97' Previa Front-end Damage?

[Lendog]

Hi, everyone! Just joined and have a few questions about repairing the front end on my 97' LE/SE Alltrac. Got in an accident last week and after having the insurance total the best vehicle i've ever owned, i'm ready to try to get er back on the road. Here's my questions-

• Has anyone bought any aftermarket front end parts that you see online (hood, grill, bumper, bumper reinforcement,bumper cover, radiator, etc.) and were they decent quality? Any suggestions on a good site to buy from?
• Will the front bumper from a 91' fit on the 97'? The guy at the local salvage didn't know and wondering if any of the guru's here have made this switch?

Spent today at the local picnpull and scored the passanger 1/4 panel, bumper filler panel, and a bunch of random front end stuff just in case. Thought i had some other questions too, but drawing a blank at the moment. LOL! Thanks

[timsrv]

Hi and welcome to the forum ! It sucks having your vehicle damaged, but if you buy-back and repair yourself it can be a rewarding experience. There's also a good chance you could come out of this with few extra bucks in your pocket . A few years ago I came across a wrecked 91 Previa for cheap. The damage was similar to yours and the price was right (seller was only asking $150 for it ).

The previous owner let her teenage son drive it and his joy ride ended tragically. He somehow managed to rear-ended one of his friends that was driving a taller vehicle (bumpers didn't match) . The Previa bumper went under the other vehicle's bumper. The good news was the bumper was spared, and since the friend's vehicle wasn't damaged the accident was never reported (clear title). The bad news was the fragile parts above the bumper got crunched.

Here are some pics of the van as it was when I brought it home:






The dummy had to force the driver's door open after the fender shifted


IMO the salvage yards wanted too much money for the parts so I took my time and gradually collected most parts from craigslist and eBay. Here are some pics of the project:

Bumper, bumper filler, grill, and smashed lights removed


Fenders and core support removed. Note: core support is spot welded in multiple locations (about 20 - 30 places). I drilled out the spot welds and used a grinder as required to remove (this part took some time).


AC condenser was tweaked, but it was not punctured. I straightened it with c-clamps and pieces of 2x4.








I was lucky enough to find a core support at the local pick & pull yard the same color as the van. I cut it off the salvage yard van with my saws-all using the metal cutting blades. At the yard I cut more than I needed, then when I got it home I drilled out the spot welds and fitted it to the structure. Once I had it situated and clamped into place I drilled 3/16" holes through the support & body structure (about 20 - 30 holes around the periphery). After all the holes were drilled I removed the core support, de-burred all holes, then put a thin bead of urethane sealant down where core support would overlap structure.


3/16" stainless steel rivets were then installed to secure parts together. I believe the combination of sealant and rivets to be stronger than original method of fastening (spot welds).




The clutch fan was probably okay but it had been stuck to the radiator and the plastic blades were tweaked. I went ahead and replaced it with a used one I found on eBay along with a used radiator from the same seller. As luck would have it that seller also had a gold grill and gave me a killer deal on everything. The hood came from a guy in Portland I found on craigslist. I don't remember what I paid, but it was a good deal. The headlights and corner lights came from eBay. These were too good to be true. They looked really nice when they came, but they were cheap reproductions (China I think) Within a year the corner lights turned ugly yellow and the lenses got little cracks all over them. The headlights did not defuse light correctly and it was impossible to see while driving at night. They could not be aimed correctly either.........in short they were total junk. I ended up replacing these parts with used salvage yard parts later. So learn from my mistake and don't buy the cheap reproductions off of eBay.


The bumper filler part (thin black body piece above the bumper) was new and came from eBay. It fit pretty good and didn't give me any issues.


Driver's door was easy. I wasn't worried about perfection so I just used a crescent wrench to get it close before putting the fender back on. Fender was then installed in the correct position.


Instead of painting to match, I installed a genuine Toyota bra that I found on eBay for $50 (a lot cheaper than paying a body shop to paint). Here's how it came out:


Total investment car + parts was about $500 - $600 and about 12 hrs labor.



Yours looks like it got hit a bit harder than mine. Did the fan go through the radiator? I'd be particularly worried about the SADS (Separated Accessory Drive System). If this took a hard hit (enough to mess-up alignment) and it's not addressed, this could create on-going problems.

