fuentemoon Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Heading out to an appointment Monday, on a route I drive regularly, I squished my very loved wagon. Going about 30-35 the cars in front of my suddenly stopped and as hard as I tried I wasn't able to stop in time I rear ended a 95 toyota corolla. Sadly I don't have collision insurance, (they would probably total it anyway) so hoping for some help/advice. Engine never shut off, but at first I wasn't able to pull away from the scene, so I shut it off. About 10 min later the police arrived and suggested I try again. Car started right up and I was able to pull out of the road and into a parking lot. After doing all the info swapping, I decided to try and just drive home again, since I hadn't gone very far. Car felt mostly normal, lots of little crunchy noises and bit falling off of course, but no leaking fluids even after a few days. Crossing my fingers I can make it safe to drive again, pretty isn't as much of a concern. So my first question is, any advice on how to get the hood open or off? Tried the inside release lever, but it won't budge, not surprising. first four are my car, last is the other car Edited March 16, 2016 by fuentemoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Ouch, sorry to see that but glad no one was injured. Good chance mechanically everything is fine. To open the hood maybe get a saws-all/reciprocater saw blade in the crack right where the hood meets the plastic grill and cut the latch mechanism. Good luck with the work. Post your pictures and progress here and if you need parts. Cheers, Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 You need one of these, a strong tree, and some strong rope. happy pulling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe5 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Since your grill trim is torn up, go ahead and rip it the rest of the way off. The hood release mechanism is right behind the subaru badge on your grill trim. Once your in there, the hood can then be opened if you take off a few bolts that hold the latch mechanism to the underside of the hood. Or alternatively, you can detatch the bottom side of the latch mechanism where it mounts in front of the radiator. I've done this when my hood release cable broke. Its quick and easy. No special equipement needed just a 14mm socket (I think its a 14 anyway) Kind of cool to see how the hood took most of the crunch. The front side panel looks decently straight. If your car is running fine, who knows. Maybe all you need is a new hood and some trim on the front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colemanapp Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I've had good luck using Rust's winch and keeping the hood latched while you pull. Use something solid behind the hood latch to attach to. Aim that car at a tree and use the winch, and tree to undo the damage. Basically just a reverse accident is what your looking to create. if you keep the hood connected and latched when you do this, youll most likely be able to open/close that hood normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuentemoon Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 what an awesome idea, even better if it works i knew posting here was a good idea. my husband is off tomorrow, so I will have help to see if we can make something happen. cross your fingers for me, I really love this car, and it is one of the few out there that can haul around 2'x6' panels inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuentemoon Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 of course it is the left side that the crash lean towards, I have a spare right front panel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I'd try to fix it. Get it apart. Probably need a radiator, I'm surprised it did break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 super easy fix - i've done a handful of impacts/pull it out repairs - all with come alongs, winches, or trees. just pull it out. for a first timer just keep trying a couple different pulls/angles/etc - go light and increase how much you're pulling as you get comfortable seeing how it's progressing. the best to have on hand is a come-a-long like picture above or a cable winch. use tow straps/rope/chain wrapped around or 2x4's to help spread the load. the radiator cross members are really weak flimsy metal and easily bend - so they're usually easy to get back into shape. you can usually get it back into "close-enough" shape in less than an hour - like your fender/hood gaps wont' be perfect but everything will otherwise be close, square, and open/close. also - since the crossmembers are weak and flimsy - point loading it in one spot can sometimes bend/kink it right there - spread the load if you can/notice that happening. you can even use a tree/pole and some rope and put the car in reverse for a ghetto/free fix. i would just allocate an hour or two real quick and see how you progress. a lot of times with simple impacts like this you can even pull the hood out to roughly flat just straighten them enough to get close and latch and motor right along while you source a better condition hood. www.car-part.com for parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D3F0 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Wow seeing this thread have convinced me to tub my front end way too much damage to your car and not enough to the corolla. This can be fixed like everyone said use anything you can with tow straps to pull it out straight. If it was me I would pull the engine get in the bay and go crazy with a sledge hammer. Also i would just cut parts of the front off and grab what you can from a donor car. If you cant find a donor car straighten everything as much as possible and weld in plates to keep it all straight and repaint with some cheap paint. i would go right away for a new hood because the gaps on the side and the front of the hood tell you everything about where you car is bent. If you can get it to close with small even body line gaps all around between the hood and the fender and all that you know you have done a good job. Also good luck this can easily be done but you need some tools at least a welder and will to fight metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuentemoon Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 will the headlights from a 93 loyal sedan fit my 87 gl wagon? they look really close, but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 They should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DagdaS Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 This is why I want to put a set of Bull Bars on my poor little 80 DL. I'd have to maul someone if they made me damage it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 The headlight assemblies all physically fit between body styles. But there is a difference in location of the horizontal adjustment screw. Not really a big issue though. One would have to remove the grille piece to access the adjuster is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee2 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 (edited) Looks like the Toyota came out undamaged. I agree with others, locate a donor car because you're going to need some parts. Looks like the radiator and fan are lost and there is a lot of interior framework pieces that will need straightening or replacement. Check all the front end pulleys and cams to make sure they are not bent. Check for damage to water and oil pumps. Also check for damage to battery case, alternator and AC pump. Edited March 18, 2016 by Dee2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuentemoon Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 So we were able to move the car to where there was a tree to use, and pulled it out a fair amount, although not all the way. the fan chewed up the back of the radiator a fair amount, and we figured it should be replaced either way. the next issue is the ac evaporator took the brunt of the squish and is seriously bent. We figure we need to pull it out in order to be able to work on the body as well, but of course I finally had the ac fixed and all charged last summer. so how do we evacuate the system so we can pull out the evaporator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Do you know what the system was recharged with, R12 or R184a? I haven't done a conversion on an AC system yet, so can't tell you what to look for. Do know the schrader valves for filling are different. Also, with the damage to the condenser, it may have vented itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I took a compressor out of a small window a/c, and put 1/4" flare fittings on the input and output lines. I can use it to pump refrigerant out of a system and store it in an empty refrigerant can. It will also pull a vacuum good enough to use for a/c work. I have to monitor it's temperature, limit run time when used as a vacuum pump, but it does the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuentemoon Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 What an idea. It was retro fitted a few years ago, so we did the "bad" thing and just lossened a connection and let it vent out. Now its all apart. Trying to untwist the metal a bit more before getting new parts to put in. Would really like to find a bumper and hood, but no luck yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 For parts of the sheet metal you can get at both sides, a big piece of bar stock held against the side opposite you need to hammer on helps flattening kinks out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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