Originally posted by howards11
:temper:
I was involved in a rear end accident today with my 2000 Forester. A 1993 Pontiac Bonneville rear ended me at about 25-30 MPH.
The Subaru held true to form and was not from all outward appearances too badly damaged. The Pontiac slid under the rear of the Subaru. The damage I can see are a dent in the hatch, the back bumper (really messed up) and the muffler along with a chrome part the fits over the tail pipe. No one was hurt except for my daughter and I being a bit sore and all appears repairable on my end.
My question: Are there any particular areas I should ask the body shop to take a close look at that are under the car and I can't
see ? I'm taking the car to the shop ASAP.
Please keep in mind that the Forester was hit dead on in the rear.
Thanks for your help !
~Howard
You have to carefully inspect the aligment of the entire drivetrain and for signs of impact (scratches, dirt worn off, leaking seals, etc). If the rear subframe has been impacted, it can often push the driveshaft into the back of the transmission or do damage to the U joints and hanger bearing. On some occassions drivetrain problems such as leaks and vibrations show up quite a while after the damage is repaired. So be sure that everything is very carefully checked out, as dealing with an insurance company after a claims settlement for "hidden" damage is usually an effort of futility.
It sounds like the rear end of the monocoque did not take too much of an impact (the bumper took the brunt of it) which is very good. Does the tailgate still open and close properly? If not the rear monocoque may need quite a bit of work. You see the real damage when the bumper comes off. I would have the exhaust system changed from the joint one ahead of the first one ahead of the damage (up to the joint under the driveshaft/transmission in your case?). The exhaust pipe around the rear suspension may have been stressed, even though there is no apparent damage. Before any serious work begins I would put the four wheel alignment gear on and that would tell you if the suspension took a hit (it sounds like it did not though). Since the rear stabilizer is behind the rear suspension, the frame mounts may have been hit, inspect them. Inspect the gas tank, in particular where the filler pipe enters the top of the tank. I have seen many Subaru gas tanks develop a leak on the filler pipe after an accident, even though the damage did not impact the gas tank or filler. The gas tank seems to shift and the filler pipe bends making it very susceptible to rust causing a leak. Gas tank leaks one or two years after an accident have occured to many of my friends Subaru's, while non-accidented Subaru's don't seem to have this problem. I am not sure if the evaporative emmisions system is behind the right rear tire like it is on the Legacy/Outback. I would change the whole evaporative emmisions canister and associated hardware for safety reasons.
When any body panel is repair it will become VERY susceptable to corrosion on the inside. The accident and subsequent repair do a lot of damage to the galvanizing and factory rust proofing. I recommend yearly treatments of RustCheck/Ziebart or other rust proofing agents if the car is exposed to road salt or in a salt air environment (100 miles of an ocean). Most body shops will treat the inside of any panel with a thick coat of rust preventive spray after the paint is dry, ask about this....
Subaru's that take front end damage are usually much harder to repair as the engine is so close to the front bumper. Even a somewhat minor accident can break the timing belt mechanism and do in the engine.
