Little Bitty Accidente......(pics)(UPDATE)

SavageSS27 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:01 am

Well, on my way to my Dad's house this past wed. (27th) I was rear-ended at a stop light while heading up the Berlin Tpke. in East Berlin, CT. Here's the aftermath.

Basically, this road is a 50MPH zone, i'm guessing the guy that hit me was probably doing 55-60 at least before he slammed on the brakes. Unfortunately, not quite soon enough. He swerved to try to get into the left-turn lane to my left, but didn't quite make it there. I don't have any pictures of his truck as of yet, and i may not get any, being as both the trucks are in CT, and i live in NJ. but we'll see, i know the cops took some pictures, maybe i can get some from them. The impact was enough to knock the faceplate out of my stereo and set off his airbag. he apparently smoked the clutch trying to downshift to slow the truck down. His little Ranger is MUCH worse for wear than my KJ. It looks almost like his whole front clip shifted to the driver's side. the coolant bottle popped, his clutch is gone, the passenger's side fender is toast, and the same with the right-front suspension. the hood might be fixable, but i'm guessing the insurance company is just gonna total his truck. As for the KJ, well it's looking like it's gonna need a new bumper, fender, rear-end, taillight, wheel and a couple pther little trim peices. The best thing is that no one got seriously hurt (i don't think). I mean, they hauled him off to the hospital in an ambulance, but he had gotten himself out of his truck, his lip was split, but for the most part i think he's fine. So, my visit to NH was cut short quite a bit by this little mishap, but i did get my skids for x-mas, but, with no truck to put them on, they're kinda useless. The estimate i got from the guy who towed my truck was probably 5-6K worth of damage and about 3 weeks to fix it, needless to say, this is gonna be one HUGE pain in the @$$!!! :evil:

DnA Diesel · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:04 am

Savage, glad you're OK. That sucks, but should be repairable. My biggest concern would be the force transferred from the left rear wheel forwards along the driveline...hopefully nothing messed up there!

Duey

Big D · **Joined:** Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:08 pm **Posts:** 349

Judging by the pictures, has the axel moved forward slightly from the impact?

dirtykj · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:06 am

Man, these KJ's hold up in accidents. I sure don't mind paying a bit more for the gas every time I see these reminders ...

corwyyn · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:09 am

Wow, glad to hear you're OK! Like everyone else I am continually amazed at just how well th Libertys do in accidents.

SavageSS27 wrote:

As for the KJ, well it's looking like it's gonna need a new bumper, fender, rear-end, taillight, wheel and a couple pther little trim peices.

Yeah, looks like the drivers side rear wheel is pushed forward a good three inches or so, so everything holding the rear axle in place will need to be inspected at least if not replaced outright. Wonder how the uni-frame fared?

Take care, hope ya get the KJ back soon!

SavageSS27 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 4:28 am

seems like the uni-frame's in good shape all the doors and such still work, so there shouldn't be any issues. but yeah, i'm most worried about getting a good replacement rear-end, and what happened to everything in front of it. If you look closely, you can see that the tire actually moved forward enough to knock the black trip piece off at the very bottom of the front of the fender well.

OzLtd · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 5:04 am

SavageSS27 wrote:

If you look closely, you can see that the tire actually moved forward enough to knock the black trip piece off at the very bottom of the front of the fender well.

Not only that but the wheel has a rather large buckle in it which isnt good news for the rest of the drivetrain i'm afraid.

hope everything works out for you and the car mate.

chetos · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:24 am

dirtykj wrote:

Man, these KJ's hold up in accidents. I sure don't mind paying a bit more for the gas every time I see these reminders ...

My thoughts exactly. Too many people out there not paying attention. Could you imagine the damage if instead of a KJ it was a little yugo or something similiar??

asgates · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:32 am

that sucks. gald to hear everyone is okay. that is good to know that the libby can take a hit like that and not be totaled. my old subaru would have been toast!

LiLredLibby · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:06 am

Well....That really sucks savage,but first and formost glad there wasnt anyone seriously hurt.Just keep your eye on that insurance company.Might be ok to sign off on the libby repair,but what ever you do dont sign off on your health until you have to.Not for the sake of ripping off insurance,but back and spine injuries have a way of cropping up later. :wink:

smitty1938 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:43 am

I am sorry to see the damage to your KJ. Just glad you were not injuried. Looks like those grabbers are pretty tough to take that kind of impact and not deflate.

