Desperately Need Help

[DirefulAtom]

So, let's just say I got into an accident with my crowning pride and joy, my black 2005 4x4 Z71 Tahoe. The front end is smashed up and the bumper, grille, headlight assembly, transmission oil cooler, AC condenser, and my radiator all need to be replaced.

Any thoughts or ideas anyone?

I was also thinking of replacing the front with a custom grille and headlights. Opinions?

 

[drakon543]

all of those parts can be purchased off rockauto for a feasible price to make repairing it affordable. also is that a scooter did you fold a scooter in half ???

 

[DirefulAtom]

all of those parts can be purchased off rockauto for a feasible price to make repairing it affordable. also is that a scooter did you fold a scooter in half ???

I sandwiched a moped between my car and one in front of me. My brakes failed going 65mph at a red light on the highway, managed to slow to about 35mph before collision.

 

[Big Mama]

Hopefully no one got hurt. Did insurance total it? If so selling won’t get much. If you already planned to mod it do that. As long as the frame is good and nothing got shoved into the motor fix it. You can’t dump your pride and joy.

 

[DirefulAtom]

Hopefully no one got hurt. Did insurance total it? If so selling won’t get much. If you already planned to mod it do that. As long as the frame is good and nothing got shoved into the motor fix it. You can’t dump your pride and joy.

My Insurance company, Allstate, hasn't bothered to take a look at my car. I originally bought my truck for $2650, with tax, title and all else coming out to $3000. When I bought my truck I saw other Tahoes with the same specs and in the same condition going for $10000+.

I was kind of interested in maybe trying to put a Cat Eye front end on it, but would have no idea in the slightest of how to do that. With my skid plates that little moped didn't get to my oil pan, and the furthest it penetrated was my radiator. I couldn't imagine it possibly damaging the frame.

My problem is how much this accident has put me into debt. I would love to trick out my truck, but need something to get me to and from school and work to make the money required to do anything.

I was kind of wondering if anybody on here can give me any mechanical tips, modification ideas, how to do such mods, and things these models usually require for maintenance, since I'm quite the unseasoned driver and definitely not a mechanic.

 

[Erickk120]

You can find all the parts and lines that need to be replaced through rockauto. I would get it mechanically sound and then worry about the panels later on. I drove mine without a grille/bumper cap/ and air deflector for a while, and still haven't installed my skid plates. You can find turtorials on youtube and forums or ask on specific questions here, if you cant find on how to do something related to those repairs. It seems you got away easy considering it could have been worse without brakes. Speaking of which finding the cause of failure would be a good start, then make a list of essentials that you need to get her back on the road and go from there.

 

[Doubeleive]

i'd be more interested in said brake failure, unless a line was rusted thru and burst or you had no pads left or the engine sized to grinding halt right beforehand a brake failure is practically impossible, and even with all that the brakes are redundant the proportioning valve would switch off a broken front or rear brake line. so you would still be able to stop as you stated but what was the reason?
all that is easily fixable with new or used parts or aftermarket there are plenty available.

 

[DirefulAtom]

You can find all the parts and lines that need to be replaced through rockauto. I would get it mechanically sound and then worry about the panels later on. I drove mine without a grille/bumper cap/ and air deflector for a while, and still haven't installed my skid plates. You can find turtorials on youtube and forums or ask on specific questions here, if you cant find on how to do something related to those repairs. It seems you got away easy considering it could have been worse without brakes. Speaking of which finding the cause of failure would be a good start, then make a list of essentials that you need to get her back on the road and go from there.

The brake failure was a fault on my part. Back in November I was trying to get my rear passenger tire off as I was changing the pads on both back breaks. Lugnut stripped clean, no way to get the tire off. In December that tire blew when a concrete curb decided to eat a chunk out of my sidewall. Had no car for two weeks and finally had a shop rip off the lugnut, because I didn't have the tools to do it myself, and replace the tire.

At this point I could finally get to the break pads on this tire to replace them, and had the pads to do so since November.

Problem is, I never got around to it. Went from January to April driving with the break pads down to pretty much the metal plate on that side, but pretty much never had the time to get around to replacing it, and I payed dearly for ignoring basic maintenance.

Going 65mph with the sudden need to stop, I stomped the breaks and the only thing the passenger rear wheel gives me is a horrendous scraping noise of metal on metal. The breaks in the other tires couldn't compensate and my ABS started freaking out, and so I couldn't slow down in time to avoid a collision.

