KK went AIRBORNE!! Repair advice?

DeltaForceB85 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:44 am **Posts:** 13

So I'm minding my own business driving to work and some numbnuts with a death wish pulled out in front of me. I hit the brakes and quickly realized I was not going to stop in time, so instead I floored it and took the jeep off road, I hit the curb, went up a hump and was airborne for over 50 feet!

I didn't sustain much obvious damage but I'm taking it to the dealership on Monday and I was hoping you guys could give me an exhaustive list of things for them to check out.

Here's some pictures so you can get a general idea of what happened.

The guy on the right is one of our agency's accident investigators. He's standing about 10 feet in front of where I went airborne. When I landed my skid plates dug a hole.

This is the view from where I took off to where I landed.

This is where I finally came to a stop.

Damage:

Clipped a pole with my mirror. Popped the glass right back on.

Flat tire, busted on the curb.

Picked up a bunch of mud and grass:

We took the skid plates off and cleaned everything we could.

Plastic bracket popped loose.

All the mud and grass we pulled off.

Popped a spare on, took it to the shop next door, jacked it up, knocked all the dirt out from under it and drove to work.

The skid plates were shoved back about an inch and a half from the impact.

So... Lets start on the list.

I figure shocks, arms, frame stress, alignment of body panels, rims...

Any other ideas?

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:01 am

I'd make sure nothing is bent and everything is straight. Check the body itself to see if anything is twisted. Looks for cracks anywhere from stress. After that make sure it drives straight I guess. Others will probably chime in on others.

DeltaForceB85 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:44 am **Posts:** 13

LOL! I already did all that. Guess I need to rephrase the question.

Has any body experienced failure with parts on a jeep (preferably a KK) due to high impact? If so, what were they?

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 5:00 am

Well now you're just getting picky :jester:

I can't really help my KK hasn't really seen any sort of impact knock on wood.

DeltaForceB85 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:44 am **Posts:** 13

Aww c'mon I figured at least some of you guys would have roughed ur jeeps up on the trails a little bit.

wingnuts · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:30 am

I would say you are darn lucky, one photo looks like you could have made a bad call with that poke there. I'd get it on a frame rack and have a collision shop look at it.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:39 am

X2 on the collision shop. :dizzy:

In the meantime you can see if it doesn't drive straight or if the steering wheel is off center. Someone plowed into my rear axle last year, and although there wasn't a lot of damage visible at the time of the accident, the brackets holding the axle to the control arms were bent and it was an expensive fix. In your case I would suspect something with the front suspension could be messed up. Be sure to get the suspension and frame checked out by a careful body shop.

Glad everyone is ok! BTW, you have the same color and year as my Jeep.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:42 am

Holly crap batman, that was a long flight!
Good thing the ground was wet, it absorbed a lot if the impact stress.
I would be concerned with the skids moving back by 1-1/2". Anything the skids were mounted to could be damaged/ severely stressed.
In Pic 8 it looks like you busted the upper "A" arm.
Check rear axle to see if it is bent, frame for a bow... Hard to say for sure because of everything involved.
Suspension, frame, body, drive lines, steering, trany/transfer case, etc.
My biggest concern would be the frame. If it is bowed you may be looking at a new rig. Even if they straighten it, it will never be as strong.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 5:31 pm

HOLY COW! I didn't know KK's could fly!

Please keep us posted on the results

Ted15 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:02 am

Definatly have a good collision shop check it. By the way, did you fill out the flight log properly? :ROTFL:

Glad nobody was hurt. If the uniframe was bent, it'll never drive right. t. There are probably crumple zones built into these things but I don't know that for sure but a lot of vehicles have them.
I had a friend who straightened frames at is shop years ago who told me a quick way to see if your frame is bent. On a large flat surface, like a concrete driveway, wet part of it. Drive through the water going another two car lengths or so with the steering wheel straight. Stop and back up without moving the steering wheel, going over your tracks (hopefully). If the vehicle doesn't follow in the same tracks then the frame, unibody is most likely damaged.
The chances of your KK having serious damage is kinda high given that your skids moved, they're bolted to the uniframe. Good luck, hopefully there's nothing serious going on there.

heiliges · **Joined:** Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:57 am **Posts:** 35

I have hit bumps before and gone airborne, for about a foot. I dont think I have ever seen something like this before. Hate to say it but I have a feeling there is more wrong with that Jeep than you want to know.

DeltaForceB85 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:44 am **Posts:** 13

Well, step one begins, I brought her to Satans lair today (the dealership). Hopefully they don't screw anything up.

DeltaForceB85 · **Joined:** Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:44 am **Posts:** 13

Here's an update, a little overdue but I can't check this forum as regularly as I do Jeep Forum because it doesn't have the nice App Store app. :-(

I know it's on the $2.99 forum app but I find that one cumbersome and my purchase didn't save when I got my new phone so I said screw it.

At any rate the dealer identified a broken shock, and a misalignment of the cradle. They are putting it back together today and test driving it to see if anything else surfaces. If nothing else does then ill have to take it to the body shop and get them to replace the broken clamps on the inside of the bumper and fender and ill be back on the road in no time. The other insurance company is currently facing a lawsuit because they don't want to pay up because "the driver won't answer the phone." But my insurance is taking care of me.

Edit: They say its good. Now to bring it in to the body shop.

KK went AIRBORNE!! Repair advice?

Who is online