Have this 2005 Toyota Corolla. Front end was hit in passenger front corner. Moved both side frames over about 5-8" towards the drivers side. Pushing the radiator fan towards the intake manifold, and the window washer crushed but heading into fan belt area. Engine will start, and car will move, but fenders and hood and front bumper cover are toast.

So if I could manage to push the frame back into position, that would be great. But from my research, I would need a expensive frame machine. Or a large tree and chains, and ratchet come along,.... to even have a chance.

Was considering using the corner of my garage with a3/4" piece of plywood and 2x4 as the bugger between it and the frame , then use a bottle jack on its side, or that hydraulic frame straightening tool they sell at harbor freight.

This may be a little over my head. And just selling this car, may be the correct move. As it has 260K miles, and although it has been and is a good daily driver.... the roof has not only lost clear coat, but now the paint... so rust..

So try to straighten frame?

No, if it has been bent that much you have about zero chance of straightening it correctly enough yourself. Even a body shop with the requisite frame machine would have some issues with that. About all it is good for at that age and its other issues is as a parts car.

"Have this 2005 Toyota Corolla. Front end was hit" <snip>

No need to read any further, it's totaled. </cynic>



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2022 12:10PM by Acer.

I wouldn't use the garage wall. The expense of having to fix the garage would be greater than the car value.

Yea, unless you're trying to start a YouTube series "Can I straighten this totaled car frame in my backyard?", or this would be a fun project for you (and failure is an acceptable outcome), I don't see the point.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2022 12:20PM by Gareth.

Yeah, don’t bother trying to straighten.

It's dead, Jim.

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Find a votech with a body shop class. Donate the car to them and write it off on your taxes. That is the best you can hope for.

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Looks like at least the second crash for this car that you have posted about. Did the insurance give you a check to total the car, or was the crash "off the books?"

I imagine it could be done if you had the space to build a frame jig with 8,000 lb of concrete and some 4" steel box beams, 100' of 2" chain, and a 20 ton hydraulic jack.

I heard the IRS has gotten stricter about donating vehicles, like you need to prove the value. If it drives, you might get $400 scrap value from a junkyard.

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Gareth
Yea, unless you're trying to start a YouTube series "Can I straighten this totaled car frame in my backyard?", or this would be a fun project for you (and failure is an acceptable outcome), I don't see the point.

I'd watch it if you did!

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lost in space

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Gareth
Yea, unless you're trying to start a YouTube series "Can I straighten this totaled car frame in my backyard?", or this would be a fun project for you (and failure is an acceptable outcome), I don't see the point.

I'd watch it if you did!

I would too. There is a wrecked 1973 MGB sitting in the garage that the spousal unit says is irrecoverable and I pray is fixable. We had it at about 95% restored when a Sunday drive turned bad, with an idiot running the red light and smashing us. Spousal unit spent 2 weeks in ICU and the car was totalled.

It can be done, but it takes a great deal of expertise as well as a large number of well-anchored tie-downs and a fair number of specialized tools to do it correctly. Without all the above, there is a very great risk of doing it wrong and making matters much worse in any number of ways including but not limited to warping the entire body and causing water leaks where none were before and/or causing the car to have a seemingly uncorrectable pull to one side or the other when in motion.

My grandfather did all sorts of auto body work and specialized in straightening bent frames and unibodies. After he retired he'd still get calls from dealerships to straighten this or that car. I've watched him do it and he made it look easy, but then he had everything he needed to do it in his shop along with a lifetime of experience on where to brace, where to pull or push, and how far to go to achieve the desired result.

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It's unlikely you have an actual frame, most likely unibody construction.

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cheaper and safer to buy a 2005 Corolla with bad engine and/or transmission and swap your good part into that car.

Not a chance to fix that. At best, you could have a frame shop look at it and see if they would straighten it and then you could pull everything off yourself and trailer it over to have them straighten it and then bring it back and put it back together to save some money. There is no way you are going to bend it back to spec by yourself.

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Unless grandad (and his shop) are still available and willing to tackle a big job, your Corolla is toast. PEOPLES' lives are at stake. Accept your loss and move on.

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gadje
Cheaper and safer to buy a 2005 Corolla with bad engine and/or transmission and swap your good parts into that car.

^ This, especially considering the existing car is rusty, too.

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There, fixed the Subject line for you.

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So try to straighten frame?

No.

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Some days I think about proving y'all wrong as Acer states, then after thinking about it, I throw up my hands and say nope. And the fact that a week ago I tested Positive for Covid 19, didnt help with my energy level and getting things done.

I would love it, if the accident didnt involve the frame. And all I had to do was shop wrecking yard for hood, and fenders, and install. But alas....

Will inform , later, of final decision if it ever gets towed away....

Wait, aren't those unibody cars? How much "frame" are we talking about?

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mrbigstuff
Wait, aren't those unibody cars?

They are.

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mrbigstuff
How much "frame" are we talking about?

Probably just the boxed ends of the inner fenders to which the bumper reinforcement attaches, which on many cars do resemble the ends of a conventional frame.

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WARNING- If I posted a link in the above message, assume it is at minimum "NSFW- Language". Occasionally you'll be wrong.

Lie to me if you must, but don't lie to me and insult my intelligence in the same sentence.

Resist the Thought Police: George Orwell's book 1984 was meant as a warning, not an instruction manual.

"Political correctness is just intellectual colonialism and psychological fascism for the creation of thought crime" - Steve Hughes

What's my "Super Power"? I can make active threads go stone-dead with a single post. I try to use this power only for good and not for evil but, you know... stuff happens.