Ok I was rear ended the other day by a big a$$ ram 3500 work truck. I'm pretty sure the tail end of my unibody is bent down a little bit (check out the pictures). The question is can that be fixed? I just put a bunch of money and time into putting a brand new lift on and I'm gonna be pretty bummed out if my Cherokee is totaled.

 

Take the Ins. money then drive it like you stole it, its not damaged that bad.

 

Is it fixable? Yes. To an insurance's safety standard? Probably not with out totaling it. Any kinks in structural parts beyond a 90* or greater must be replaced. If they have written you an estimate and cut you a check take it and fix want you want/need to fix. Chances are anything more than what that check is for is going to total it. Then you would have to buy it back from said insurance company with a salvage title. So if your ok with minor damage to the frame rails I would take the money and run. Just don't get blasted in the @$$ again cause it could be alot worse the next time.

 

I do collision work in Frederick, MD if you were wondering my reference. Been in it for almost 15 years.

 

I would do like the others said and get what you can from the ins. co. and fix the body parts. You can find them fairly cheap at just about any jy.

 

Doesn't look so bad. Structurally, if th vehicle hasn't been written off by insurance, yeah you can fix that. It'll be a pain to put it back into shape but plate the frame sills with some stiffeners of the like at HD Offroad Engineering and you'll be stronger than new. Honestly I'd be more concerned about seals being screwed up as a result of the tweaked body. Wouldn't be surprised if everything in the rear began to leak.

 

That trailer hitch is what did you in. That buckle in the frame rail is from that hitch wanting to move forward and not being able too. But it was designed to do that anyway. Let me know if you need help staightening it out. I have access to a frame machine and do side work.

 

^This, Best bet is if they'll give you a check without "totaling" it.


They way the ins co calculates it (new OE parts, labor at a dealer's body shop) that would definitely total it. Here is how the ins co would likely calculate it for repairs:
Rear Hatch = $1,150
Bumper = $254
Bumper end-cap = $96
Bumper Brackets = $92
Frame Pull = ~$1,000-$1,500
Remove dent from 1/4 panel = ~$800-$1000
Paint = ~$500-$1000
Labor @ $90-150 /hr


Easily $5k+ worth of damage the way the ins co would calculate for repairs and that is more than enough to total a 98 XJ.


You could likely fix it yourself for a few hundred in aftermarket/used parts and have the frame pulled a an independent shop for a few hundred more (if you don't plan on towing you probably don't really "need" to fix the frame given how minor the damage is).

 

Rear axle more than likely no longer tracks straight. I'll bet the passenger tire sits forward of the drivers side. Better to fix it or it will be a dog-tracking SOB.

 

Doesn't look too bad, much better than my T/A my ex gf jumped a ditch with. Should be able to fix it easy, unless you are going for a concourse show vehicle.

With those costs, I hope nobody even key scratches my 85xj, that would definitely total mine since my last tax bill listed its value as $250 lol. (of course with the peeling clearcoat you would never know if it was scratched or not)

 

I just went through a similar ordeal with my 01 cherokee. The total cost in the end was about $3800 I needed a new hatch, bumper, and a frame job. i also got pushed into someone else in front of me but my front bumper only needed a respray.

 

Those last 4 items you estimated are a little steep. Especially the labor amounts. Mechanic shops charge $90-$150. Body shop are not allowed to charge that because the insurance company has too much pull in the industry. Typical body shop labor rate is $38-$55 an hour. When you get in an accident and you vehicle needs, let's say an oil pan from running off the road. The insurance company paying for it tells the shop "we only pay X amount of dollars per hour for mechanical. So instead if pay what Joe Blow pays to have his oil pan replaced at $150 and hour the insurance company only pays at $95 an hour.

 

I may very well end up giving you a shout. There's a agent coming to look at it this week so I'll know then what the deal is with it.

 

This got my attention. My XJ was also rear-ended in an almost identical fashion, complete with the tow hitch bending the frame rails (on both sides). I've been driving it like that without any issues, but I need to get it corrected.

I am not handy at all with body work, so I was planning to use a shop. The guy I was planning to use said the frame could be pulled out but would be weak where the kinks were. He's planning to charge me labor time to fabricate braces to weld over them, and those HD Offroad stiffeners look like they'd be a lot cheaper and probably more effective.

I am ultimately planning a 5.5" long arm lift on this truck (full suspension replacement) and have a set of front and rear steel bumpers with uniframe tie-in kits waiting to be installed. Will the frame stiffeners interfere with mounting anything else up under the truck that I might want (as in, now that you have the frame stiffeners, you can't install this or that)?

Sorry to hijack, but the OP might find this info handy also since we have very similar damage.

Edit: I shoulda done a search first. I originally asked about welding, but this answered my question:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/in...beware-155462/

I'm still wondering whether these interfere with anything. I might have to learn to weld for this.

 

Nope. The mid section plates the outside and bottom, the front and rear portions simply go along the outside. If you're installing any aftermarket accessories you'll need to consider the thickness of the stiffeners themselves: For example, frame tie-ins of rock rails need to be shortened 1/8" or so. Naturally you get 1/8" transfer case drop lol. Doing the fronts you'll want/need new bolts for the steering box, possibly bust the front brake hard lines... etc. However there's no change to front or rear suspension, your ability to bolt stuff on is not impacted.

If you're going to do stiffeners you definitely want to do them before other significant mods.