Illuminator

To cut to the chase:

I wrecked my car a few weeks ago and had it in a shop. Didn't have them do any repairs on it, but then towed the car to sit in front of my parents house. I was originally intending to just sell it, but yesterday I needed to come hangout at my parents house for a bit and figured I'd see what I could do with my car. I started tearing down the front end, until I came to this. I think I can fix this car, bodily and mechanically. It looks likes for the wheel I need control arms and an axle. The car was sliding and hit another car. The front passenger side of my car is what hit the other car and my car was probably sliding at maybe 40mph or so. My question is this: Did I bend the unibody? How can I tell? If I did, it's obviously not worth fixing. But is there any way to tell? Some bits on my frontend are bent, but it looks like nothing too bad and that I could just bend them back into shape (sort-of) with some hammering and bolt on some new front end parts.

So, is it worth it to fix this car? Or should I go back to car hunting?

Thanks.

Illuminator

A bit of what I did to the suspension.

manahoonie

um. well, you're missing the axle boot where it connects to the hub. at least the majority of it.

is the rest just body damage? just need to replace the fender panels and such?

Illuminator

Right, well the axle is going to need to be replaced. But I'm less concerned with that, I know I can fix all that. My main concern is the fact that the unibody could be bent. The rest WAS body damage, before I took off the fenders and such, but I'm just worried that the bits that are bent that you can see in the pictures (in the engine bay, near the headlights) are a symptom of a greater problem (ie, bent unibody and not worth fixing).

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

only way to really find out is on a frame machine.

Illuminator

Is there was any real unibody bending, but it were fore of the wheel, would it really matter? I'm assuming it probably wouldn't really affect driveability in anyway. I ask because I have two options: Fix this car, which will probably cost me less than $1000 or buy a new car, which will, of course, cost more. I just don't want to begin fixing this car only to find out that it's not going to work and I end-up spending my money for nothing.

wallydude03

I think there is a way to check if your frame is crooked by comparing the measurements between the shocks and the front radiator support. measure the distance between the right shock and the left corner of the radiator support. Then measure the distance between the left shock and the right corner of the radiator support. Compare these distances. If they are the same then your car is straight. If they are not then the car has frame damage. Thats how me and my dad use to do it.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

chances are nothing happened, and it will drive fine, but you may end up with tires wearing out much faster than normal.

Illuminator

I suppose I'll fix it in any case and if the tires do wear out at a quicker rate, then I'll sell the car.

Thanks for the help. And thanks for the suggestion, wallydude. I'll give that a try when I get back to my parents house at some point. And just for confirmation, the radiator support is the long cross bar where the radiator bracket is connected to, right?

wallydude03

The white measurement must equal the yellow measurement. When me and my dad were taking my van to get the frame straightened out, the guy who was doing it showed how much he straighten out the frame using this kind of measuring technique. He was off 1/8 inch which is still pretty good.

mrplow123456

Is that two different strut bars? The neuspeed one looks like the one I have in my 6th gen. and what's with the white and yellow black out at the back end of the engine bay? I felt like I was looking over classified docs lol.

Illuminator

Thanks for the visual, wallydude. Help's quite a bit.

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

check your trans also the cases have a tendency to crack or break in an accident especially if you have done any damage to the axle

Illuminator

Where's the most typical place they crack at that I should look for? I'm not going to be able to get the car up on jackstands for a few days, but I'll definitely check when I get there

Illuminator

Oh by the way, when you say the case has a tendency to crack, are you referring to both types of tranny or just one particular type? Are automatics more prone to break than a manual? My EX is a 5-speed

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

check by where the axle goes in and look to see if you are leaking any fluid. and I am referring to the manual trans but the automatics break too

Illuminator

Well, things aren't looking too good, unfortunately. I checked out the tranny and it looks okay. I wasn't able to get under the car, but feeling around, I didn't feel any cracks or breaks, didn't get any fluid on my hands and couldn't smell any fluid. Looking down from the top looks okay too.

Unfortunately, measuring from the strut towers to the radiator support, it looks like the passenger side to the drivers side measures 42.5" and the drivers side to the passenger side measures 40", which would seem to be consistent with how the car was hit. The unibody, I would imagine, would probably be about $1000 in itself just to fix that damage and then adding in the cost of the other parts to do the car myself, I think I'm looking at about $1600-$1800 in repairs. I only paid $1800 for the car.

It's a damn shame too. My first Honda, after owning three Fords. The Honda, though I only owned it for three months, was the best damn car I ever had. I have a possible '96 Accord lined up though, at least. Gas mileage isn't as good, of course, but it's a nice car too. I'd love to find a Civic Hatchback for the combo of great gas mileage and ease of parking (I live in downtown Denver. So many times I've had a spot where my sedan was just a little bit too big to get into, where a hatch would fit perfectly). Problem is, it seems to be hard to find a hatchback that's been unmolested.

Thanks for the help you guys, it's much appreciated.