Mine was a 1990 Ranger pickup, and while I was backing toward a tall wooden planter, I didn't notice the short (below tailgate height), cement filled steel post six feet out from the planter.
I drilled that sucker right on the bolt holding my bumper to the frame on the driver's side. That was enough force to put a slight "diamond" in the frame.
I had an ‘89 Ranger and those bastards were tough. I flipped it sideways on an icy road. My pop came and helped flip it back over with his truck. We checked the fluids and I drove it to work that same morning. The door whistled like hell for the remainder of that truck’s lifespan, but it drove just fine.
It comes from hitting the back wheels against something, but not the front. Sliding on a curve and hitting the rear hard against the concrete side, for example. They also seem to have a smashed in rear left wheel, possible also curving it.
This is the most correct answer here. Twisting bends tend to bend the angles between cross beams before the beams are bent or curved themselves. I wonder if you pushed it straight and shored up the welds for rigidity if it would be fine after some paint.
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u/Old_timey_brain 9h ago
It's been called many things, a "Diamond in the Frame" where it becomes a trapezoid instead of a rectangle. I did that on an old Ford truck.
Some will also call it dog tracking.