This problem will be completely avoided by doing a solid axle swap.
...food for thought.
Oh you better just shut up now Doc .....or buy a jeep...there perfect...remember...everyone want to compare to that crap.....I KNOW for a fact mopar wouldn't cover this....
My H-1 didn't have a solid axle anywere.....nor did it flex....but it didn't rip sheet metal either...and I flew that thing like a fighter jet
I DON'T think a stock FJ driven as it was intented to be driven will have this problem for many many years...hence I don't think they will cover it....
toyotas web site advertizes this thing as an off road monster crawling over bolders. They should stand behind their stuff especially when they use it as a selling point.
I disagree with one aspect of this. Imagine tack welding a thin steel rod onto a heavy steel block. Then imagine flexing it up and down. The deflection will manifest as a curvature in the rod, but the fixed point at the weld will receive the most stress because one end is not moving at all. if it tears, it will tear at edge of the weld metal lump.
In your FJ, the body's passenger compartment has a great deal of floor to ceiling height compared to the hood and fenders. It's not going to flex. This is the same physical principle involved in constructing a bridge truss. The sides of the vehicle add stiffness. When the fender panels get pushed up because the frame beneath is flexing, they have less height and flex more. The force will concentrate at the base of this lever arm... where it connects to the stiffer portion of the body.
I have the ARB bumper which is being discussed here as having more gap and therefore less likelihood of direct force application to the body. I think Kurt is exactly right about this. Bumper contact will only exacerbate the problem.
However, we ALL have a body mount point just behind the bumper and in front of each of the front wheels. This is where the up and down force is being applied as the frame flexes. I can grab the edge of the fender panel when the hood is up and flex it with my own muscle. I'm sure the 4500 pound vehicle has much less problem than I do at this.
The next mounting point back is the one that sits on the bracket that people are chopping. Everything in between floats. The only POSSIBLE candidate for a source of force application between these is the tire, and if the tire was the cause, then it would flex the metal DIRECTLY over the contact point, or at the closest place to that location that had a weakness... it would NOT flex at a comparatively THICK point that was back against the RIGID FIREWALL.
Todd's picture of the metal buckling is exactly what I saw in mine. The reason that it's buckling is that it's been stretched by TENSION and has gotten longer. The only way it has to go as it lengthens is out of line to the side. It's getting PULLED on the bottom by up-flex, and its getting PULLED along the top with down-flex. As it flexes back and forth, it's getting annealed and it's growing less ductile.
Note that if you look at your FJ from the side, you'll see that this point is at the thinnest of the entire car. It's at the very back corner of the front wheel well. There is less than a foot of vertical height between the top of the plastic fender flare and the top of the fender panel where it meets the hood. The hood adds basically zero strength to the system.
Jon,
You some good arguments I have to admit. I initially interpreted from you analysis that the side flex directly causes the buckling. but looking at it in terms of stretch and compression that happens during flex (longitudinal flex), this starts making sense! i'll look at my cracks tomorrow again... Thanks for the discussion!
Not likely - the lifts affect the vehicle from the frame down. These inner wheel well cracks are isolated by and attached to the frame by the body mounts, which are unaffected by the suspension / spacer components. It's definitely a body flex / fatigue issue, not a suspension lift issue, IMO.
Can we start a poll to monitor the instances of these cracks?
I'd like to monitor whether the vehicle is:
A) lifted
B) has larger tires
C) if used off-road
D) has aftermarket bumper
E) mileage when first noticed
A) Donahoe Racing 3"
B) 285/75R16 (=33in)
C) only for 4x4 use
D) warn bumper
E) 3500mi
toyotas web site advertizes this thing as an off road monster crawling over bolders. They should stand behind their stuff especially when they use it as a selling point.
I happen to be one of the people who use mine as a "off road monster crawling over bolders" rig....and Toyota has spent damn near as much as the sticker price keeping mine on the road....I have had the entire drive line replaced, on there dime, more then once, and I get a "thank you" and a smile every time.....and I'm heavily modded.....
I just don't think this is gonna be covered....
We shall see.....
I happen to be one of the people who use mine as a "off road monster crawling over bolders" rig....and Toyota has spent damn near as much as the sticker price keeping mine on the road....I have had the entire drive line replaced, on there dime, more then once, and I get a "thank you" and a smile every time.....and I'm heavily modded.....
I just don't think this is gonna be covered....
We shall see.....
After looking at the cracks on my own FJC, and reading this thread, I'm not sure what Toyota would "cover" at this point - replace the inner fenders ?? The stress cracks are only a symptom of the problem. What can they do to eliminate the problem causing the cracks ??? That might be a more difficult question to answer...
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After looking at the cracks on my own FJC, and reading this thread, I'm not sure what Toyota would "cover" at this point - replace the inner fenders ?? The stress cracks are only a symptom of the problem. What can they do to eliminate the problem causing the cracks ??? That might be a more difficult question to answer...
Cruiserlarry, even it seems you don't have the hope for coverage on this issue, feel free to contact me directly with the details of your case. Again, the more people we get together for a case, the better...
Cruiserlarry, even it seems you don't have the hope for coverage on this issue, feel free to contact me directly with the details of your case. Again, the more people we get together for a case, the better...
OMG I HATE LAYWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go sue yourself
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Last edited by Landrover : 08-12-2007 at 10:14 AM.
Reason: For content
Cruiserlarry, even it seems you don't have the hope for coverage on this issue, feel free to contact me directly with the details of your case. Again, the more people we get together for a case, the better...
If i kick all your teeth into the back of you skull....can I sue the boot maker for not making a soft enough shoe???
.....or buy a jeep...there perfect...remember...everyone want to compare to that crap.....I KNOW for a fact mopar wouldn't cover this....
/ WPOK492 
