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Hello, I am looking for advice if a 10 ton auto body frame puller is a right tool to straighten the front bumper bracelet on a 2005 rav4? Just recently I was involve in an accident in which I rear end a vehicle, in which (my rav4) sustained over $4800 damage. Now my insurance declared that the vehicle is a total loss, in my opinion it is not. My rav4 could be repaired. I have purchase the body replacement parts, the only real problem is that the left bracket (see pics) for the bumper is twisted.[IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/20/83fbe5794390dcaeff3aa933e118b4d6.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/20/9c5243e01c63b24025cbd2ddda5f5c41.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/20/d455aa9bbf82b97975eae90f8a99fefb.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/20/f1883632c6a67705632e4f49c0bbb5a6.jpg[/IMG]
I am thinking of purchasing the tool from harbor freight for $199.99. Any advice is greaty appreciated from this newbie 😮
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I am not a body guy but, normally when something is bent to a sharp point it is very doubtful that you will be able to straighten it without the metal tearing. Most body shops I doubt would try to pull that due to the sharp point and would more then likely find a donor car and cut it out of the donor car and cut out the bent part and weld in the piece from the donor car. Though they do so with a certified welder. Hence why it would be considered a total loss as the cost above is definitely more then most used cars. Also it appears to have sub-frame damage at the radiator/condenser. That sub-frame piece may be able to be pulled but, I dunno once again not a body man and also not having more pictures to go off of it is hard to make a judgement.
I would not try to weld it yourself unless you are a certified welder. It is probably a better idea to have a frame shop fix the frame and you to do any other repairs as needed.
Hello, MDK22 Thank you for your reply. I had the same thoughts from the beginning after removing the damage bumper and examine the damages. I myself as you said a not body repair man, but being a DIY I staryed to belive that Ilast could do it with the right tool. I am just taking a leap of faith here. I will give it a try and hope for the best.
ThanksThe correct way of doing this is replacement of the subframe. If a person didn’t want to do that then maybe have a steel bracket made that would both attach to the bumper and to the bent subframe.
Most body shops are willing to do only part of the work. That means if you already have the body panels removed for easy access, they can do only the frame stretching for a lot less than the full cost. I am a retired auto body man btw. The frame stretcher you seek wont give you quite the result you want, unless you expect the new fender hood grill etc not to line up correctly afterward. In a shop setting, the vehicle is bolted to the floor very securely with supports under it to make sure it does not wiggle at all. The body shops have measurements that tell them how far up, out or around each corner of your exact vehicle section is supposed to go, so you have a very strong chance of the thing being straightened to the right spots instead of eyeballing it then getting really frustrated when you try to hang new panels on it later. If the metal does tear some, you could weld in patch panels under or inside if your a decent welder of thinner metal. Good luck!
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