As far as your parts interchangeability question, since your van is a 97, it would be nice to find a parts donor from another Previa in the 94-97 range..........even nicer (like super nice) if you could find one the same color. Realistically that seldom happens, so most likely you'll need to purchase a few things here and there. Although externally the same, there were some subtle differences made in 94 (so try and stick with 94-97). If you have trouble finding some things, here is a list of the parts that can be used from 91-97:

• Marker lights
• Grill (except 91)
• Radiator
• Clutch fan assy
• Hood
• Hood latch
• Bumper reinforcement (structural steel behind bumper cover)
• Bumper filler panel (metal body piece that sits above bumper)

Parts that must come from 94-97:

• Headlights
• AC Condenser
• Bumper cover (the external plastic part you see)
• Core support (metal structure that headlights mount into)
• Coolant overflow bottle
• Oil reservoir bottle

I'm not too sure about the blower motor housing or the cabin air intake scoop. Hopefully you won't need to experiment on that. Please take some pics of the job and post them here. Good luck with your project. Tim

[Lendog]

Timsrv, thanks for all the pics and great info! Been lurking around the local picnpulls the last couple days and seeing a lot of junk, but found a few good ones. Got a core support off a 95', which turned out to be a royal pita! Burnt up my cordless drill and went through both batteries on my sawzall, before i got it off, and had to come back the next day. Also found the bumper reinforcement and a window washer fluid tank. Try to post up some pics when i get a chance.

[Lendog]

Been making some headway on the project this last week and got some good and bad news.
The good news- I had a rental car from the insurance and decided to try to get most of my parts before i had to give it back. Took a trip down to Portland to pillage their salvage yards of all things Previa and came back with the rental full of goodies. Got a hood (silver), bumper cover, headlights, side marker light, grill (green), bumper filler (green), some wiper blades (hard to come by new!), fan shroud, cabin air intake, radiator fan, and some various interior parts.

Bad news- On my way home i stopped by another salvage yard just for the heck of it and they had a green previa with all the parts i had needed but the right color! None of the parts i had bought were returnable, so i had to stick with them, oh well. Lesson learned... check all the yards before purchasing!

Worse new- after getting the bumper and some of the twisted metal off the Previa, I found out that it'll need a little more work than first expected. The frame end where the bumper bolts on the passanger side is bent and will have to be fixed at the body shop, $$$$. the ac cooling (radiator?) and the radiator were both punctered and will need to be replaced. Just took it to the bodyshop today and will probably be there for a week or so, before i can start working on it again.Previa Damage 008 Resized.jpg
Broken fan where it was hit by the radiator
Previa Damage 007 Resized.jpg
Radiator, meet fan!
Previa Damage 004 Resized.jpg
Nice bend in the frame on the passenger side

[timsrv]

Oh the joys of making these kind of discoveries . Depending on how much you paid and the condition of the paint I may have still purchased the green parts. Paint work is expensive........possibly more than the cost of these parts. Thanks for the update, sorry to hear your bumper mount area is trashed. I'm guessing you'll still come out ahead though. Have fun. Tim

[Lendog]

Progress Report...

Got the van back from the bodyshop a few days ago, looks good! Been gettin busy lately so i had them weld on the salvaged core support. Cost a little more but worth it time wise, i hope. Got a radiator fan & AC condensor at the local yard, but couldnt find a bumper reinforcement in decent condition or a upper radiator hose, so had to order those. Pretty much just waiting for the hose to arrive, and then start putting her back together!

[timsrv]

Nice. Glad to see things coming together. Thanks for the update. Tim

[Lendog]

Projects mostly done!
First off big thanks to timsrv for all the info & pics!! If the weather here ever gets nice i've got a few tweaks to do on the hood and passenger fender, but other than that she's put back together and driving again. Eventually i might replace or paint the hood, but not in a big hurry at the moment. I'm figuring with the body shop, parts, towing bills, ect. i put just under $2k into it, but after the insurance payoff i came out ahead as long as there aren't any issues down the road!
Having said that i'm wondering about the SADS alignment, that timsrv talked about previously on this thread. If it is out of alignment will i be able to tell right away, or any indicators to look for? It seems to be driving the same as before the accident, although every little noise i hear i think its falling apart ( a bit paraniod after doing my own repair), lol!

[timsrv]

Looking good! Glad to hear it's up and running again. The flex couplers on each end of the SADS shaft typically fail somewhere between 150k-200k of normal use. If yours was knocked out of line, they may fail a bit sooner. What typically happens is the rubber falls apart inside the couplers and it starts making a racket and/or vibrating. Typically this is most noticeable when the AC compressor is engaged. You can go under and inspect them, but due to the big washers it's hard to get a good look at them. Here's a picture of a set I replaced at around 160k miles. These ones weren't really that bad (I've seen a lot worse), but you can get the idea of what happens when they fail. Tim





I've seen them so bad there wasn't any rubber left. The shaft was just bouncing around and vibrating bad (it was not on my vehicle).

