Repair work after an accident

[BigG]

I'm in the Pontiac, Mi area. Just had a bit of a fender bender in my '96 XJ with someone who decided to pull out in front of me on my way to work. I think I got off pretty light, but I have damage to the front passenger corner to repair, a fluid leak (either power steering or engine oil, you can see the puddle forming next to the shadow from my licence plate), front wheel alignment, and a grinding in the front axle.

Are there any Jeep friendly shops that people here would recommend in the Pontiac or Waterford area? Or perhaps some fellow Jeepers that would be willing to help me out on a weekend with the repairs? I'm short on experience and tools or I would try to do it myself.

I'm not expecting a lot of compensation from the insurance companies (hurray No Fault Michigan!:flamemad

 

[BOB]

Maybe start with a couple of garage estimates. At least you'll know what it'll cost to repair rather than guessing. I'd imagine the insurance company will want that as well.

BOB

 

[BigG]

yes, estimates are helpful. That's why I was also asking if anyone could recommend a place that wouldn't gouge on the estimate.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

often time you can use multiple estimates against each other. some shops will be willing to match/beat a competitors quote.


if your frame and axel are strait (which id be surprised if they werent considering the amount of damage) you should be able to do the repairs yourself with a couple trips to the JY. simple hand tools will get it done. and you can simply have a shop paint and refinish it when you are done.

 

[BigG]

the body work is the easy part. I'm sure the frame and axle are good, but there's the fluid leak and grinding in the axle (might be a berring) to worry over, too.

 

[kastein]

I'm in the Pontiac, Mi area. Just had a bit of a fender bender in my '96 XJ with someone who decided to pull out in front of me on my way to work. I think I got off pretty light, but I have damage to the front passenger corner to repair, a fluid leak (either power steering or engine oil, you can see the puddle forming next to the shadow from my licence plate), front wheel alignment, and a grinding in the front axle.

Are there any Jeep friendly shops that people here would recommend in the Pontiac or Waterford area? Or perhaps some fellow Jeepers that would be willing to help me out on a weekend with the repairs? I'm short on experience and tools or I would try to do it myself.

I'm not expecting a lot of compensation from the insurance companies (hurray No Fault Michigan!:flamemad

Looks just like the damage to my 96 XJ when my brake line rusted out and I slid into a guardrail - same corner, same approximate damage. Are you sure it's grinding in the axle or is it perhaps the bumper/inner fender plastic shield/other bent-up junk scraping on the tire?

I estimate 1-2k in costs at a garage. However, if you have the tools and some experience (or want to gain the same) you can repair that for approx 1000. I spent ~950 on tools and materials and about 50% of the people who I ask which side I smacked up guess the wrong one. Hit the junkyards, find yourself a color-matched header and quarterpanel, expect to spend some time with a pair of hammers straightening out the very front end of the frame rail and the edge of the inner fender.

 

[BigG]

Looks just like the damage to my 96 XJ when my brake line rusted out and I slid into a guardrail - same corner, same approximate damage. Are you sure it's grinding in the axle or is it perhaps the bumper/inner fender plastic shield/other bent-up junk scraping on the tire?

I estimate 1-2k in costs at a garage. However, if you have the tools and some experience (or want to gain the same) you can repair that for approx 1000. I spent ~950 on tools and materials and about 50% of the people who I ask which side I smacked up guess the wrong one. Hit the junkyards, find yourself a color-matched header and quarterpanel, expect to spend some time with a pair of hammers straightening out the very front end of the frame rail and the edge of the inner fender.

That could be the case on the grinding. Will have to have it looked at to know for sure. I'm all for saving money and gaining experience on this.

 

[kastein]

My suggestion is to get your insurance company out ASAP to take whatever pics they need to. Then pull any damaged bolt-ons off the vehicle and survey the damage to the unibody. I'd expect the end of the frame horn to be folded over a bit, maybe the frame horn is crumpled at the end if you are very unlucky. Also expect that edge of the inner fender sheetmetal to be bent up. You can compare to the undamaged side and straighten as needed. Then stack up your pile of busted parts, make a list, and go to the yard. They made nearly 300k '96s so you should be able to find one in your color with a few weeks of patient searching, maybe get a wrong-color one and rattle can it till you can find one in the right color.

Parts I expect you to need - fender, header panel, bumper, right bumper bracket, right headlight bezel, right fender flare, maybe the right inner fender plastic shield if you care. You got lucky like I did, your hood looks fine. Keep all the nuts and bolts you take off removing the parts, make sure you are very careful removing the two nuts that hold the header panel to the fender or they WILL twist off the studs they go onto. Apply plenty of penetrating lube and back them off very carefully (no off-axis torque, keep the wrench perfectly aligned) and if they start binding, turn them back on a half turn or so and then start backing them out again.

 

[seanR]

Try a big buffer

 

[BigG]

I'll be getting the heap out of the tow lot tomorrow and to a shop for estimation. No one with a recommendation for a good mechanic in northern Detroit Metro, then?

