Broadsword.com - Jeep TJ Photojournal

Jeep TJ Photojournal - Accident and Repairs

Mods, etc.
Hollister Hills September 2001
Oregon Road Trip Thanksgiving Weekend, 2001
TJ Photojournal Home- All other images
The (Minor) Accident and Repairs (this page)
Henness Pass Road Trip! August 2002
Weekend Wheelin' September 2002
Front Speaker Upgrade
Hollister Hills II March 2003
Old Coast Road November 2005
GBES Navigational Rally in Nevada June 2006
Morning Mountain Run July 4, 2006
New mods! Roof rack, lights, etc. Independence Day Weekend, 2006
Santa Cruz Mountain Family Drive August, 2006
Brief visit to Frank Raines OHV October, 2006
Carnegie OHV November, 2006
Hollister Hills III and San Juan Bautista December, 2006
Oregon Holiday Road Trip December, 2006
Clear Creek and New Idria ghost town January, 2007
Tassajara Road February, 2007

Near the end of May 2002 we were on our way to work as usual when a guy in a 2000 Silverado did his best impression of an Anti-Jeep missile on us. He was running late, having a bad morning, etc. and so shot out of a gas station to cross 2 oncoming lanes, a double-yellow line, a turn lane, and finally into our lane right in front of us - all without bothering to look in our direction first! We were going about 35mph and then I hit the brakes but it was way too late, I just wasn't able to avoid this totally unexpected and inexplicable move. My front-left smacked his front-right and the aftermath is shown below.

The guy was very apologetic, admitted it was his fault, etc. Fortunately, there were no injuries other than a minor headache I had that evening, and a few aspirin took care of that. There are more details to the story but the short version is that my Jeep was in the shop nearly a month, mostly sitting there waiting for the adjuster, or for parts to arrive. The rest of the details are below. I (finally) have the Jeep back and if you're seeing this page then all of the insurance reimbursments, etc. have gone through.

47084b Initially, I thought that this was the extent of my damage, along with a very faint bumper ding. I was very, very surprised. The turn lense had multiple cracks (the bulbs still worked) and the fender was seriously scuffed up but it wasn't cracked or broken.
silverado2 Meanwhile, here's the culprit. This wasn't exactly a small or light truck!
silverado1 Here's his damage - bad but could have been much worse. I don't know what other damage, if any, he may have had that wasn't obvious here.
47084g OK, so we exchange info and we're on our way - or maybe not. As I turned to drive off I felt the wheel rub and thought "Uh-oh, never done that before." So I got out and found this unpleasant sight. You can see where the tire was rubbing the arm, and check out that axle bracket!
47084a Here's that bracket from the front. Doh!
47084c Here's the other side, also mushed-over but not so mangled.
47084f Then I notice that when I start to drive straight, the steering wheel looks like this! Time to limp the few blocks home and call for a rental car, after I call the insurance company...
47084e So it looks like my front-left wheel took much of the impact. Large, inflated rubber is a pretty good cushion so that may have helped to minimize the damage. If my tires didn't extend past the fender I'm sure that the fender would have been toast and there would probably have been body damage to go with it. Anyway, this is a shot from the front, showing how far the driver's side tire sticks out from the fender *after* the collision.
47084d And here's the passenger side. A big difference, eh? So now I realize that my axle is maybe an inch or more to the right of where it was. *sigh* My poor Jeep...
47131b Aftermath: New axle brackets welded on. Rather than replace the whole axle case, we decided to go with fab'd replacement brackets that were better than the originals. These are 1/4" thick steel, with essentially a built-in skidplate. Not pretty, but I like these a lot. This was also less expensive so it saved the other guy's insurance company a lot of money at the same time.
47131c Better shot of one of the new brackets. They also have much more area attached to the axle. These should be really tough.
47131a The new, heavy-duty tie rod. You gotta like it when the shop owner (Jeff) says to just go ahead and bash it into rocks, it can take it. :)

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Last Modified January 24 2014

47084b	Initially, I thought that this was the extent of my damage, along with a very faint bumper ding. I was very, very surprised. The turn lense had multiple cracks (the bulbs still worked) and the fender was seriously scuffed up but it wasn't cracked or broken.
silverado2	Meanwhile, here's the culprit. This wasn't exactly a small or light truck!
silverado1	Here's his damage - bad but could have been much worse. I don't know what other damage, if any, he may have had that wasn't obvious here.
47084g	OK, so we exchange info and we're on our way - or maybe not. As I turned to drive off I felt the wheel rub and thought "Uh-oh, never done that before." So I got out and found this unpleasant sight. You can see where the tire was rubbing the arm, and check out that axle bracket!
47084a	Here's that bracket from the front. Doh!
47084c	Here's the other side, also mushed-over but not so mangled.
47084f	Then I notice that when I start to drive straight, the steering wheel looks like this! Time to limp the few blocks home and call for a rental car, after I call the insurance company...
47084e	So it looks like my front-left wheel took much of the impact. Large, inflated rubber is a pretty good cushion so that may have helped to minimize the damage. If my tires didn't extend past the fender I'm sure that the fender would have been toast and there would probably have been body damage to go with it. Anyway, this is a shot from the front, showing how far the driver's side tire sticks out from the fender after the collision.
47084d	And here's the passenger side. A big difference, eh? So now I realize that my axle is maybe an inch or more to the right of where it was. sigh My poor Jeep...
47131b	Aftermath: New axle brackets welded on. Rather than replace the whole axle case, we decided to go with fab'd replacement brackets that were better than the originals. These are 1/4" thick steel, with essentially a built-in skidplate. Not pretty, but I like these a lot. This was also less expensive so it saved the other guy's insurance company a lot of money at the same time.
47131c	Better shot of one of the new brackets. They also have much more area attached to the axle. These should be really tough.
47131a	The new, heavy-duty tie rod. You gotta like it when the shop owner (Jeff) says to just go ahead and bash it into rocks, it can take it. :)