BIG PROBLEM (now with pics of damage)

03blackrt · Post by **03blackrt** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:51 pm

:O Ouch! Did the car scream in pain?

Or did just the owner scream in pain? I know I would have!

I would think it'd be as good as new once fixed.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:58 pm

I was a little shocked, more like

It looked a lot smaller than it was until it was right in front of me. I didn't think it would be too bad. and then BAM

Thanks for the wishes everyone.

Post by **Canada** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:12 pm

Surprised you didn't clip the fascia or airdam doin that. Actually, did you look at the oil cooler and stuff at the front as well, those hang down just the same distance I'd think...

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:16 pm

When I hit it, I pulled over to the side of the road. I jacked up the pass front corner almost to the full extension of the jack and started looking around.

It looks like the first place it hit was the k-frame and the sway. Which probably explains the massive hit to the crossmember. A little piece of the rock (I'm gonna call it a rock, but I don't know) hit there and then it kind of took off.

OverDrive418 · Post by **OverDrive418** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:55 pm

Damn! You hit a meteor!
Good thing you didn't try to swerve it at that speed or you may have nailed it with a wheel and you might not be here to tell the story.
Good call, clench the cheeks and hope for the best!

I think for the exhaust you can just file off the sharp parts and get a repair sleeve to go over that area. But more importantly, if it were me, I'd get a new crossmember and weld it in rather than a used one just to be easier and safer.

Good luck.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:02 pm

$110 for the part isn't a bad price yo, but the labor of putting it on is another story. Damn that is nasty!!!! Good luck getting it fixed.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:07 pm

Well I think my dad and I are gonna give it a shot. The $110 doesnt seem too bad, especially since its from a dealer.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:48 pm

Canada wrote:As long as the body shops removes the old piece and welds this new one, I think it'd be like brand new after an alignment...

I envisioned it alot worse. It doesn't appear to be ripped loose from the floorpan. But your tire will prolly take the most "abuse" from driving it till you get a loaner from your dad. Those welds are pretty tough, if all it took was that hit to rip the cross member loose we all would be in trouble. now if the car was 15 years old and rusted out it would have been a different story, but yours looks pretty damn solid - definitely a fixer. Still doesn't diminish the fact that it SUCKS when stuff happens.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:59 pm

Ok, you guys convinced me...

I can continue my dreams of a 2.4 SOHC Magnum, MS, coilovers, 16x7's with 225/45/16.

One day right.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:11 pm

racer... for sure have a shop do it. i wouldn't say throw what i told you away, but deffinetly DON'T use it here. $110+labor+corrosion resistance=a day in a shop and well worth having it done RIGHT!

glad to hear your spirits are back up after this traumatic event

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:49 pm

well, it will depend on how much a shop will charge.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:39 am

well that MIGHT be a slightly different story. it all depends on the shop. the killer would have to be the labor not on pulling the old one out, but putting the new one in. it's IMPOSSIBLE to recreate the spot welds going from the crossmember to the frame and really hard, but completely possible, to recreate the ones going from the crossmember to the spare tire well. that means they'll probably spot weld with a welder, not a spot welding machine. that's gonna take a little more labor. it's harder to prep.

mike9fore · Post by **mike9fore** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:23 am

racer12306 wrote:Ok, you guys convinced me...

I can continue my dreams of a 2.4 SOHC Magnum, MS, coilovers, 16x7's with 225/45/16.

One day right.

Keep the Dream Alive!!!! I feel for you about the "rock" Incident man!!!

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:20 pm

The car is off to the shop on Friday afternoon. Hopefully the damage report won't be too bad.

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:49 am

i hit a huge ass rock on the highway too the other day. Smacked my bumper, hit the plastic part, bent the bar of metal immediately behind that part, hit my transmission... and that's the farthest i looked for damage. car still runs/drives perect, so i'm not worried

but i thought of this when it happened!

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:28 am

Well, we got an estimate. Looks like its gonna be about $1000.

The other thing that sucks is it won't be ready til almost Christmas.

