed something like this? Does it normally bend or is it something to do with diff internals or leaf springs? This is the one I am currently looking at, the rear wheels are slightly shifted, mild compared to others I have seen. Thanks in advance

 

Buy a new used rear axle.....

 

That is what I would do, my question if is if that is actually what is happening or if its some other component

 

I've investigated a handful of collisions involving Toyota 4x4s, where one of the rear wheels has visible camber. Those are usually a snapped axle shaft, and the remaining portion of the axle is only hanging in there because it is press fit into the bearing. Its also possible for the axle housing to be bent in a collision.

I guarantee a bent axle alone was not the cause to total the vehicle. If it got hit hard enough to do that type of axle damage, the spring/shackle hangers are bent and very likely the frame is also. IMO, I think you're still better off with a salvaged vehicle hit in the rear than the front.

 

Thanks for the input! Yeah I agree with you own rear damage being more preferred. I think I will go in expecting a new rear end at the least. The fender is also damaged on the side with the bent wheel.

 

Sometimes a crash won't bend the axle but pop the leaf spring retainer bolt (which centers the axle on the leaf springs) and thats it.

That would be the best case scenario for sure.

 

I have heard of that, But it looks like both sides are slightly toed out. Will it do that of just 1 side fails? or maybe both did

 

I would suspect frame damage since totalled and not repaired. C channel frames are not strong when it comes to rear end accidents. I would ask frame shop to look it over before buying.

 

I picked up an 06 tundra cheap that was hit square in the rear axle by a distracted driver going though a 4 way stop sign at 40 mph. It not only wiped out the axle and wheel but took out the leafs and driver side of the bed. Brought it to my buddies body shop. I replace the rear axle and bearing. I drove the truck for awhile but still noted all sorts of clunking noises the rear suspension made. Traced it the leafs on both sides were slightly twisted and bent. Replaced the leafs and sold the truck. Far as i know all has been good.

 

That's really good info. So even after the axle being that f'd it didn't mess up the mounting point location?

 

Not sure what you mean by mounting point location, but the frame, and axle housing that the leafs mount on were ok. The leaf springs themselves, and their keepers were bent/twisted that i ended up replacing. Apparently from the driver side hit the truck took, it pushed the the rear end toward the passenger side.

 

Bent frame,a $12,000 fix alone.

 

There is a reason they were totaled. The chances of stealing one that you can easily can cheaply fix with a little bit of elbow grease is pretty slim. You are not the only one looking for a unicorn and since these are auctions, it will be hard to find.

Toyota says you can't straighten their frames without an expensive and convoluted process. That means that bent frames have to be replaced. $5k for the frame and probably $5k in labor. If you are doing it yourself, you save the labor, but it is a pretty intense job. Probably somewhere in the 80 hour range. Your time is technically not free so you have to determine if it is worthwhile. That is just the frame, then you have body work. Again, not free, but if you do it yourself, it is cheaper. After all is said and done, you end up with a truck that is only as reliable as your abilities to rebuild, a title that no one wants to touch, and a lot of money tied up because banks won't loan on it. As I see it, there are too many people in that market to make it make economic sense to put the time and money into a single rebuild.