Air Con Fins in contact with Radiator after crash. Danger posed?

Sinblesser · 2 Weeks Ago

Hi,

Very depressed and upset to begin my first post this way.
I hit a huge dog this morning.

My civic is stock. It's 01 according to the paper work.

Well, poor dog jumped out from behind a roadside bush as i was going 90km/h. Never saw it coming. Braked and dog managed to leap across to driver side of the car before contact. RHD over here in Thailand.

Now my air-con cooling panel is bent inwards and resting on the radiator. Honda mech ascertained that both are not leaking. Bumper's a goner. I folded the dangling right part and tucked it into the good left part so that i can drive to the workshop.

Do i have to replace my radiator and air-con panel? This is my first civic/car and I've had it for a grand total of 19 days. Please pardon my ignorant posting.

Left View

Right View

Radiator and Air-Con Panel

Dog survived. It ran away after collision. Contacted the thai equivalent of SPCA and they said they'll scout the area out.

Brgds,
Sinblesser

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vr4girl · 2 Weeks Ago

Is the radiator bent like that? Just because they aren't leaking now, doesn't mean they won't in the future. If it's bent like that, I would replace both of them. I would honestly replace the "Air Con" panel regardless.. It sucks that this happened! But just for the sake of your engine, I would replace them. I'll ask the boyfriend when he wakes up in a few hours, and see what he says. [He's a mechanic at ford] Just to make sure though.

Sinblesser · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by vr4girl

Is the radiator bent like that? Just because they aren't leaking now, doesn't mean they won't in the future. If it's bent like that, I would replace both of them. I would honestly replace the "Air Con" panel regardless.. It sucks that this happened! But just for the sake of your engine, I would replace them. I'll ask the boyfriend when he wakes up in a few hours, and see what he says. [He's a mechanic at ford] Just to make sure though.

Hi there,

Thanks for the prompt reply. Additional information for you.

Rust colored stains on the radiator is not due to leakage but rather spillage when the Honda mech popped the radiator cap while it's still hot.
He scalded himself a little.

Number plate was flung to opposing road shoulder and a couple of brackets are bent as well. I think i lost my right horn wire when i drove the 20km back from workshop. Pics were taken at Honda. They called and mentioned 3 days for ordering the bumper. 3-4 days of work.

Aftermarket bumper is half the price and time. They took a little of my broken bumper for color match.

If my insurance doesn't covers this i'll have to wait a bit till i change the radiator and panel.

Thanks again,
Sinblesser

gearbox · 2 Weeks Ago

the radiator is prolly okay if its not dented, but i would replace the condenser for sure, even a used piece from junkyard will be fine. then it just needs a new bumper and paint, should not cost that much and aftermarket is just as good as oem.

Sinblesser · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearbox

the radiator is prolly okay if its not dented, but i would replace the condenser for sure, even a used piece from junkyard will be fine. then it just needs a new bumper and paint, should not cost that much and aftermarket is just as good as oem.

Hi gearbox,

Been reading your posts for a bit, I kinda worship the ground you walk on.

Thank you for your reply, i will be changing both the radiator and air-con condenser. Insurance is paying for Bumper, radiator and condenser. Something about "comprehensive".

Problem is that i have a deposit at one shop just for the bumper and the insurance company is making me go to another.

There is no accessible junkyard within a 500km radius of me.

I do know one thing thou, the car will never be the same again.

Cheers,
Sinblesser

EDIT: Was also wondering why SRS didn't activate? Impact was quite significant and air bags didn't pop. Concerned about safety issues here on.

pjb3 · 2 Weeks Ago

I doubt there is any damage to the radiator but if insurance will replace it that is great. You said the rust stains are from overflow when the radiator cap was removed and they would concern me more than potential damage. It appears the car has had old or weak antifreeze and there is corrosion inside the engine. If the rust gets bad enough it will clog small passages in the engine as well as the heater core and radiator. I would also be concerned with excessive water pump wear since Honda specs no silicate antifreeze to maximize water pump life and rust isn't going to help with that.

gearbox · 2 Weeks Ago

the car will be the same dont worry. that is not alot of damage and if you are replacing everything, i doubt you will have any problem later. SRS only activates in very strong collision, and there are sensors in the bumper that need to be triggered. you are lucky they didnt deploy cause then you would have a mess of powder in the car and another $1500 US in damages or more. they may have even called it a total loss. and yeah make sure they use the honda antifreeze.

Sinblesser · 2 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by gearbox

the car will be the same dont worry. that is not alot of damage and if you are replacing everything, i doubt you will have any problem later. SRS only activates in very strong collision, and there are sensors in the bumper that need to be triggered. you are lucky they didnt deploy cause then you would have a mess of powder in the car and another $1500 US in damages or more. they may have even called it a total loss. and yeah make sure they use the honda antifreeze.

Hi,

It's been horrible.

The aftermarket bumper has been installed. But there is a slight gap under both headlights. Not the biggest of my worries.

I've had the Condenser and Radiator replaced at the expense of the insurance company. Original Honda anti freeze as instructed. And the gas for the condenser was given free.

PROBLEM:

Significant loss of power and MPG after replacing the parts. Car shakes a lot on idle at Neutral and at Drive.

RPM starts to fluctuate slightly once A/C is turned on. When i accelerate it's jerky but still acceptable. Even when cruising at constant speed i can feel and see the RPM fluctuate, it's within an acceptable range but it's annoying.

All symptoms come on only when A/C is on. On idling,
(not too sure when driving) there will be like a "tuck" sound from passenger side and vibration increases. Then the vibration will stop after 10secs (give or take) and the "tuck" sound comes again and it becomes a cycle.

i can feel stronger engine brake. My car is A/T. the whole car just feels more sluggish and heavier(acceleration wise).

Not smooth ride anymore.

Any clue?

Brgds,
Sinblesser

gearbox · 2 Weeks Ago

well it all seems to be a/c related. that "tuck" is the compressor turning on and off which is normal, but i think they messed up something with the install if you have alot of shaking. are the engine mounts torn? esp the front one could be torn from the accident and i bet thats causing the shaking.

pjb3 · 1 Week Ago

You should take the car back to the place that repaired it and let them fix it right. If necessary talk to the insurance company because if they insisted that you use a particular repair facility the insurance company will usually stand behind the repair. Since you used an aftermarket bumper I would not expect them to make it fit correctly since it may not be possible but the rest of the repairs should be covered. Repairs should also damage that was not in the initial estimate. For example, if the motor mount was damaged but not in the estimate it should be included in the repair and paid for by insurance.