I'm gonna call around in the morning to see the rates and back log of other places, but I doubt it's gonna be better.

mike9fore · Post by **mike9fore** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:21 am

racer12306 wrote:Well, we got an estimate. Looks like its gonna be about $1000.

The other thing that sucks is it won't be ready til almost Christmas.

I'm gonna call around in the morning to see the rates and back log of other places, but I doubt it's gonna be better.

Is the damage that bad that it wont be ready until Christmas???
I am sorry to hear about the damage dude!!! Good Luck!!!

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:40 am

ouch....Happy Christmas Here's your fixed car!

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:41 am

mike9fore wrote:Is the damage that bad that it wont be ready until Christmas???

No, its just because of their backlog.

I check places in the area and all the labor rates are damn near the same, not enough varience to take the car from the original place.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:56 am

mike9fore wrote:
racer12306 wrote:Well, we got an estimate. Looks like its gonna be about $1000.

The other thing that sucks is it won't be ready til almost Christmas.

I'm gonna call around in the morning to see the rates and back log of other places, but I doubt it's gonna be better.

Is the damage that bad that it wont be ready until Christmas???
I am sorry to hear about the damage dude!!! Good Luck!!!

Prolly due to work load. If the shop is that busy they will quote stuff higher, because they already have too much work. Definitly shop around. Also they will put you on the back burner if you don't have that gauranteed insurance check. Body shops are in my experience the worst places I've delt with. Not that they're all fucknuts, just most of them. If you can find the ones left that still do restoration work they are usually the better of the bunch because they're not depending on insurance money. Most around my area only do collision. It took me 3 weeks to find one that would weld a floorboard in my Cherokee. I would constantly get "Oh, we don't do stuff like that! " Iwould even explain it in detail on the phone before I went for an estimate! Just my humble opinoin/experience though... sorry for the rant...

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:01 am

All the prices are within a few dollars for hourly rate. I wouldn't be surprised if all the shops in this area have a big backlog because a lot of people in this area drive like

I guess anyone will be putting me on the back burner because this can't go through insurance.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:07 am

Not that waiting is always a bad thing especially if you don't have $1000 burning a hole in your pocket. Seems like alot for what needs done but rates are diferent for demand /location, what can ya do? Still sucks

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 10:16 am

This area isn't what you would call cheap.

When we lived in New York we sold a 2 story farm house with a 30 x 44 pole barn and 3.5 acres of land for $65000. The house we got in Maryland was a rancher with 1 acre for $110000. Then we had to add a long driveway and the pole barn.

And the area has done nothing but flourish since then.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:35 pm

I was told I should checking into getting the DOT to pay for it.

I figured worse they can do is say no, so I'm gonna give that a shot tomorrow.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:54 pm

It's worth a shot. unfortunately here in Ohio stuff has to be previously reported for them to cover any damages. (Like you can prove someone else called and reported it.)

mike9fore · Post by **mike9fore** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:37 am

racer12306 wrote:I was told I should checking into getting the DOT to pay for it.

I figured worse they can do is say no, so I'm gonna give that a shot tomorrow.

Good Luck to you!!!! DOT in MD seems to be tough to crack!!!

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:27 am

Just a quick question, and bare with me if it sounds naive. but why would you want to do anything to the area where the rear trailing arms bolt in? as long as there are no alignment issues, and I'm sure there are not, why can't you just sand it a little, and paint it to protect it from rust... the reason I'm saying this is that if i were to buy used car, i would be more suspicious of the vehicle if i see traces of cutting and welding in the frame, versus an obvious road debris incident as in your case. besides you save your self some money. what do you think?

good luck...

Post by **racer12306** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:34 am

The car is not safe to drive. The driver rear tire is out of alignment and it bounces funny sometimes.

01WhiteNe0n · Post by **01WhiteNe0n** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 12:11 pm

Sounds like you can almost get DOT to pay for it because it was on the Interstate but then again they might be dicks and tell you to prove what caused the damage

Kelevra · Post by **Kelevra** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:56 pm

lmao, you dont need proof other than the pics... I think that's all you need