I am pretty sure it's welded in. I bought my Camry wrecked and a similar thing happened to mine it seemed like. I didn't want to cut and weld, nor did I have the tools to do so, so I stretched and hammered it gently back in to place. It's not perfect but it's pretty close and I'm happy with the results.

I'd pass on the cut and weld if you don't have the tools available to you and the core support itself isn't torn or ripped, just twisted. or bent.

 

alright thanks. yeah the bar is just twisted in one spot so the hood cant latch in properly. i have it tied down with some strong weather-proof rope.

 

You have the option of drilling out the weld, and rivet new on onto the car.

 

its weld on the frame rails, and in the two center posts. there are approximately 60-70 spot welds to do a complete radiator core support. i finished mine not long ago, and its a PITA
goodluck
Charley

 

Hi
would you please tell me how you did replace the radiator core support?
I have removed everything and got a brand new radiator support but don't know where to start. I was thinking to cut the top portion and wild it.
You said there are 60-70 spots. how did you do it? please help.
Thank you
CompuAjax

 

... minor accident a month ago or so where I hit a Jeep from behind ...

Well my hood got smashed in and bent, the radiator support bar bent and the right side of my radiator bent as well. However the radiator is still in operating condition and has not given me any problems ...

I got into a similar accident a couple of years ago in a Geo Prizm (shares body of a Corolla). I'm currently fixing a 96 Camry which someone else damaged. So I know what the damage from hitting a Jeep wagon is like and that the support structure in the Camry and Corolla/Geo are very similar. The Geo is a little lower than the Camry, which explains your minor damage to the radiator itself.

The thing you might not notice until your replace the hood is that the radiator support will likely need to be pulled forward. In my Geo, I had to pull it forward about 1 to 1.5 inches (and ideally it should probably go another 0.5 inch but it works with the hood latch catching near the rear of the striker on the hood). In my case, this means I have to hold my hand down on the hood while shutting it in order for it to latch. I had to raise the Geo hood support a little bit too but this was mostly twisting it back into place. The Camry I'm currently fixing hit a pickup truck with a step bumper. It's damage was mostly taken by the bumper. The main inner bumper requires replacement. In your case, the inner bumper is probably OK, but you might want to reach under the bumper from the inside when you are straightening the radiator support to be sure it's not badly damaged. I doubt it is, but if it is, you will see a split in the steel around the middle of the inner bumper.

Most of the body parts (except the hood) are fairly cheap at discountbodyparts.com and the shipping is not too expensive. The headlights were a good price. The hood is probably best obtained from a junk yard or bought locally. On my Geo, the headlights were not damaged, but since the Camry is higher, check for damage to the plastic where the lights mount to the rest of the car. I'm 99% postive that the center (vertical piece) bolted to the radiator support is part of the support itself. Most of the pictures in the catalog don't show the center support in the picture, but I think I saw once (other than "Replacement" brand) that showed it in the picture.

good luck,
--
Bob