Engine Bay Body Rips - Page 208

**spincycle** · 12-16-2007, 10:23 PM

Quote:

RESE previously said:

SPINCYCLE, dude sorry to hear the issue on your rig... hopefully you don't think less of your FJ. Take it to a dealer ASAP and get the issue corrected and complain like crazy.

Oh, it's been to the dealer and I have it documented...and an acknowledgement that a) my mods aren't to blame and b) Toyota knows about the issue and "is working on it".

**spincycle** · 12-16-2007, 10:31 PM

Quote:

k44 previously said:

So you never drove out of an alley, down a driveway, onto a road where the front suspension contacted the rubber bump stops??

If somebody asked me that question, I wouldn't know the answer. Makes me want to have a sensor on the rubber bump stops. And some strain gages on the inner fenders in the rips/bulges area.

Well, after 2 4runners and a Tacoma in my past, I feel like I have a good sense of what "full compression" means and feels like. For instance, driving unreasonably fast on a backroad in the Kofa NWR in Arizona, I found my Tacoma 4 wheels in the air, followed by absolute, total, full compression on landing. And this is with factory suspension! No evident damage.

In the FJ: yes, I've had it offroad, did most all the designated runs in Ouray, for instance, played in the mud, snow, dirt...but even around town where there are lots of speed bumps, or on the highway, where one comes upon uneven asphalt, or pulling into my driveway (hard left into a dip then up the sidewalk into the driveway) even at some speed, I can't say I've encountered "full compression". Keep in mind I'm running OME heavies front and rear.

ND-NW · 12-17-2007, 02:47 PM

Quote:

MelFeliFJ previously said:

Here is a pic of the passenger side with a dent looking thing. It is not located on the dimple where everyone else's seem to be but to the left of it. It is hard to see by the pic but it gives you a little bit of an idea of the location of it in relation to the crumple zones. It doesn't seem to bulge but more like a dent caused by a tool hitting it. But I just want you guys to check it out and tell me what you guys think.

MelFeliFJ -- If you go to posts on this thread between 10/11 and 10/15, there was a lot of discussion on this dimple and another further to the left (at the time referred to as the "Tgingle dimple"). I saw this on a bunch of new FJs (nut not all) on the dealer's lot, right off of the truck. I don't think you're looking at a tool hit. I think this is a dimple that is caused/created at the point of manufacure -- just more evidence that these aprons are pretty thin. I'm not convinced that this is a necessarily a sign of greater chance of future bulging or cracking than aprons that don't show this dimple. 3,000 miles after I first noticed this there has been no change at all...

MelFeliFJ · 12-17-2007, 11:05 PM

Wow I missed those posts. Tgingle has the exact same dimple that I have on my FJ. Exact same spot too. Thank you for sharing. Cross your fingers and hope it doesn't get any worse.

Quote:

ND-NW previously said:

MelFeliFJ -- If you go to posts on this thread between 10/11 and 10/15, there was a lot of discussion on this dimple and another further to the left (at the time referred to as the "Tgingle dimple"). I saw this on a bunch of new FJs (nut not all) on the dealer's lot, right off of the truck. I don't think you're looking at a tool hit. I think this is a dimple that is caused/created at the point of manufacure -- just more evidence that these aprons are pretty thin. I'm not convinced that this is a necessarily a sign of greater chance of future bulging or cracking than aprons that don't show this dimple. 3,000 miles after I first noticed this there has been no change at all...

makaser · 12-19-2007, 02:17 PM

Here's the pics of both fender bulges. I think my passenger side may be worse since I had them documented on the 12th.

Notice on the passenger side, you can't see the bulge at all from a simple glance from the front of the rig....

But put a straight edge to it and it tells the truth. the passenger side fender is flat until you get to the crumple zone, where it turns outward. At the end of the straight edge, there is at least a 1/8" gap.

You can easily see the driver's side bulge even at a glance from the front of the rig....

The driver's side bulge is different from the passenger side. It is showing on both side of the crumple zone. Holding the straight edge to the fender in front of the bulge, the whole thing has a bit of a dip to it, from the fuse box bracket up to the crumple zone. Holding the straight edge across the bracket and up to the crumple zone, you can see that the bulge is the same height as the bracket (approx. 3/32) and behind the crumple zone, it is about 1/8 " from the straight edge to the fender.

