What parts might be damaged when my 1993 Ranger was struck at the right wheel?

[Rangercharlie]

I was sitting in the median lane waiting for traffic to clear so I could merge on a 4 lane road after making a left turn from a store parking lot. Another truck went by in the same direction as I was facing at an estimated 40 -50 MPH very close to my passenger side. Then, all hell broke loose as the 30 foot boat he as towing crashed into my right front fender and my right front wheel / tire were struck by the 1/2" steel plate dual tire outrigger on the trailer. The steel plate was badly bent.

The obvious damage is a crushed fender, head light / turn light and its frame torn out and gone, smashed right corner of the bumper, cracked / broken right grill and bumper trim insert and a badly bent aluminum wheel with the tire knocked almost completely off. The rotor is still on but I suspect it was pushed then pulled by the outrigger plate when the wheel and tire were struck. There was also brake fluid leaking (I'm guessing from the caliper).

The engine is also running very rough and requires some gas or it will stall. I am guessing from a vacuum leak somewhere but am wondering what else might be causing the engine to be running rough.

To give a little more insight into the impact force, the badge was knocked off the left front fender and the dash vent from the left side was thrown out and landed in the center floor cup console.

Any suggestions for possible causes of the engine issue and how to determine what suspension, steering and frame damage I need to look for would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Josh B]

I would begin by looking for an entire parts truck spare until you get it all done, those parts may be more than an entire frame/body.
With that you should almost have it there for the using
When I was looking around used a facebook marketplace

 

[rusty ol ranger]

That kind of impact more then likely bent the frame.

 

[racsan]

frame damage most likely. (unfortunately)

 

[Josh B]

I put a "like" on it, not because I liked because it was only way to get it to send notification you had other posts about it. Good luck there man

 

[sgtsandman]

From the description, it sounds like you are now the owner of a parts truck to either sell off or use to fix another truck into being the new driver.

 

[Rangercharlie]

That kind of impact more then likely bent the frame.

If the frame isn't obviously bent, how can I tell if the frame is tweaked other than having a body shop check it with lasers?

 

[Josh B]

This is likely a bit late to get many replies. In the carpentry and building fields we'd stretch a measure criss-cross to determine the difference between points

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If the frame isn't obviously bent, how can I tell if the frame is tweaked other than having a body shop check it with lasers?

There is a way to do it by measuring, Ive never personally done it but you might be able to google jt

 

[James Morse]

If you can lay hour hands on a shop manual it'll give you all the measurements to check on the frame.

Or like was noted, measure diagonals, they should be equal, of course, if it's a rectangle.

You didn't mention if their insurance is covering anything because it sounds like their fault and if they just took off that's hit/run isn't it?

 

[Lefty]

Yup measure the diagonals.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Diagonals will measure a bent frame, but may not catch twisted frame. You need to be on a perfectly flat surface to do that.

 

[Josh B]

If you could get a 4 ft level in there would that help?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If you could get a 4 ft level in there would that help?

Doubt it. I don't think a spirit level wll be good enough, but can't really say. Still would need a perfectly flat surface...

 

[Josh B]

It's what I've used for years. Not hard to level a truck, long as it aint already bent out of shape, and in regards to the OP, it is still beneficial to use some method of knowing.
I used a 4 ft level on my trucks several times, usually as a side note as I was persuing other repairs, but it was never far away from what I was already doing anyway, and it is a sure way to know.
Just put the level on the sides of the bed, across the radiator support, across the bed behind the cab and again on the tailgate part of the bed. Anywhere you can find a solid point and a straight line
Got the bubble levels from Sears store for maybe a buck apiece and used the red silicone due to it's location