Donkeykong · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 12:30 pm

Wow, that's quite a bash. I'm glad you're okay. In the same breath, I'm glad that I now have a libby: I have two kids.

I am glad you are okay, and have a couple of comments about dealing with the insurance:

*Is the vehicle being towed back to a local bodyshop that you know and trust? (I'm pretty sure it's your right to have it fixed somehwere you want as you weren't at fault)

*You might be elligable for trip interruption compensation from the insurance since your trip was cut short.

*You might want to consider an aftermarket rock bumper in leiu of a factory piece because it's probably going to be nearly the same price.

-Mark[/list][/list]

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Man, glad you are okay! Can't believe that tire is still holding air after looking at that rim...

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:04 pm

I cant believe it, everytime I go on a trip, when I get back someones has been hit!

So sorry about this Savage. Hopefully it was the lower control arm that gave way and wasnt the mount on the axle or the uni-frame. Looks like it took the hit fairly well though.

Glad your ok!!

dirtykj · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:43 pm

DEAR LORD I NEARLY GOT HIT TONIGHT!!!

I took my wife's unmodified KJ (although it had the Revos) to work to pick up my cellphone that I had forgotten earlier. I had green and I was going 45mph and someone ran the red light. He was into my lane and I would have hit him had I gone straight. I turned sharply left and sharply right again to avoid oncoming traffic but the right turn pointed me straight at the sidewalk and the Jeep felt like I was going to lose it flipping to the left at that point. I hooked it sharply left again and saved it, but I ended up turned around 180 degrees and I could smell smoke all around.

Took me a couple of seconds to calm down and I reversed and got back to the stoplight where the guy ran his red light but he was long gone.

HOLY JEEZ MMMMPPPHHHHH ... I'm mad as heck. If I had taken my Jeep I probably would have either hit him or rolled.

Some people ...

USPLibby · **Joined:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:29 am **Posts:** 377

Ouch, I think that there is some play in the driveshaft so I hope your trans didn't take a direct hit. Looks like most of the damage is repairable on the fender. My crash cost over 7 grand just for the left front corner, these new cars are expensive to fix. Man, now I have to get a "real" bumper in the back too!

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:52 pm

Since you need a new bumper...........Rock Lizard has a nice hardcore steel bumper just perfect for replacing the stock one. Powdercoat it white to match your KJ. If you need info about doing that instead of having the insurance company paying for a stock one (and adding a small amount from your pocket), talk to AdamisAdam. He got an ARB front bumper after his accident.

SavageSS27 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:28 am

Yeah, i've been thinking about getting some black Cragar steelies to replace the stock wheels and an RL rear bumper as well. But the rest i'll have fixed by a local shop, which includes the tail light, entire rear-end, and probably the control arms, corner-panel, fender flares, paint, etc. Luckily, the body seems to still be square as all the doors still work like they used to. My only point of concern is the quality of the rear-end that the insurance company finds to replace mine. Everything but that will be new, but you never know what you're gonna get in a used rear-end. I've never been much for crap-shoots...

As for my health, i'll be seeing a neurologist ASAP, not that i'm having any problems (although my neck has been a LITTLE sore, but nothing major) but it's always better to be safe than sorry, it's hard to tell if any damage was done, but it doesn't hurt to get it checked out.

Video Guy · **Posted:** Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:30 am

Jeepjeepster wrote:

I cant believe it, everytime I go on a trip, when I get back someones has been hit!

It's an anti-Jeep conspiracy, I tell ya! My county is in on it too. We had a good freeze last night after two days of rain, and the county didn't treat a bridge on a major street. As a result, I slid on the black ice this morning on my way to work. For a second, I envisioned myself hitting the guardrail or worse, going over and into the White River. By the time I realized I was going sideways, I let off the gas, straightened out, and all was right with the world. Still a scary feeling though.

Hang in there, SavageSS27. I'm glad the damage is fixable and you're not seriously injured.

hatteras8926 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:49 am

Savage:

When I looked at your pics, it was almost an identical copy to what my Liberty looked like when I got hit. It seems like instead of a tire carrier on the back, Jeep should have just painted a big bulls-eye on the back of the Liberties. :roll:

It seems like just about everybody on here has been rear-ended.

James

Little Bitty Accidente......(pics)(UPDATE)

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