[Lendog]

Thanks timsrv, hopefully they'll stay intact for a while longer! The ac isn't working, so maybe won't be as noticable when they fail? The connection between the compressor and the metal piping into it got damaged, so no coolant/ pressure in there. Another thing i might fix later, depending on price.

[pre-van]

Anyone seen a green previa in a junk yard near Portland? Lendog said he found one but I can't figure out where it is. Called a million places and no leads. I also am in need of a green hood. Thanks.

[timsrv]

That was over 3 months ago. If it was a pick-n-pull, about the longest any vehicle stays there before being crushed is about 3 months......and who knows how long it was there before he found it. I'd have to assume it's long gone by now. Previas are still showing up in the salvage yards on a pretty regular basis though, so it's just a matter of time before another shows up. Waiting for a specific color though is another story.........but you never know. Good luck on finding one in the tone of green you're after. Tim

[Lendog]

Pre-van, the green previa i found was at the north portland picnpull, but i went back down later and purchased the hood, so even if its still there its missing the hood. If you havn't already, try calling the picnpulls,i found that sometimes they're able to tell you the colors of the previas they have, so you dont have to wast a trip. Good luck!

[abturnage]

I have a '91 with front end damage - it was more in the drivers side corner... I was lucky enough to run across another identical one, but I'm leary about trying to get the radiator core support off, and also having to cut the right fender support and reweld it... Yall think it's worth it to save this old van? It runs like a champ and is really clean... I paid $500 for it, and have another $150 in all the front end parts, and still need to buy a $50 bumper filler panel, and the $55 radiator core support from the yard... then of course whatever I have to pay to have the fender support welded in...

[timsrv]

Welcome to TVT ! At this point it's a little hard to say but this type of damage almost always looks worse than it really is. I tend to just jump in and do these sort of projects then think about them later. You may end up needing to replace the fender support, but I would resist that (at least initially). The fender support is covered-up anyhow and you can do a lot with a slide hammer, a regular hammer, blocks or wood, and a come-along winch. You won't know until you try. Occasionally I'll get lots of time involved with trying to repair something like this only to finally give-up and replace, but more often then not I'm able to get satisfactory results with less time and effort than originally anticipated. Just getting it close may be good enough as there's always the option of shimming on the critical surfaces to align correctly. Even if you end up replacing I don't think you'd necessarily have to weld. If you cut the junk yard van parts bigger than needed you can always overlap and screw/rivet together. For the seal just put a layer of high quality urethane in the overlap area and this should be sufficient.

If you decide to do the job please take pics and post them with details of the repair. Have fun! Tim

[Lendog]

Hi abturnage,
I'll second timsrv's advice and say go for it! If the rest of the van is in good condition and seems to have a lot of life left in it, it's probably worth it to put a few dollars into it and have a good solid van, as opposed to scrapping it. It was definetely worth it for mine.
I was able to get the core support off my donor van at picnpull with an 18V sawzall, a new metal blade, and 2-3 FULLY charged batteries. Cut it wide, then drilled out the welds once i took it home. I had it welded on at the body shop, just to save time being it was already getting worked on there. Think it cost $100ish, but cant remember for sure. If u have the time id follow timsrv's advice with the rivets. Maybe get an estimate from your local body shop for welding the core & fender supports and decide it from there... Good luck

[michio]

I recently acquired some front end damage on my 1993 previa and was hoping to repair it to its previous condition.
I'll need to replace the hood and panel on the driver's side, as well as some other exterior body parts and possible also some under the hood parts. I found a 1992 previa in my area, same color, for pretty cheap that has some problems, but could probably use it to replace everything on my 1993 van.

I was wondering if these 1992 parts would work on my 1993 van? Can someone shed some light on this for me?

Thanks!

[timsrv]

Yes, everything from 92-93 is the same.

[Sixbricks]

My 97 all trac Previa was hit in the front driver side and it pushed in the side front drivers side inside curtain that the core support attaches to. My question is this. If my 97 s/c alltrac previa can use a 94 and up core support can I also use the 94 inside curtain that the core support attaches to?

This is tricky as my van has a side vent and small radiator that sits under (the core support curtain) and in front of the front drivers side tire. I am not sure that a core support from a 1994 non s/c charged motor will work on my 97 s/c charged previa. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. thanks Ed in Olympia, Wa

[timsrv]

I don't know as I've never worked on anything new than 93 NA Previas. But it should be easy to tell when you're at the yard. Just take a good look at yours 1st & snap a few pics before you go. Good luck. Tim