Would getting rear-ended possibly damage an axle?

My son was rear ended in his 2010 Tacoma on his left rear side a while back (2017). The impact was from the white car’s front right corner into my son’s left rear corner and, pushed my son into the car in front of him while they sat at a stop light. Everything was repaired by insurance.

Question:
Could this collision have bent the left rear axle and the axle still be functional for 60,000 plus miles afterwards, once the car was fully repaired by St. Farm?

Wondering if the left rear axle could have been damaged in this accident and caused, or contributed to, the current rear differential blowing out, as it has. Just trying to consider everything before we repair.

Thank you sincerely for sharing your opinion.

 

From the red paint on the car's bumper it looks like his bumper might have impacted the LR tire. Axle might be bent. An alignment will confirm this (thrust angle).

 

I just don't see how. If there was any damage I would think you'd either bend the axle shaft (big time shaking), or bend the housing (major tire wear and alignment issues). Damage to the diff would only be from either of the above, which you couldn't ignore for 60K.

I got hit in the left rear wheel about 50K ago. Needed a wheel, but no apparent damage to axle. No shakes, alignment or tire wear issues. Diff works the same as it always did.

 

I got T boned super hard almost perfectly perpendicular into my driver rear wheel. Wrote off the other drivers corolla, I needed a new wheel and fender flare. No apparent issues for 30 000 miles afterwards.

 

The fact that he put 60k and more miles on it afterward suggests...no...

No way insurance is going to cover that.

I'd be looking at:

A) How many miles are on the truck total?

B) When was the diff fluid last changed?

C) Does your son need tires often? (Burnouts, drag racing, etc)

 

Thanks for your input. It helps. I just wanted to consider axle damage as a possible contributor to his RD going out, again. He has no abnormal tire wear or shaking. I have since learned from my son that, at some point after the repairs were done, the rear diff lock wouldn't unlock. He drove it like this on pavement not knowing it is a huge no-no. Ugh. I now believe that this is why the RD has gone out. Our mechanic is pulling the RD out today to see what he can see. I'm hoping to only have to replace the RD and not the entire rear assembly, as we had originally planned to do. All the info and advice from my three posts on this TW site about this RD issue have been tremendously helpful! Thanks to all who contributed!

 

Thanks for your input. It helps. I just wanted to consider axle damage as a possible contributor to his RD going out, again. He has no abnormal tire wear or shaking. I have since learned from my son that, at some point after the repairs were done, the rear diff lock wouldn't unlock. He drove it like this on pavement not knowing it is a huge no-no. Ugh. I now believe that this is why the RD has gone out. Our mechanic is pulling the RD out today to see what he can see. I'm hoping to only have to replace the RD and not the entire rear assembly, as we had originally planned to do. All the info and advice from my three posts on this TW site about this RD issue have been tremendously helpful! Thanks to all who contributed!

 

Thanks for your input. It helps. I just wanted to consider axle damage as a possible contributor to his RD going out, again. He has no abnormal tire wear or shaking. I have since learned from my son that, at some point after the repairs were done, the rear diff lock wouldn't unlock. He drove it like this on pavement not knowing it is a huge no-no. Ugh. I now believe that this is why the RD has gone out. Our mechanic is pulling the RD out today to see what he can see. I'm hoping to only have to replace the RD and not the entire rear assembly, as we had originally planned to do. All the info and advice from my three posts on this TW site about this RD issue have been tremendously helpful! Thanks to all who contributed!

 

Thanks for your input. It helps. I just wanted to consider axle damage as a possible contributor to his RD going out, again. I have since learned from my son that, at some point after the repairs were done, the rear diff lock wouldn't unlock. He drove it like this on pavement not knowing it is a huge no-no. Ugh. I now believe that this is why the RD has gone out. Our mechanic is pulling the RD out today to see what he can see. I'm hoping to only have to replace the RD and not the entire rear assembly, as we had originally planned to do. All the info and advice from my three posts on this TW site about this RD issue have been tremendously helpful! Thanks to all who contributed!

 

I got t-boned but at a slight angle.She ran a red light trying to make a right turn.Impact was on passenger side and spun me around in the road.After spending a week in a frame shop they said the frame was straight.But it still looked like I was drifting when driving lol.Well finally figured out the rear differential/axle will need to be changed.Anyone have any idea approximately how much it'll cost.

 

Mercury is in Gatorade....

 

You said again. Had it gone out before?
Seems easier and cheaper to try and source a complete used rear assembly and just eliminate and concerns.