100 in the shop

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Joined
May 10, 2011
Threads
25
Messages
162
Location
Evans, GA
Truck got towed off campus today because I parked somewhere I wasn't supposed to while running late. I picked it up and on the short drive home noticed some extreme vibration in the 100. It made its way to the Toyota dealer and has been diagnosed with a pretty bent drive shaft. :bang:

How did a tow truck guy do this to the mighty 100? It has to be replaced, hopefully on the dime of the company. Any other things that I should change out while the drive shaft gets replaced?
 
Yeah, 4.88s, lockers, under body armor, Radflo 2.5s with remote res....shall I continue or is that enough for one shop visit?

Actually...have them check the CV boots/bands, and all the breathers. I hear Toyota did a poor job on the end caps for the breathers.
 
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They more than likely towed it via 2 wheels instead of getting a flat bed. No idea how the drive shaft could have bent, but obviously they did something.

Or....the toyota dealer is full of and diagnosed it wrong. My bet is this is the case and something is wrong in the transfer case and/or tranny from being towed on 2 wheels.
 
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Get ahold of your insurance company, they need to be notified as more than likely the towing company will fight this. Your insurance company should cover your damages (assuming collision coverage,) then purse the towing company for damages and probably your deductible. Check city ordinance on towing procedure. Since you said this happened at campus you might want to see if there was any surveillance of the parking lot to see how the vehicle was towed. This will go a long way in supporting a claim to any damage.
 
Truck got towed off campus today because I parked somewhere I wasn't supposed to while running late. I picked it up and on the short drive home noticed some extreme vibration in the 100. It made its way to the Toyota dealer and has been diagnosed with a pretty bent drive shaft. :bang:

How did a tow truck guy do this to the mighty 100? It has to be replaced, hopefully on the dime of the company. Any other things that I should change out while the drive shaft gets replaced?

They drug it out on two wheels....a rig that's full time 4x4...to get it on the flat bed. My guess is the drive shaft bent before something in the transfer case broke.

Unfortunately, most tow truck drivers aren't the most well educated on what drive systems are what...they should have known that a LC is AWD...obviously they didn't....and now they need to pay for your damages.

I'd first call your campus PD...more than likely, there's an ordinance requiring any tow company that conducts a private tow to contact the PD with the info so the owner doesn't report it stolen. Find out if the PD authorized the tow or a campus official...that'll give you more avenues to pursue in your quest for justice!!
 
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I bet you've got nice flat spots on your tires too.
 
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Eh, wouldn't go that far. It wouldn't have been drug long enough to flat-spot anything. Tow company did screw up though, and I'm going to agree with Anthony that it sounds like a misdiagnosed t-case issue. Stranger things have happened I'm sure, but I can't see the driveshaft bending from this? You'd think that there are much weaker links than the DS...

My theory is this:

Tow driver shows up with his flatbed (since most tow companies nowadays use flats), goes, "hmmmm, SUV = rear wheel drive" and uses wheeled lift-chalks to get the rear axle off the ground while allowing it to roll. He then hooks the front up and "pulls" (read: forces :rolleyes:) your rig up onto the trailer thinking everything is hunky-dory since he's got the rear axle up, but the front axle is still on the ground. Result: he did something gnarly to your tcase.

Either way, crappy situation. Hopefully the song and dance doesn't last too long and they will pay for it. Honestly I don't even think that you should have to pay your insurance deductible on this. Maybe a parking fine though. :p
 
yep....lifted rear and forced it to drag until something popped...bet you got broke R&P teeth. Contact insurance and hold tow company responsible as they likely had no clue it is full time 4WD
 
Mine got towed once, but it was snowing, so the dude just dragged it up since it was slippery anyways. On Xmas Eve. I was furious.
 
The toyota dealer is saying its visibly bent, and that it will need to be replaced. The vibration was bad when I was driving it.
Of course, the towing company doesn't want to pay...but we will see how it goes.
 
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How much does Toyota want to repair it? I don't see why the Tow company would not be liable for any damage they do when towing a truck. I guess they could try and say it could have been bent before they towed it, but that really won't hold up in court... if it gets that far.

Good luck with everything.
 
Just got a call and the tow company's owner went to Toyota and took a look at the damage. Admits it probably happened while the truck was with them and is paying for the damage. :clap:

Should be back on the road by Thurs. :steer:
 
Good for you. Hope it all works out.
 
sucks to hear the news. at least their covering the cost and the tow truck driver didn't rip you off also! i had my corolla towed once after arriving at someone's apartments in the middle of the night during a road trip and the visitor spots were taken. was only going to be there a few hours so we left a HUGE note taped to the windshield saying there were no visitor spots and put apt # and phone - not only did it get towed but the guy ripped off about $500 valuables from the center console. got double screwed when insurance wouldn't cover anything out of the "visible space" and i had to pay the tow.
 
Is anyone else surprised this happened? I could see damage if it was towed a distance on 2 wheels but being dragged out of a space and up onto a flatbed seems minimal to me.
 
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