All because I couldn't find the time for basic maintenance.

 

[SnowDrifter]

^^Hard lesson there. Ouch. I hope everyone involved is OK.


As to the truck: It's too early to tell at this point. Pull soft cover off the front. Any damage to the frame?

I'd have it towed to an alignment shop if it appears relatively OK. They can pull some measurements from the wheels and from that, determine if the frame is tweaked.

In particular, the measurements to look at that would be:

- Thrust angle, which would indicate a tweaked frame or rear control arm / axle damage
- SAI, which would suggest either control arm damage or a shifted frame in the front end
- Turning angle difference. The inner wheel of a turn needs to angle more than the outer wheel. If that's off, it could indicate damage to one of many things: Center link, pitman arm, steering box, associated mounts, idler arm, idler arm bracker, associated mounts, or the steering knuckle.



Other stuff to check:
- Body mounts. Verify they've not shifted. Admittedly there is a fair bit of forgiveness in these, just make sure nothing is excessively tweaked
- Front diff, axle, t-case, transmission mounts and motor mounts. Force may have been sent up through the driveline. Inspect for damage
- T-case operation - due to above. Do you have selectable 4wd, or full time 4wd? If selectable, and the t-case was placed in neutral during the tow - no problem. If the trans was in neutral during the tow and/or you have full time 4wd - problem.
- Front CV axles. Make sure they're not bent.
- 4wd actuator on the front diff
- General front end wiring. Trace all wires in / around the area and make sure nothing was busted

That's all I got for ya besides giving everything in general a once over. Radiator support, headlight brackets, fender liners, etc etc. Check all the stuff out prior to making a decision, as bent/broken items here add up in the repair bill

 

[DirefulAtom]

^^Hard lesson there. Ouch. I hope everyone involved is OK.


As to the truck: It's too early to tell at this point. Pull soft cover off the front. Any damage to the frame?

I'd have it towed to an alignment shop if it appears relatively OK. They can pull some measurements from the wheels and from that, determine if the frame is tweaked.

In particular, the measurements to look at that would be:

- Thrust angle, which would indicate a tweaked frame or rear control arm / axle damage
- SAI, which would suggest either control arm damage or a shifted frame in the front end
- Turning angle difference. The inner wheel of a turn needs to angle more than the outer wheel. If that's off, it could indicate damage to one of many things: Center link, pitman arm, steering box, associated mounts, idler arm, idler arm bracker, associated mounts, or the steering knuckle.



Other stuff to check:
- Body mounts. Verify they've not shifted. Admittedly there is a fair bit of forgiveness in these, just make sure nothing is excessively tweaked
- Front diff, axle, t-case, transmission mounts and motor mounts. Force may have been sent up through the driveline. Inspect for damage
- T-case operation - due to above. Do you have selectable 4wd, or full time 4wd? If selectable, and the t-case was placed in neutral during the tow - no problem. If the trans was in neutral during the tow and/or you have full time 4wd - problem.
- Front CV axles. Make sure they're not bent.
- 4wd actuator on the front diff
- General front end wiring. Trace all wires in / around the area and make sure nothing was busted

That's all I got for ya besides giving everything in general a once over. Radiator support, headlight brackets, fender liners, etc etc. Check all the stuff out prior to making a decision, as bent/broken items here add up in the repair bill

I don't think crunching a moped would damage the frame, but that's just me and I'll still have to get around to getting that checked. I'll have to have my alignment redone at the very least.

I have selectable 4WD, but it was towed while in park on a trailer.
(Why would towing it in the other manners you described be a bad idea?)

I have had wiring issues from time to time before the accident. One time I had it where for some reason all of the warnings on my dash start going off simultaneously while the head unit (Factory GM 2005 Navigation Stereo) and my all my accessory controls (HVAC and window controls for example) all shut off while I was driving down the highway.
Any help with that?

And the biggest problem I'm worried about. After the accident, with my busted transmission oil cooler I tried getting at least a few miles further down the road to get off the highway and into a parking lot, and in the process I was having to rev my engine up to 4 to 5 thousand RPM's just to go about 20 to 35 mph.

By the time I came to a good place to stop and get towed, a burnt smell emanated from my car. I'm worried I might have burned out my torque converter with the lack of fluid, maybe even possibly damaged my transmission (Its got +210,000 miles on it), but I won't know for sure until I can put a solid line through where the transmission oil cooler was to get fluid back in the system and test it.

