B&A - accident damage repaired...and then some ;)

[tbomb]

i got my truck back on friday afternoon, but i didnt have internet access all weekend at my moms house. the shop did an EXCELLENT job on it. you cant even tell at all that it was in an acceident (and i have an eye for extreme detail, so i was looking for everything.) heres everything that was done to it:

1) non-accident related: new front windshield since mine had so many little chips in it, i got it done just cuz it was good timing, while the X was in the shop (and they got me a good deal on it - next to nothing!)

2) fixed all the accident damage in the rear. to sum up:
-new rear hatch door
-new rear bumper
-new rear passenger side tail light
-plus all the other crap to mount and paint all that stuff.
-new exhaust system
-painted that black plastic piece above the rear license plate white to match the truck (looks amazing.)
-new rear passenger side fender flare

3) had my brakes bled, since my pedal was a little mushy, and had to get new inspection stickers for my new windshield - that total came to ~$40 and they didnt charge me for that either.

the new door sits perfect and shuts perfect. the only complaint that i have is that theres about a 2"x3" area on the new rear passenger side fender flare that has some overspray on it. the flare is grey and theres a little bit of white overspray on it, but im sure itll come off with a clay bar, but i have to wait like 30 days or whatever it is till i can mess with it (its hardly noticeable - you can tell that a little bit of overspray kinda found its way under an area of masking paper.)

also this weekend, i spent the entire weekend completely detailing the interior, and washing the exterior, cleaned my kkm, installed a new IAC valve, and did an oil change. i also tried to make the cover for my q-logic stealth box fit, but that was a failure, and i found a rattle in the trunk that has been annoying me for months. i discovered that, since i dropped the front of my truck to fix the rear end sag, that im getting a tiny bit of tire rub, but ill fix it the next time i go home with a dremel - nothing major. i also spent a good amount of time making a new "gasket" for my superchip, which will be re-installed next weekend (anyone with a superchip that makes the ecu stick out about 1/4" knows what im talking about. i just got back to my apartment, so im hoping to have pics up in a few hours.

heres the link to the pics of accident damage:
http://dangagga.no-ip.org:8080/tbomb/other/accident/

id also like to take the time to thank everyone (especially stephen) who posted on my other thread entitled, "my X is smashed - i give up playing with vehicles" or something like that. all the support i got really helped me get through this, and im right back to sinking money into the X

 

[Howard]

Glad to hear that everthing is ok and welcome back

 

[tbomb]

heres the "after" pics:

http://dangagga.no-ip.org:8080/tbomb/other/accident/Repairs/

heres something i noticed while i was outside, the new emblem he put on the back door is a different shade of blue than the one on my grill - check out the last 2 pics. i really dont care, since i wanna get white emblems anyway

 

[jssong]

nice.. they did a good job.. glad to see everything is in good order.. and hope the overspray comes off

 

[JDraper]

Glad to see ya got it fixed. Now you just have to take it out wheeling and get some custom trail stripes for it . Then you'll have a REAL Explorer!

 

[TarHeel085]

whats the deal with the exhaust tip? but it all looks good! i like the gate thing cause thats what i did to mine also. what was the rattle in your trunk area? because i have one back there also i was wonderin if it was the same thing.

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by TarHeel085
whats the deal with the exhaust tip? but it all looks good! i like the gate thing cause thats what i did to mine also. what was the rattle in your trunk area? because i have one back there also i was wonderin if it was the same thing.

the exhaust looks as queer as a 3 dollar bill, doesnt it? heh. thats just the way that meineke bent the pipes - theres no tip on there, but there will be soon, so i can hide the hideousness of the pipe there.

the rattle in my trunk was this - ya know the panel that comes off in the trunk, on the driver's side, where the "lug wrench" is? that panel doesnt sit too tight in there, so i need to get some weatherstripping to put in the gap between the panel that comes off and the rest of the interior panel. theres some little pieces of felt tape already in there, but theyre not really doing a great job.

 

[TarHeel085]

yeah i have felt pads on mine too ill have to try the weatherstripping thanks!

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by tbomb
im right back to sinking money into the X

And you're thanking everyone for this??

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by TarHeel085
whats the deal with the exhaust tip? but it all looks good! i like the gate thing cause thats what i did to mine also. what was the rattle in your trunk area? because i have one back there also i was wonderin if it was the same thing.

Mine used to have a rattle in the back. It was the jack. You are supposed to tighten it against the sheetmetal stop, but in a few weeks mine would work its way down and then it would rattle over every small bump in the road.

I fixed the rattle by stuffing a large sponge between the top of the jack and the stop. No more problem and if I ever need an emergency sponge I know where I can find one.

 

[X24]

Looks good Jason. I'm getting that black piece painted to match on mine when it goes into the shop to fix a nasty dent. Glad everything came out good.

 

[diablo5969]

I was following your other thread, and this looks like it came out a lot better than you were originally anticipating!

Congrats!

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by diablo5969
I was following your other thread, and this looks like it came out a lot better than you were originally anticipating!

Congrats!

yeah, except i think i just found out that the exhaust place that the body shop used to put a stock system back on f*cked up royally. i didnt get under the truck yet and look at all the pipes, but instead of using a dual inlet single outlet muffler, they used a single inlet, single outlet with a y-pipe in front of it, and they used a 2" tailpipe (i didnt measure the rest of the pipes yet), and someone just told me that it should be a 2.25" tailpipe, at least - so im assuming that other stuff is incorrect also, which could explain why my truck feels slightly "off" to me.

and, oh yeah, they welded everything except the muffler - its clamped at the inlet and the outlet.

 

[diablo5969]

Dammit! I jinxed you

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by diablo5969
Dammit! I jinxed you

thanks a lot!

oh well. what should i do now? if i call the place that did it (a meineke that ive never gone to before), theyll probably tell me to go get bent. so i could go to the meineke that i always go to (theyre great) and get a stock system put on correctly, which ill have to pay for, or a possible catback system (if i can work something out), or i can leave it alone.

 

[01EB5.0]

have them add a dual inlet/duel outlet and run 2 2"pipes all the way back side-by-side. It's what I plan to do once i have the money. Thatway your truck can breath

 

[diablo5969]

I would be shocked if Mieneke doesn't have some sort of waranty that you could bring it to a different place than the one you got it done, or something like that

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by diablo5969
I would be shocked if Mieneke doesn't have some sort of waranty that you could bring it to a different place than the one you got it done, or something like that

theyre all independently owned and operated. i dont really wanna go back to the same place that put it on - theyve already proved their incompetence to me.

 

[diablo5969]

Actually, now that I think about it, I got screwed over by a Just Brakes like that a couple years ago.

Try writing a letter to the head honcho at Mieneke, and just be like, "Dude! What is this?" And see what he has to say to that

 

[dogfriend]

If they put on an exhaust pipe that is smaller than the original equipment diameter, then I think that you have the right to have them change it (or pay another shop to change it) so that it is a least as large as the original one.

If you want something more custom, then youre probably better off just to have it done at the shop that you have confidence in. Good excuse to sink some more money in.