MelFeliFJ-I also have that little dimple. You can barely see it in my photos. If you look REAL close at the photo of the passenger side with the straight edge, go straight across from the red arrow pointing at the crumple zone and up to the top of the fender, there is a tiny dimple. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's there. I'm thinking it's probably a defect in the stamping and not just mistake in the assembly.

cueman · 12-19-2007, 02:55 PM

Hi Guys, I'm (was) considering purchasing an FJC but have not signed on the dotted line yet. I've read most of the coments here. Did Toyota due anything offical yet? Are you guys happy now with the replacement inner fenders or was that not the final fix? Thanks, cueman

makaser · 12-19-2007, 02:59 PM

Quote:

cueman previously said:

Hi Guys, I'm (was) considering purchasing an FJC but have not signed on the dotted line yet. I've read most of the coments here. Did Toyota due anything offical yet? Are you guys happy now with the replacement inner fenders or was that not the final fix? Thanks, cueman

That's not the "fix". that's the bandaid. The fender isn't the problem, it's the symptom of something else. I'm sure they will figure it out. I havne' had the fenders replaced, and won't until the do come up with a real fix.

PhilC64 · 12-19-2007, 05:54 PM

Makaser I have the exact same dimple! I noticed mine prior to my Toytec Lift being installed on Halloween. Since then I have wheeled it hard twice and driven it daily. Today when I went to my dealer, I had them note the dimple on my service record. There has been no increase in the size of the dimple or any evidence of tearing since I first noticed it.

ND-NW · 12-21-2007, 08:46 AM

Makaser -- That slight bulge you are measuring appears to be on some of the brand new "off the truck" FJs as well (and mine). Some on the lot were more "flat", some (like mine) have one side flat (driver's side) and the other with 1/16" to 1/8" gap like the one you are measuring., others on both sides like yours.

I still believe that this is not the same as the bulging seen by those whose aprons have progessed to cracks or tears, but instead part of variation at assembly. I also believe the small "Tgingle" dimple(s) you are seeing is also caused at assembly. If these were a result of a ding in the die, they would be more consistent on all vehicles. Mine, for example, has the dimple you are describing as well as another small one close to the spot weld about 6 inches forward. I saw some on the lot with 1 dimple, some with 2 like mine, and some without the dimples. My theory is that is you flex the attachement point, for example while they are assembling the outer fender or whatever else is attached, you can create the dimple -- I've seen similar dimples on HVAC ducts under the house.

Issue is, if people start reporting somthing that was there from the start as bulging, it might add noise to an already hard to quantify issue/problem. My 1/16" gap (measuring like you are) hasn't budged for 3,000 miles. If you see yours start to grow, or other dimples/etc. forming, then I think you can confirm progression or "bulging". I don't think what you are looking at right now is necessarily bad, or good. Any one else want to weigh in on this?

makaser · 12-21-2007, 10:19 AM

Quote:

ND-NW previously said:

Makaser -- That slight bulge you are measuring appears to be on some of the brand new "off the truck" FJs as well (and mine). Some on the lot were more "flat", some (like mine) have one side flat (driver's side) and the other with 1/16" to 1/8" gap like the one you are measuring., others on both sides like yours.

I still believe that this is not the same as the bulging seen by those whose aprons have progessed to cracks or tears, but instead part of variation at assembly. I also believe the small "Tgingle" dimple(s) you are seeing is also caused at assembly. If these were a result of a ding in the die, they would be more consistent on all vehicles. Mine, for example, has the dimple you are describing as well as another small one close to the spot weld about 6 inches forward. I saw some on the lot with 1 dimple, some with 2 like mine, and some without the dimples. My theory is that is you flex the attachement point, for example while they are assembling the outer fender or whatever else is attached, you can create the dimple -- I've seen similar dimples on HVAC ducts under the house.

Issue is, if people start reporting something that was there from the start as bulging, it might add noise to an already hard to quantify issue/problem. My 1/16" gap (measuring like you are) hasn't budged for 3,000 miles. If you see yours start to grow, or other dimples/etc. forming, then I think you can confirm progression or "bulging". I don't think what you are looking at right now is necessarily bad, or good. Any one else want to weigh in on this?

Well, I didn't report the "ding". I figured it's something from the factory, as we all seem to have something very similar. But the bulging I have is not from the factory. I've been checking mine every week ever since I saw Bernds'. Mine is very recent. I checked mine at 22K (approx Nov. 18th) and both inner fenders were flat. Completely flat. I used the same carpenter's square you see in the photo and instead of the gap you see, it was perfectly flat all the way along the straight edge. I checked it the same way with the same straight edge for consistency. At about 22,400 is when the bulges appeared on both sides. So no, this is not how it came from the factory. And if there are units coming from the factory with slight bulges, then that only goes further to prove that this has nothing to do with how we are driving our vehicles and has nothing to do with "abuse" as some dealers are trying to say. The driver's side bulge hasn't changed in almost 600 miles. But the passenger side has almost doubled since the first time I noticed it. Also keep in mind that I haven't been off road since I first documented the bulges. I checked for them the day after my last outing (Dec. 2nd) and there were no bulges. The straight edge laid flat against the fender. The bulges didn't show up until a week later(Dec. 9th). I took it to Gresham Toyota on Dec. 12th to make it official. From here on out, I'm going to be documenting the bulges in the same way, with photos.