 

[Fore Wheeler]

what type of fluid is it? it looks like antifreeze in the pic. the impact may have pushed your radiator into your mech fan causing a small leak. 1-800-RADIATIOR will net you a new two core radiator for +/- $100, a new three core for about $150 (buy the three core, it has steel tanks and it's 1/3 better). the grinding that you hear prob is the fender or the inner fender rubbing on your tire, no big deal. if you want it to look pretty again then you're going to have a couple grand into repairs/paint. if you want it to drive, pull the fender out by hand and/or big hammer. replace radiator and drive.

 

[BigG]

the fluid is brown. I tested that on site. So either engine oil or power steering. The leak is right over the power steering box.

 

[kastein]

Sounds like P/S lines are in your future... fortunately they're cheap on rockauto. I think I paid less than 20 bucks for a brand new ACDelco pressure line.

Like I said before, I would bet on you being able to get this fixed with almost stock appearance for under 1k, I'm certain you can do it if you already have basic hand tools. My 1k budget included matched paint, an HVLP spraygun set, an air compressor, and a ratchet/socket set. My paint job came out lousy and when I switched to the factory-painted junkyard body panels a few months later it looked way better, so if you're patient you can take the painting stuff out of the budget (approximately $300) and it'll look better in the end.

 

[Jeepm@n]

I have a 96 that took a harder hit than that on the drivers side. I rebuilt the front end and to this day have been chasing a wobble. I'm now replacing the front axle and lower control arms now that I'm home. Save your self some time and measure from front rim to back rim on both sides. It should be fairly close like within a 1/8". Mine was tweaked a bit at 1/2" and cost me $600 for a good straightening and 4 wheel alignment. As said before get estimates. If you do go this your self allow 25% more money for hidden damage to parts and tools being this is your first go. Good luck and ask questions if you are unsure.

Also my 96 has the power steering on the drivers side. My guess would be dirty anti freeze or dirty trans fluid is what is leaking. I have seen where the hit on that side causes a frame tweak right next to the oil filter adapter also causing a leak.

 

[BigG]

I have a 96 that took a harder hit than that on the drivers side. I rebuilt the front end and to this day have been chasing a wobble. I'm now replacing the front axle and lower control arms now that I'm home. Save your self some time and measure from front rim to back rim on both sides. It should be fairly close like within a 1/8". Mine was tweaked a bit at 1/2" and cost me $600 for a good straightening and 4 wheel alignment. As said before get estimates. If you do go this your self allow 25% more money for hidden damage to parts and tools being this is your first go. Good luck and ask questions if you are unsure.

Also my 96 has the power steering on the drivers side. My guess would be dirty anti freeze or dirty trans fluid is what is leaking. I have seen where the hit on that side causes a frame tweak right next to the oil filter adapter also causing a leak.

The leak is certainly not coming from the oil filter adapter. Also fairly certain it wasn't radiator or transmission, as I dabbed the puddle while at the accident site and it came back brown, no hint of green or red to it. The drip is right under the power steering box. Odd thing is it was still dripping occasionally when I got it moved from the tow lot to the collision place for the estimate today. I'm thinking that with the tweaked alignment (the front tires are pointing noticeably away from each other), the shock may have transfered into the steering box and loosened a seal. It will hold mostly well until things start moving. Would explain the lack of a large puddle underneath it in the tow lot.

 

[kastein]

Check your transmission cooler lines where they enter the radiator, which is right above the steering box. Feel the fluid between your fingers and find out if it's trans fluid or P/S fluid, smell will also tell you this. Trans fluid is brown after hard use, P/S fluid is either clear or brown depending on how dirty it is. If your cooler lines are at fault, don't worry about it too much, 75 bucks will get you a full set of new ones from rockauto along with replacement fittings for the transmission (believe me you will want them.)

No need for a 4 wheel alignment on an XJ IMO, the rears are not adjustable.

 

[BigG]

I got an initial estimate done. Full repair is looking at $2200, and mechanical work to get it running is around $1000.

Parts that are damaged:
Steering Gear (fluid leak source?)
R OTR Tie Rod
R Spindle
Wheel Alignment
Wheel Bearing

 

[kastein]

Steering Gear - $50 at yard max, if you're gonna build this into a 4wheeler go look for the Durango swap thread by Frank Z
R OTR Tie Rod - think this is the drag link, 10-20 bucks at the yard or post a WTB thread in MWC classifieds
R Spindle - not sure why they think this is bent but ok, get it + the inner shaft + a unit bearing (wheel bearing) all for ~$30 at the yard

I still think there is a good possibility it's your trans cooler lines not the steering gear.

Oh, and if you have cruise control, make sure you don't move the steering wheel and set the new steering gear to the same position so that the clockspring in your steering column does not get wrecked the first time you make a sharp turn.

 

[BigG]

I'll be getting the mechanical work done at the shop this week and be back on the road. Next will be finding the body parts to replace myself.

Are there suggestions of junk yards to look at for this?

 

[BigG]

Picking the heep up tomorrow, finally. $1000 and it's back on the road. They even hammered the fender out of the way of the front tire. now I just need to scavenge junk yards for body parts.