Truck got wrecked

ratdude747 · Jan 13, 2017

My wife had some bad luck today:

Ouch... My wife is OK at least (Praise the Lord!)

I haven't seen it in person (it's moored up at my parents' house an hour away), but from the pics I'm not sure if it's salvageable or not. On one hand, the bumper looks to have mostly survived, limiting damage to the clip and fender area. On the other hand, the engine bay frame looks like it may have crumpled and I do see a cab mount washer on the ground in the second picture. Here's the condition it was in before the wreck (I happen to have a picture on file, go figure):

The air bag did deploy, although the last time I wrecked it did and all I had to do was repair a sensor bracket and get a new bag for $20 at pull a part. Yay primitive air bag controllers...

If it's mostly bolt on stuff, I'll fix it up (as you can see, most of the damage was to already replaced crap that I was going to replace again eventually). However, if not, I may be looking for another similar long bed ranger to move parts/upgrades to...

I drenched myself in cold rainwater doing a starter swap in a walmart lot only for this to happen the next day... :annoyed:

Not to mention my wife's car is likely a goner (rusty Tempo with a likely dead tranny). My luck sucks with vehicles it seems.

alwaysFlOoReD · Jan 13, 2017

Ouch, that hurts.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Mark_88 · Jan 13, 2017

Looks fixable...good to hear your wife was not hurt... :icon_thumby:

I've been through similar experiences with vehicles so it's not just you...

Also had a Tempo rust out on me after only 14 years of being tormented by salt wounds and nasty chemicals...and over 400,000 kms...still ran like a top though...

The floor pans can be replaced on them...as long as the structure is not compromised...but it might cost more than it's worth if the transmission is shot...I blew the clutch on my 89 Tempo (loved that car) and that was the deciding factor because I was struggling to put my Ranger on the road at the same time...

ratdude747 · Jan 13, 2017

Mark_88 said:
Looks fixable...good to hear your wife was not hurt...

I've been through similar experiences with vehicles so it's not just you... Also had a Tempo rust out on me after only 14 years of being tormented by salt wounds and nasty chemicals...and over 400,000 kms...still ran like a top though...

The floor pans can be replaced on them...as long as the structure is not compromised...but it might cost more than it's worth if the transmission is shot...I blew the clutch on my 89 Tempo (loved that car) and that was the deciding factor because I was struggling to put my Ranger on the road at the same time...

Talking with my best friend (who owned said tempo for 7 years), he thinks it might be a neutral safety switch issue. If it is, I'll fix it.

The truck will wait until tomorrow as I'm too busy today. Work has been very busy today...

ratdude747 · Jan 14, 2017

She's toast. Major cab damage, engine was hit (accesories all over the place).

Looking for another 1995+ long bed one to move my parts over to... not many out there it seems, most of the ones are 4 bangers with sticks (wife can't drive stick, I probably could but never have actually done it in person).

I did see this https://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/5942203190.html

if I get a reply, I'll take a look.

Blown · Jan 14, 2017

Ouch man

Good luck with a replacement!

ratdude747 · Jan 14, 2017

https://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/5920613654.html

May take a trip tomorrow afternoon to look.

Are the 99 era four bangers any good? Or are they gutless? I do know they get better gas mileage...

Mark_88 · Jan 14, 2017

The 2.5 is better than the 2.3 with a bit more bottom end grunt...and good gas mileage. But many claim the V6 is just as good on the fuel with power to spare...

I drove a 2.3 for 14 years and only found the lack of power annoying when driving on busy highways...fortunately I lived in the North away from most of the congestion areas so it wasn't much of a problem.

If you like to move fast onto the highway...consider a V6 instead

RangerFabWorks · Jan 14, 2017

The 96 and up 2.3/2.5 engines are actually quite preppy

I used one to drag a full size 95 f150 on a tow dolly from Connecticut to long island. Engine pulled it fine with a 5 speed behind it.

chvlfrk · Jan 14, 2017

Ummm.......

What did she hit?

Looks to be light damage above the bumper......hood, fender, header panel, headlight, marker light, possibly hood hinge repair or replace, and maybe a radiator support which is what the mount washer you see is, probably sheered it when wrecked. All the listed above can be done in a driveway in a day after getting parts. Been there, done that on a 96 I bought that way.

chvlfrk · Jan 14, 2017

?????

ratdude747 said:
She's toast. Major cab damage, engine was hit (accesories all over the place)

=================
Pics please, as the first post doesn't show any kinda impact damage to of done such, other than the possibility the the motor mounts broke on impact & the motor went forward into the radiator?

Major cab damage???

ratdude747 · Jan 14, 2017

chvlfrk said:
=================
Pics please, as the first post doesn't show any kinda impact damage to of done such, other than the possibility the the motor mounts broke on impact & the motor went forward into the radiator?

Major cab damage???

I will when I get home. In short the whole front of the cab (radiator support) got mashed in to the point of curling a cab mount. Radiator and condensor toast. Front of the motor buried in the fan shroud. Air box came out in chunks.

Fixable if one was determined enough and had a frame puller and tons of time skill... And a parts truck. I have none.

chvlfrk · Jan 14, 2017

Food For Thought>>>

This was a 95 I bought & fixed:

BEFORE:

AFTER new radiator support & bushings:

When sold:

97RangerXLT · Jan 14, 2017

ouch... doesn't look too horrible tho... the inner fender structure is what I would be worried about. Might be a weekend job, but I would say it is salvageable.

the good thing is that your wife was not hurt.

AJ

ratdude747 · Jan 14, 2017

chvlfrk said:
What did she hit?

Looks to be light damage above the bumper......hood, fender, header panel, headlight, marker light, possibly hood hinge repair or replace, and maybe a radiator support which is what the mount washer you see is, probably sheered it when wrecked. All the listed above can be done in a driveway in a day after getting parts. Been there, done that on a 96 I bought that way.

She hit a Rav4 with a custom bumper (read: no crumple zone).

More pics:

The sides of the engine compartment were also badly bent. Also, the hit from the airbag was enough to cause the back of the seat to break the rear window. Yeah for a lot of you it's a weekend job, but body work has never been my cup of tea. If it can't be fixed properly with a hammer and harbor freight welder, I can't right now. Not to mention the cost of body parts, rear glass replacement, and busted things in the engine compartment add up. Not to mention the engine didn't turn over when I tried to start it... uh oh?

----

more possibilities:

https://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/5927520380.html

kinda fuzzy but it is a long bed at least.

https://louisville.craigslist.org/ctd/5948680429.html

Nice but pricey since it' a dealer (and I doubt I can talk it down low enough). Has power windows and mirrors, which I like as my research seems to indicate that no rangers were prewired for power doors if they weren't power to begin with, not even XLT's (and the one I plan to see tomorrow has manual mirrors and likely manual windows, possibly locks too (yay no fob and locking myself out again :annoyed:

). Yeah it can be added with custom wiring, but I'm not into custom wiring stock options... if I'm custom wiring things (and believe me, I have/will, plenty of wire removed today to show it), it's going to be non-stock items (CB radio, HID headlights, backup camera, etc.)

Now if I could only find one with factory power doors, a long bed, and preferably an automatic for under $3000... Yeah good luck. My '95 was a rare bird it seems.

Truck got wrecked

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