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Jeep Banged UP

3K views 28 replies 17 participants last post by  unodog4 
#1 ·
My wife had someone pull out in front of her at 40mph. She completely T boned them. No one hurt bad thank goodness. The Warn bumper saved her life. 5k damages to our 16 jku. Just got it back and It is vibrating when its idling. Dealer says motor mount are cracked and they are going to replace. There wasn't any frame damage. Could the wreck have done this without messing up the frame?
 
#2 · (Edited)
T-bone at 40 mph full on breaking engine mounts - chances that crumple zones (frame) didn't give way as designed. Seriously doubt it.
A frame machine will tell the accurate story.
Frames can be straightened on the same machine.

Glad no one was hurt.
 
#4 ·
Yes just got it back from repairs. repair shop took it to frame shop to make sure frame was good. Only had to straiten the frame a little where the bumper connected. She hit a ford fusion dead center of the 2 passenger doors. speed limit was 50 traffic report said she was going 40-45 mph.
 
#6 ·
Glad your wife is ok!!! Scary stuff.


The Warn bumper saved her life.
I highly doubt this.
All the Jeep engineering is what prevented more serious injuries, like crumple zones. Absorbing the impact is what helps, not a brick (or steel) wall hanging on the front.

Wouldn't want to be the other car though! :D
 
#10 ·
Glad your wife is ok!!! Scary stuff.



I highly doubt this.
All the Jeep engineering is what prevented more serious injuries, like crumple zones. Absorbing the impact is what helps, not a brick (or steel) wall hanging on the front.

Wouldn't want to be the other car though! :D
I tend to agree that the steel bumpers aren't really designed to absorb impact in an accident. If you collide off-road with a tree, it's designed not to crumple so you aren't damaging the bumper, but you feel every ounce of the tree impact.
 
#15 ·
I was a mechanical engineer major before switching majors but not an automotive designer but my understanding of any vehicle and I am sure it is federal law for now a few decades if not longer is that vehicles are to be designed and constructed to do the crumple effect or ripple so as to dissipate energy and what is transferred to the occupants. Like one poster stated, a solid steel bumper may come away looking great, but that impact energy has to go somewhere............it's simple physics. That is why guard rails have the design to peel away if you have never noticed. It does this to absorb impact and peel away so as to reduce energy transferred to occupants of cars.

Not sure when car engineers fully started to understand this and implement but I would bet either late 60's or early 70's and maybe even longer.

Glad she is okay and hopefully the Jeep will be like new again other than in your mind you know it was wrecked. I have a brother-in-law and if a car of his even gets a slight bump and I mean slight he trades it! He can't stand for something to have been wrecked and knowing it and driving it......I think he is nuts but that is only my opinion.
 
#12 ·
Bumpers are for "bumps".... Crush cans , crumple zones, primary (belts) and supplemental restraints (airbags)
Save lives.

Again, glad nobody was seriously injured.
Jeeps can be repaired, if they can be built they can be rebuilt.
Our rigs more so than anything. Unbolt. Take off. . Rebolt.
 
#13 ·
Get rid of it fast.

Any hit hard enough to break the motor mounts is hard enough to damage all of the engine's bearings. To say nothing about the trans and transfer case.
 
#14 ·
Let's agree to disagree.

It sounds like the motor mounts did their job of insulating the motor from the impact forces. That said, talk to your insurance company and let them know that you're concerned about the impact possibly damaging other components, that you have a plan:
1) Have a reputable shop ((NOT the dealer)) perform diagnostics on engine and transmission. - If they find anything, see step 3.
2) Grab a couple sets of test kits from Blackstone Labs and have them do an analysis ASAP and in a thousand miles.
3) If anything comes back questionable, bring it back to the dealer for in-depth diagnostics.
4) If diagnostics show a problem, have your adjuster push it to the claim.

Explain the situation to the insurance company - you had the Jeep in for repairs, and the dealership couldn't even find busted motor mounts, which they took care of under warranty instead of going back through the adjuster. That raised red flags in your mind about the quality and thoroughness of the diagnostics and repair work done.

Good luck!
O_E
 
#18 ·
Did they fix the Ford or was it totaled? If there was a passenger I bet they filled their pants.
 
#21 ·
Well now I'm at a loss for sure. They just got the motor mounts replaced and now they are telling my body repair shop that the catalytic converter has been damaged and is cracked. They have a new one ordered. OMG I really don't know who to take it to other than the dealer for repairs. Looks like I'm going to have to make a rock climber out of it. This really sucks
 
#26 ·
Sounds to me like you need to contact the insurance company and ask them why they're employing this adjuster. The adjuster's job isn't just to take the repairs sheet and sign off, they're supposed to be doing a thorough inspection of the vehicle to ensure that needed repairs are being carried out. They missed motor mounts and a cracked catalytic converter. That's two strikes right there, boy-o. Wonder what else they've missed?

You'll get it all sorted in the end, no worries on that. As other said, look into a diminished value claim.

Best of luck, and glad that everyone came out fine.
O_E
 
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#22 ·
Find the highest end body shop in your area, and let them fix it right, and deal with all the insurance crap. The really good ones have all this down to a science.

Mark

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
#23 ·
Yeah, I would never bring a wrecked vehicle to a dealer.
Always to my body shop of choice.
 
#24 ·
Only good thing is that I did have the body repairs done at my body shop of choice and they done a great job, Then the my traction control light came on and my body shop took it to the dealer to clear it out. While it was there they checked out the vibration and discovered the motor mounts broke and now the other issues. I believe it will get resolved just going to have to be patient. Probably just going to give this one to my son and let my wife buy her a new one!!
 
#27 ·
I purchased my JKU form a reputable Jeep rebuilder (yes it's rebuilt) back in April. I saw pictures of of before the repairs and it sounds much like yours...

The first question I asked was "Was there frame damage?" his reply was " Rare that one sustains a front impact without damage to the frame" I then asked about how they go about repairing and he explained that they don't even attempt to repair because a new frame is only about $1200. He also told me that that during the rebuild, they found that the front axle had been tweeked as well.. so it received a new oem front Dana as well.

Once I became accustomed to jeep after a week or two, found it seemed to vibrate a little at idle and could be felt ever so slightly at speed. I examined the engine mounts (again) and they looked perfectly fine (stock ones still) Then I moved to the trans mount at the cross member.. bingo! It was obvious that had a little slant to it allowing the top metal layer to make contact with the lower metal layer. The motor mounts themselves appear to have room to shift forward or backward a little while the trans mount does not and caused a little twist. So far that is the only thing I found that was missed on my repair.

edit.. There was one other thing.. the exhaust flange had a small bend in it as well. The gasket began to leak after a few weeks. No biggie, I hammered it out and installed new gasket. 5k miles later and still good.

Hope this helps. I have pics if you think they would be useful.
 
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