Steering wheel is upside down.

[wfd175]

I'm driving to working this morning minding my own business and had this crashed into the side of me. She (young chick) was crying, late for a test. (At least she was driving a Corolla). The damage is my front rim, running board is bent into the Cats (Now I have a obvious audible leak), and the wheel flare. I went to the dealer to make sure that nothing was cracked in the suspension. Everything tracks straight, except the steering wheel is upside down now.

My question is, now that 1 running board is trashed, what should the body shop price be for a replacement. He is expecting to have to purchase a pair. This is my DD and a work in progress, and the running boards were coming off in the spring. I was going to purchase sliders. Of couse this is a prime opportunity to get the sliders. I do have 1 drivers side running board in excellent condition if anyone is interested.

The biggest problem is that this was a private property accident it's a exchange information deal. The insurance companies have to decide fault. Unfortunately, most of the time they consider it a no fault accident. She was not in control of her car, I stopped and hoped that she would stop skidding. It happened behind a shopping center.

Sorry if I sound a little emotional, but I'm still a little pissed.

 

[Doc]

That sucks, cats are expensive.

Definately put a set of sliders on now, I have the Solidrockoffroad.com sliders. Love 'em.

 

[Beowulf]

My question is, now that 1 running board is trashed, what should the body shop price be for a replacement.

Call C-Dan for pricing on new running boards. I'm sure he can tell you if they are sold individually or in pairs.

Now is the time to add sliders.

-B-

 

[GXO]

if you had put on sliders you would have won.

Sucks man, sounds like something is bent...tie rod? panhard?

 

[Skillet]

I can sell you my factory running boards if you want to keep it stock...

 

[wfd175]

What should I expect the body shop to charge to the rim? I know that sometimes it's difficult to find someone who will sell just one.

Once I get the estimate, I'll try to post it. I'm unbolting both running boards tonight. I think that this is divine intervention. After running DD this rig around for the past 100,00 miles, it's time to her to step out of her panties.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Get the body shop estimate for all the work (replacing running boards, replacing cats, replacing wheel) and have the insurance pay you out by check. Take that hefty chunk of change, get some Slee or Hanna sliders, get a wheel off Mud or Ebay, and have a muffler shop repair the exhaust.

 

[trainrech]

Uh, wouldn't the steering wheel now being upside down indicate there's a little more damage than meets the eye? Get that sorted out now before you eat a set of tires.

 

[mnwolftrack]

She was not in control of her car, I stopped and hoped that she would stop skidding. It happened behind a shopping center.

If this is truly the case, there shouldn't be much of a problem with the insurance company deciding who is at fault. And at least with my insurance company, I must be proven to be over 50% at fault and have a claim larger than $750 in order for my rate to be affected. I found this out when someone rear-ended me while I was stopped at a stoplight. Their insurance company had to pay me. My insurance company didn't have to do anything. In fact, they recommended I deal straight with the other party's insurance company in order to speed things up. Their insurance company had no problem with this and wrote me a check directly. My insurance company said if I had filed the claim with them, it would likely have slowed the claim process down (though it wouldn't have affected my rates) because each insurance company is allowed X many days to respond to each other for various steps of the claim process, and it could have dragged out for 6 months in the worst case scenarios.

Also, make sure to file a police report. Then you will have documentation in writing of your own words, should this need to go to court. The other party will then be required to file a report in their own words.

 

[RavenTai]

Uh, wouldn't the steering wheel now being upside down indicate there's a little more damage than meets the eye? Get that sorted out now before you eat a set of tires.

yes, common 80 series failure is twisting of the pitman shaft on the steering box in an accident, check the splines right abovre the pitman arm, they shold be perfectly straight up and down, use a straight edge for reference,

I have seen them from slightly twisted to near barber pole

another possibility is drag link is bent,

in severe accidents the axle housing can be bent,

 

[photogod]

I found this out when someone rear-ended me while I was stopped at a stoplight. Their insurance company had to pay me. My insurance company didn't have to do anything. In fact, they recommended I deal straight with the other party's insurance company in order to speed things up. Their insurance company had no problem with this and wrote me a check directly.

The key here is that you were sitting still. As soon as you add movement with both parties there is shared fault.

 

[wfd175]

With respect to the steering wheel, It tracks straight down the road not pulling at all therefore, I'm not too concerned about the tire chewing off. Of course I'm not planning on driving to StL or anything. Just local back and forth to work for the next couple of weeks.

Should I wait until after Flat Nasty before taking it to the body shop?

I'm going to start the infamous IH8MUD slider research now. Unless anyone wants to save me some time and give me a more definative direction. I've had a rough day.

 

[RavenTai]

With respect to the steering wheel, It tracks straight down the road not pulling at all therefore, I'm not too concerned about the tire chewing off. Of course I'm not planning on driving to StL or anything. Just local back and forth to work for the next couple of weeks.

Should I wait until after Flat Nasty before taking it to the body shop?

I'm going to start the infamous IH8MUD slider research now. Unless anyone wants to save me some time and give me a more definative direction. I've had a rough day.

you are missing the point, the steering box is big $$$ if it is damaged you need to know it and get paid for it,

 

[Rich]

If the twisted sector shaft breaks, the result will be NO steering control.

 

[wfd175]

Gotcha, I wouldn't think that the steering box would be the weakest link in the system, however, when I take it to the dealer for the alignment, I have them double check the steering box also. Before this happened, she went down the road straight as an arrow, with no wandering. If after this is over, there is any slop, I'll get a little more assertive with the part replacement. Thanks.

 

[RavenTai]

from what I have seen a bent sector shaft will not show up as slop, just go out to you truck and look, it is easy to check.

if you think of the levet arms involved and the other components there is a lot of force on that shaft, more than anywhere else in the steering system

 

[wfd175]

I called the dealer about the steering box, because the visual inspection minus the steering box appeared all clear. Evidently he is an old racecar driver and was rather familiar with the sector shafts being bent after hitting the walls. They often didn't realize it because the steering wheel was a quick disconnect. And of course, since the service shops at dealerships are not very busy here, he could take cae of it this afternoon.

Once again thanks for the input, MUD to the rescue. Thanks.

How about the slider suggestions? My cats obviously are going to be replaced so the 90 cat turn could be taken care of.

 

[Darwood]

Is the wheel upside down to the left or right in relation to the old center? If it's to the right the a bend in the drag link or tie rod could be the reason. If it's to the left then something else is bent.

 

[Mickldo]

Search for "sector shaft". I've posted quite a few times about my dramas with the licorice they call sector shafts. The easiest way to check if it is this is to get underneath and look up at the sector shaft/pitman arm area, there is a scribed line on the bottom of the sector shaft that should be parallel to the chassis when the wheels are straight ahead. Don't rely on the dealer to find this problem, check for yourself. If it is missed and the shaft breaks the results could be disasterous.

 

[wfd175]

Went to the dealer again on friday, sector shaft is obviously twisted. He's ordering a replacement. Thanks for the valuable input.