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Joey
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
18:33:44

Subject: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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ok heres the story, im 21 so yes im a young guy not the most expericend driver in the world but anyways, i was goin out a few nights ago completely sober and i was going slightly too fast in a turn and the rear end began to slide so i corrected it but it was too much so i corrected it again and it was too much back in the other way so i panicked and hit the brakes. (yes i know bad idea) and then wat happened was i slid off the road into the grass for a while and got the truck to slow down but was still going about 20mph or so when i hit a tree trunk that was in the grass and it was a big impact so big that i was completely surprised about not popping a tire. i got out of the truck shooken up... all the body panels were fine, no bent rims. so i drove it to the nearest lit parking lot and it seemed to drive normal but then i got out and noticed that the bed does not line up with the cab. bed is about 1/2 inch higher and 1/3 inch further out on one side while the other side is the opposit where the bed is about 1/2 inch lower and 1/3 inch in more than the cab. so wat i did was drove the back driver side wheel onto a ramp so it was about 6 inches above the ground and then the body panels lined up like normal. however when i put the truck back on level ground it went back to being crooked. you can even tell from the back that the bed is crooked in comparison to the cab. i looked under the entire truck and found no cracks or anything wierd. so wat could be wrong? could i have destroyed the suspension or could i have bent the frame? and if its either of these things would they be repareable and about how much would they cost? thanks for any help.



deaver
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
18:55:32

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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ah fuk man, that royally suks a$$...good luck



blakels
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
19:20:31

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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It is highly likely that you twisted the frame, however, a good frame shop can straighten it easily without really disassembling anything. I am concerned though that there is probably other damage. Frames usually aren't the first point to yield unless it was a mostly vertical impact. Check the frame for areas of rust popping off indicating stress. Particularly near the jounce bumpers.



Joey
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
19:33:24

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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thanks for the info, there really isnt much rust on the frame cause the truck only has 21,000 miles on it but ill look under there again. i didnt notice any broken bolts, cab mounts, or bed mounts. i may just take it to a shop but im hoping it wont be too expensive. so they can bend it back in shape without too much dissasembly?



blakels
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
19:45:09

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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Yeah, they just tie it down to a rack and pull it as necessary. Most shops have measurement points for most vehicles to get it back to specs and square. A minor pull doesn't usually take more than an hour or two. A 4 wheel alignment should be checked after though for correct thrust angle (dog tracking).



Jeff
GenIII
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1/03/2005
19:58:14

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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when you take it to a shop they should give you a written estimate of exactly what needs to be done and exactly how much it will cost you.
getting the estimate itself should be free.

at most shops i've been to the person doing the estimate is very knowledgeable and should be able to tell you if they can reduce the cost by leaving something out. each shop is different though, so get a few estimates, for another comparison ask the local dealer what shop they use.
the shop i trust most is actually dealer-owned. they stole all the best local talent away from other shops - everyone from mgmt to the grunts - and opened their own shop accross the street from the dealership.


Jeff
'99 3.9 clubcab

Joey
Dodge Dakota
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1/03/2005
21:10:17

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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well its good to know that this type of damage is fixable without too much labor. thanks everyone for helpin me out ill go to a shop soon and see wat they can do for me.



RSQ-Ranger
Dodge Dakota
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1/14/2005
22:43:57

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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Actually (from what I have been told- or was it read on the internet- or was it my body shop who is fixing my 2 dents in the far back of the bed from the brushguard of the shmuck that was going to fast with fresh snow and slid into my truck-in a parking lot- causing 600$$ out of his pocket-hehe) that the DAK's have a super tough frame for their size- He said that what is normally a 1.5 hr job takes 3 on DAK's. :)

Maybe you just bent the bed a bit..

Best advice -Get the estimate or two they're free!




mikec041
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2005
09:27:26

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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Make sure you ASK up FRONT if the estimate is free some shops charge for them.



Jerod
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2005
14:08:39

RE: Accident!! MInor or Major??
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I had an incident(head on collision) with my 2000 DAk back in October with a 1998 HondA CRV. $4,000 in damages to my baby and $3,000 to her ugly thing. The insurance took care of all of that. But anyways, when i was installing my new foglights I noticed a long crack in the chassis from the the front bumber that leads back about 6 inches towards the rear of the truck. I asked the Repair shop that fixed my truck if it was serious and they said "no". are They trying to screw with me me? or is everything cool?



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