Hello,

I'm new to this forum, but am quite eager to repair my truck. It is a 1994 Toyota Pickup, standard cab, 5 speed manual w/ 188k miles. Due to a brake failure, I ended up running almost through a red light before running into a GMC suburban at approximately 30 miles per hour. Because my brakes actually engaged after I applied them several times, I started to skid and the car veered sideways and hit the SUV with a slant, localizing the damage to the front driver side. The fender is smashed, hood bent, radiator broken, and other miscellaneous parts ruined. My question however revolves around the wheelhouse, which after my inspection, does not appear to come off. I am pretty sure that it is spot welded on, because there are no visible bolts to remove it. I have already removed the fender. Here are some pictures:
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SO, I am just wondering whether it is possible or not to remove the wheelhouse, buy a new one, and put it back on...
-If so, is it difficult? Need special tools, etc?

Thank you,
xzyragon

 

assuming the frame is still perfectly straight you're looking at a cab swap at best....

that being said, i would never pay a shop to do the work

 

You could get a parts truck and weld a new front clip and wheel well on....

 

i know you can buy a wheelhouse from part stores, but how do you take it off / put it back on?

 

drill out the spot welds and take it off, then weld the new one on theyre not that hard, just takes some patience

 

Patience and precision...

 

like mentioned, if the frame is still straight the damage can be repaired. I would replace both sides in front of the firewall as opposed to just the one side, so that things could be kept clean.

ultimately, it would likely be less expensive to swap cabs (if you're doing the work yourself) but given other issues such as the VIN tag that may not be in your best interest to do. however, depending on where you live, all you would need to do would be to file an affadavit with your motor vehicle department declaring the old and new VIN (contact them for more information about the process). Swapping cabs can create other issues regarding emissions equipment and such if the VIN from the 'donor' is not registered properly, etc.

I will tell you that if the damage is severe enough to require a transplant of cabs, most insurance companies would consider the vehicle totalled. So like I said, contact your DMV (or whatever handles registration) and ask about the process. This is why it may be in your best interest to repair the damage as opposed to replace the cab.

 

And for future reference, we have a forum for Toyota trucks dedicated to 86 through 95: https://www.yotatech.com/f116
It's best to post issues in the forum dedicated to your year truck.

 

sorry about the forum thing...

well anyway, how exactly would you remove the spot weld, and weld the wheelhouse back on?

What do you need, cuz a cab swap seems awfully drastic, might as well just get a new car. Neither me nor my father has ever welded before, so we just dont know what to do...

 

Maybe this will help!
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...runner-150386/

 

thanks, but it still doesn't really show me how to weld, but you did give me proof that it can be done!

woot

 

Basicwelding is easy. You should look around on the net on how to weld. Buy or borrow a small cheapo lincoln welder and practice on some sheetmetal scrap. Its a lot easier than you think, and with practice you can do a good job.

 

k...

well, I hope its gonna work, still gotta buy a new fender, wheelhouse, radiator, misc components, lights, and other stuff...

i just hope repairs are cheaper than just gettin another car

 

I i wanted too, I could do it with less then a G....

 

that's what im aimin for

hope i can make it that low

 

I could do it for under 300 bucks, but I'm crazy and a cab swap is down to a one day project for me

Pick N Pull on a half price weekend... you can gnab a shell (completely empty) for 85 dollars. Had to do this on my 84 xtra cab. THats what I paid

In fact the expensive part was the windshield install... 170 bucks.

Do the swap, keep your old VIN plates, and go down to CHP. They print you a new sticky VIN plate and destroy both sets of the old ones.

Pssst... hey! Wanna know a secret? Guess what MY insurance never found out?