What are your guys' thoughts?

 

[SnowDrifter]

Towed in park implies it was towed w/ the transfer case in neutral. All good there. Trying to put the trans in neutral to tow it will shred the internal of the trans. It has no provisions for lubrication with the engine off.

5k at 20mph w/ a burnt smell? Trans is hosed. Burnt the clutches. It didn't have enough hydraulic pressure to maintain application force on the clutches/bands. In addition to the clutches, running sans oil is hell on the gearset, bearings, and oil pump. Factor in full rebuild or replacement into the cost of repair. If it works. And that's IF, it won't last long.

There's a case to be made for the trans is you intend to go through insurance as it was damaged as a result of the collision. Document whatever you need to prove it.

Edit: Looks like it's not common for insurance to cover damages associated with driving a vehicle post collision. BUT like I mentioned, there's a case to be made for safe evacuation from a highway. YMMV?

 

[DirefulAtom]

Towed in park implies it was towed w/ the transfer case in neutral. All good there. Trying to put the trans in neutral to tow it will shred the internal of the trans. It has no provisions for lubrication with the engine off.

5k at 20mph w/ a burnt smell? Trans is hosed. Burnt the clutches. It didn't have enough hydraulic pressure to maintain application force on the clutches/bands. In addition to the clutches, running sans oil is hell on the gearset, bearings, and oil pump. Factor in full rebuild or replacement into the cost of repair. If it works. And that's IF, it won't last long.

There's a case to be made for the trans is you intend to go through insurance as it was damaged as a result of the collision. Document whatever you need to prove it.

Can't get my car fixed through insurance because I only had liability sadly.

Are you saying that if the transmission still works at the moment that it won't last long, or that it wouldn't last long even after a rebuild?

Would anything else be damaged besides my transmission with the lack of fluid?

And lastly.... what do you mean by sans oil and YMMV?

 

[SnowDrifter]

If it works this moment, it won't last long.

How long it lasts after the rebuild largely depends on how careful you/the builder is, quality of parts, etc.

nah, pretty exclusive to trans. I'd say don't reuse trans cooler when replacing the transmission but I feel as though it won't be an issue

Sans oil - Sans, meaning without. No oil in the trans. One of my snowisms I guess

YMMV - your mileage may vary. It means that there's no real guarantee or expectation of what the results are, so try it and see how far ya get

 

[DirefulAtom]

If it works this moment, it won't last long.

How long it lasts after the rebuild largely depends on how careful you/the builder is, quality of parts, etc.

nah, pretty exclusive to trans. I'd say don't reuse trans cooler when replacing the transmission but I feel as though it won't be an issue

Sans oil - Sans, meaning without. No oil in the trans. One of my snowisms I guess

YMMV - your mileage may vary. It means that there's no real guarantee or expectation of what the results are, so try it and see how far ya get

I kinda can't reuse the transmissipn cooler because it's shot. It was literally spitting out fluid through my cracked grille. So it's expected that I have to replace that.

And would you include the torque converter when you're talking about the transmission?

 

[SnowDrifter]

Yes

You don't necessarily need to do trans lines. But make damn sure they're blown out. Radiator too due to passthrough. But that's on you list of parts as is

 

[DirefulAtom]

Yes

You don't necessarily need to do trans lines. But make damn sure they're blown out. Radiator too due to passthrough. But that's on you list of parts as is

You mean clean out the lines lhat carried transmission fluid?

*I'm not a mechanic. Sorry in advance.

 

[SnowDrifter]

You mean clean out the lines lhat carried transmission fluid?

*I'm not a mechanic. Sorry in advance.

Yeah. They come off the transmission, go into the radiator, out of the radiator, into the trans cooler, out of the transcooler, then back to the transmission

 

[DirefulAtom]

Yeah. They come off the transmission, go into the radiator, out of the radiator, into the trans cooler, out of the transcooler, then back to the transmission

I only see the two lines coming in and out of where I pulled the transmission oil cooler. Haven't pulled the radiator yet.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I only see the two lines coming in and out of where I pulled the transmission oil cooler. Haven't pulled the radiator yet.

You'll see it - they go into the radiator on the passenger side. There are 3 lines in total; trans to rad, rad to cooler, cooler to trans

 

[Big Mama]

The trans cooler loosing flow and high revs isn’t usually a good combination but it also may have been locked up brakes. Check your rotors for heat damage. You were most likely in 2WD so hopefully the tcase is ok.