Gcronin416

Hello cherokee forum,
I hit a deer doing 70mph with my 00 XJ. It suffered some heavy front end damage. I've been tossing up the idea of repairing or trying to part it out. After all the money I've invested in this jeep (lift , tires, aftermarket parts, new cylinder head a month before the deer, etc) I want to repair it. Items destroyed are: radiator, power steering pump, harmonic balancer, ac condenser, water pump,entire grille/front clip. (I'm puking while typing this.)
My question for this forum is can the inner fender be replaced? I've heated it and bent her back close to form but not quite where it should be. If I had the money to send to a bodyshop I would. But I don't. She was my daily driver but now will be more of a trail rig. Should I look into other fender options or stick to the stock ones. Any other opinions would be appreciated.

roadraje

pics?

sycoglitch

Yup. Pics or it didn't happen.


And what highway did a deer run out that you were doing 70.

Gcronin416

Here are some pics.
Sycoglitch- I'm not here to make things up. I've always received good ideas and advice from this forum. But since you ask, I was driving on 95n in Mansfield mass when it happened. I was cruising at 70 mph and it came out if nowhere.

Petervaz1

Is the deer ok

Rogue4x4

LMFAO

peep

I was just under 60 mph when a local deer challenged the Peep. Going over, no problem, but the knock down is the hard part. A three second adventure to get your heart pumping and your jeep spirit tested. I got lucky. Being a naturalist, I just buffed the deer out. Looks like you got a tall deer and a really hard hit.
You probably have to replace your inner fender well, it won't straighten well. The exterior damage repair depends on what you can live with. Might be time for a junkyard parts search or get a parts rig (I keep the parts rig out back).
If you have a strong tree in the yard and a tow strap, you may be able to straighten out enough to drive on your own, then follow up with more intensive repairs. Bad news to hear of your incident, wish you the best in repairs, it can be fixed, cut your way in, weld your way out.

Codenamefa

It's fixable but will be a lot of work.

Gcronin416

One of the local pick and pulls has a 97 with a nice front end and all the mechanicals that I would need to repair it. I'm just at the point of straightening the unibody and the inner fender now and was just curious if anyone sells the inner fender. I have not seen any online yet.

Peep- you definitely got lucky. Glad you were able to repair it. The deer I hit must've been pretty big. Surprisingly no blood at all. Just a lot of hair and feces. Crap everywhere to be exact. If only I had a nice heavy duty front bumper (aka deer deflector). Maybe I'd be in a better situation...

stang65

front frame stiffiners hidden winch new fender and front clip do everything timing chain out on the front of the engine and a upgrade what you can.

any more pictures on the inner fender damage?

stang65

for how fast you hit it doesnt look to bad.

nice thing about the outer fender and front clip is they are designed for some adjustment you actually might be able to get it to fit were you wont be able to tell unless you pop the hood.

Gcronin416

I'll get some pics of the inner fender damage in the am. It's to dark now. The pics aren't coming out that clearly.
How much of a hit can the cam shaft take? I did crack the harmonic balancer. I did have to start it and pull it in the driveway after it came off the tow truck.

sycoglitch

Hey. Ill be straight with you. So many new users here just like to make trouble and make up stories that's all.

With that aside. Glad you're ok. Take some pics of the side frame rails. Are they buckled in or just your front clip

Big David

Who's feces? You sure you didn't hit Bigfoot?


Seriously, glad you are okay & it doesn't look that bad. But photos can be deceiving.

Gcronin416

The driver side unibody was bent inward about 1/2 inch. I used a come a long and was able to straighten it out. The driver side inner fender was pushed back a couple of inches. I've gotten that back out some but not enough.