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Wrecked Camry

11K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  TheTylerWilson 
#1 ·



5-speed camry, 196,000 miles. Luckily i have core support and all replacement parts on-hand. going to try and replace everything tomorrow as long as frame isnt bent
 
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#4 ·
Sucks, man. Glad nobody got hurt. I did about the same thing once... messin' with the radio and looked up just in time to see the car stopped in front of me...:facepalm:
 
#20 ·
frame is not bent!!!

Core support is welded in place!!!
Thanks very much for posting this Perkins.

I have removed my radiator support (95 Avalon) but I am wondering how you checked to see if the frame was bent. Would you please share exactly what and how you measured?

This would really help me out since I am about to buy a parts car and would just be throwing my money away if it turns out that my frame is bent.
 
#6 ·
I purchased all of these parts previously just to have on-hand just in case i ever needed to replace anything, plus i had a bunch of spare parts from the camry i scrapped previously

Total cost of everything was $665.41

I got the hood, corner lights, core support, bumper reinforcement, bumper side brackets, core support reinforcement off ebay from various sellers.I was happy with the way everything fit besides the core support. I specifically purchased a 95-96 Core Support and everything fit nicely after measuring, tacking, measuring, tacking, to make sure everything was square. The only complaint i have about the core support is the where the windshield washer contained attaches, the bracket supplied on the support itself is actually incorrect. On the 95 camry, the washer container is supposed to attach to the core with a 10mm nut, but all that is supplied is a 12mm threaded hole. SHould just be a small hole to slide the washer container through and attach a nut to it. Well anyhow, everything else fit nicely. $475.58 was the total for all replacement parts needed on ebay.

I had the headlamps, front bumper, and radiator on hand from my 93 DLX 5-speed I scrapped. Good thing i kept that stuff :D

Also replaced the AC condensor, Air Dryer, and O-Rings. Purchased all Denso replacement parts off RockAuto.com. It cost me $183.38 for the AC Parts including a $6.45 discount applied. May have been less if they would have shipped it Fed Ex or UPS, but they sent it USPS so it was $60.88 Shipping (WOWZA!!)

Heres the parts breakdown I purchased from Rock Auto

DENSO 4750505 (475-0505) A/C Expansion Valve $ 25.89
DENSO 4780500 (478-0500) A/C Receiver Drier / Accumulator $ 11.95
DENSO 4770544 (477-0544) A/C Condenser $ 82.79
GPD 1321283 A/C System O-Ring & Gasket Kit $ 8.32

Here are some pictures, as im sure most of you will skip past all my text and go right to the pictures, haha

Directly after accident, that night i pulled the bumper cover off to inspect the damage





Pulled the core support out with one of my other camrys so i could pull the radiator out which was rubbing on the engine o_o





My biggest worry was that the frame was actually bent out, but i wouldnt be able to tell until i measured the frame rails





As you can see from the picture below, Everything is twisted and smashed pretty good



The hood looks OK, but its actually rolled over in the front, and in the center the metal is actually split. Will need to replace this as well



Measured frame rails and everything is square. Big relief! Test fitting the core support



The hardest part about replacing a core support is making sure everything is Square. If your core support is welded in improperly, and isnt square, nothing is going to fit correctly. What i do is tack the core support in place, and tap the support around with a rubber hammer until everything is square. Once square I weld in completely. You want to make sure you drill holes and fill the holes in with weld, making sure your heat setting is very low. If your heat setting is too high, you will warp the metal. The best way to accomplish this is to do short, quick, tacks until the weld is overtop of your hole you drilled. At this point, lightly grind the weld off until it is smooth with the core support

Heres the core support tacked in place, but not completely welded.



Everything welded in place, starting re-assembly





I went to lowes and picked up a bunch of Metric Body Bolts to install all my new stuff



Using 92-94 font end parts and headlamps in my 95 (note: on the older headlamps, there is one bolt for the headlamps that does not lign up with the core support)



AC Condensor installed



exterior stuff installed



Unfortunately, the bumper cover i salvaged had a broken tab on the passenger side where it mounts to the fender, so i have to remove it, and repair where the tab is ripped off because it looks really crappy. You can see where the bumper looks messed up right below the passenger side headlamp



Waiting on the hood to arrive now...






Car as it sits right now



A Short video
 
#12 ·
Yeah, seems like you got into a fender bender and within 2 days you had the car better than new! A body shop couldnt have done better or faster.

BTW, sucks about the car but Perkins body parts are harder to get and impossible to replace. Just sayin .....
 
#16 ·
Great write up. I have a few questions though:
- How is the AC condenser removed? Do you need to go to some shop to discharge the AC system?
- Are the pieces welded only on the top? I thought the radiator support is also welded to the frame rails.
- How many spot welds are there total?
- Also, when removing the rad support, do you suggest drilling all the way through, or only through the top part to remove it and leave the frame hole-less?

Looks like I'll need to do something very similar on my 99... Don't ask, I'd rather not talk about it.

Thanks!
 
#18 ·
I'm not sure about the condensor. I was able to leave it on.

There are 70-80 spot welds, not only on top, but all around the entire frame.

Recommend drilling only through the top piece of metal. You do not want to put holes everywhere. Then, grind the remaining nibs off.
 
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#22 ·
I know this may be a little late, but I did the SAME EXACT thing to my camry last fall. Was rubber necking and hit a tow hitch. replaced the whole front end for around $300-$400 pulling parts from the wrecker. Found same exact painted camry and pulled everything from the front end including, entire bumper assembly, quarter panels, hood, grille, headlights, everything. Only thing I did differently from you, I didn't replace the core piece like you. Chained it up to a land rover and yanked it back into place. It was bent down too so I had to use and engine jack and flex it up as much as possible. Finally got it all lined up with the hood latch and was good to go! Went through most of this past winter with a roped down hood though.... Glad you got everything fixed like I did!
 
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