Hello,

I was in a wreck just before thanksgiving and damaged the left front side of my Jeep, though no airbags deployed. I got it towed to a junkyard where it sat for about a week before I could get a tow back up to Portland where I live. The hood was damaged so I had to remove the the base of the clasps to get the hood open. Once inside, I found that the plastic quarter pipe at the top of my radiator had snapped off (just the part with cap that you put radiator fluid in, the rest of the radiator looks fine) and my electric fan was all smashed up, but there was no other perceivable damage. My battery was dead so I charged it and tried to start the vehicle. All of my electricity seems to work normally and the engine cranks fine, my belts spin freely, however I was not able to start the car.

I'm trying to deduce the problem and any help would be appreciated! My thoughts are that the problem has to due with the fuel delivery system because I can't see anywhere where engine compression or spark would have been affected. I'm wondering if there is some sort of fuel pump cutoff that engages in a collision (perhaps the inertia switch?). I inspected the fuel pump relay in the fuse box under the hood, and it looks fine.

I'm also unsure about how to repair the damage to the body or how much that might cost. I've never done any body work so I'm not exactly sure where to start with that side of things. I would imagine that I could pull a new hood and grill front a junkyard, but some of the body is bent into my left front wheel well restricting the movement of that tire and I would imagine that I don't have the tools I need to deal with that. I was able to pry it back from the tire with a crowbar about two inches to help get the jeep into my driveway. Other than that there is no damage to any of the wheel system that I can see!

Thanks for the help everyone!

I'm having trouble postings so I will try to do so in a comment.

 

Here a few pictures of the damage:

 

The angles of the roof bars scare me, could you do pics from straight ahead looking down the sides of the Jeep and one from front centre?

 

What I am seeing is behind the fender that is part of the Jeep itself is probably FUBAR'ed.
Cause of the way the PCM is all out of whack.
My guess probably not a just bolt on parts deal.
Gotta take off the bumper and fender to get a better look IMO.

 

Agreed. And a whack to the PCM might be a deal breaker.

Dashiell, first thing you need to do is find out what's missing: Spark? Fuel? Air? You need all three in the correct timing to get it to fire. Air is usually a given, so test for spark and test for fuel. Once we know where we stand on those, we can advise you from there.

You'll need a spark tester and a fuel pressure test kit. You can usually 'rent' those for free from auto parts stores. You pay for the tool, you use it, and return for a full refund. Many auto parts stores have this kind of program.

 

Good call. I did not even think about the PCM taking a hit.

 

Oh, and I just finally noticed that last picture. Yeah, it's not going to start like that. Not happening.

Disconnect the battery and remove that connector. Inspect for damage. If it looks okay, plug it back in and try to start it. I'm betting it will fire. If not, consider the PCM as a probable casualty.

From an insurance standpoint, that would guarantee it's a total, I suspect. Whether or not this is repairable.... Well, it needs to be looked at by a body shop that knows Cherokees.

The PCM is replaceable. Just pricey.

 

"The PCM is replaceable. Just pricey."

I purchased one earlier this year from Flagship One Inc for $210.00, no core, lifetime warranty...... https://www.fs1inc.com/

 

Thank you for that link! Bookmarked!

 

You have some pretty significant damage on the radiator support and inner fender structure which is not going to be easy or cheap to repair. That damage, if it can be repaired, will require a professional frame shop to do some pulls on the inner structure to get it back square. To be honest, your non-starting issue is a small problem compared to the frame damage.

 

Great color, I almost bought a 96 in that color, wrecked too. I hope insurance and repairs work out for you.

 

Roof looks twisted? The crossbars for the roof rack dont sit level with one another. The front damage is fixable, but its going to take a lot of time. Another member dealt with a similar situation, and fixed it himself. Cant remember who it was tho.

That PCM connector should be replaced. There is a seal in there to keep dirt and moisture out, but if it were mine, id feel better with an undamaged connector. They can be a real PITA to take apart. IIRC, there are 3-4 pieces to it. Its ridiculous. Those blue bits are part of a large lock tab that lock around the wires so they dont pull out. Slide the tab over and that frees them up. Easier said than done sometimes. Thexton makes a terminal release tool to de-pin the connector. I 'think' its #582? There are other styles for that sort of thing, but i have not used them. IF you do repin it, do one wire at a time.

 

I believe this is who you are referring to. Hopefully this will help the OP if he intends to repair the damages.

 

Thats the one. Thanks.

 

That's what I'm thinking about the roof, it's worse if you look at the rails that run front-back. I hope it's just the angle of the photo but if not, there's a lot to do.

OP, do all your doors work as before? If the driver's door is still smooth, you could be lucky.