Bent Radiator Support From Deer Collision

So this accident has been a nightmare. Seemed really minor at the time, maybe 25mph, deep in the woods of Yosemite National Park. But it seems the deer hit just right in the week part of the grill square in the center...busted right into the hood latch and bent the radiator support what looks like a very little bit. (See picture...not the best).

The body shop out here in the middle of nowhere quoted me (going through insurance, as I'm covered, thank god) nearly $7,000 to repair, which will almost certainly mean a total loss of the vehicle (I'll need to fight for my car's value).

The truck still runs great. I've been able to drive it around a little just to keep it somewhere safe and to position it for tow trucks to pick it up, etc. The fan behind the radiator even still spins fine. Of course the radiator is punctured, or broken somewhere (all coolant poured out immediately), and so I need to take care of that.

My hope is that I can keep this vehicle and bend this support piece back into place (that is, hire someone to bend this support piece back into place). It doesn't seem that tweaked, and I've seen similar posts with far worse radiator supports.

Any help or advice would be very welcome.

 

I bent mine back just fine. Probably not as strong or whatever, but as long as I can close the hood I’m golden.

I was able to just grab and yank on support enough to get it to work.

zip ties for the grille

 

Glad you are ok op.

 

I don't see how that's anywhere close to $7k worth of damage. If your insurance agrees with that quote, let them total it, take the check, buy it back and fix it yourself for a fraction of that.

 

Find another shop. One where the estimator doesn't have a semester tuition payment for their kid overdue.

IF you decide to try a DYI, you could wrap some pliable material straps (old seat belts, fabric tow strap, etc) around the top of the core, park and block the truck, attach your wrap to a come-along and the come along to a tree, then g-e-n-t-l-y work to pull it forward to a better position.

Some measurements from another truck and placement of a string line fender to fender on your truck based on those measurements would help you be pretty accurate.

Or you could replace it with an undamaged junk yard unit.

 

How is that seven grand?

I rear-ended a Mustang in stop and go traffic a little over six years ago; The radiator support was bent, but the radiator and condenser were fine, and it cost like $1,500 to fix if I remember correctly. The bumper cover, headlight, and grille had to be replaced, and the radiator support obviously had to be pulled back out; However, I drove the truck for like month before finally getting it into the body shop...

 

THIS; $7,000 seems way too high!

 

Thanks for some reassurance. One issue is I'm stuck in Mammoth Lakes CA. There are very very few options for getting work done, and it is my belief that the shop who provided this estimate (they have awful reviews, and are mostly a towing company rather than a body shop) has very little interest in doing any work. So they come up with a high estimate to tear everything out and put everything back in (they were talking about cutting metal, and welding, and whatnot) so that the car gets totaled and they get paid for the work of providing the estimate and having the car on their lot.

This accident happened on day 1 (!) of a trip across the country. So I want to just get a radiator in this thing and keep on trucking.

 

Looks like that town has a NAPA. Get a replacement radiator and swap it out yourself in a parking lot, I woudn't give that shop a dime.

Hope you get moving again soon to enjoy your trip!

 

Fix the cooling system the hood latch and move on.

it does not take much to crack an older plastic radiator tank.

My truck has 3 deer impacts and one Forklift

 

I appreciate that advice. I've actually replaced a radiator before and found it was incredibly easy. But I'm worried about getting this support into the right position in order to mount a radiator.

 

That bent piece just needs pulled out for clearance .It does not look like the core of the Radiator was impacted at all

The radiator is mounted to the core support which from your description I thought was pushed in .

Then seeing the pictures you have very little damage .

I have no idea how anyone Could come up with $7000.00 all new front clip complete custom paint job maybe

 

The driver side of the bumper is pushed in a little, not sure what gave way but I doubt the frame bent.

 

Rock auto sells upper radiator support, radiator, hoses, grille, clips. etc. cheap. Everything you need, one stop shopping

 

I work full time in a body shop. $7k seems a little high, but a copy of their estimate would explain it.

Pull the support out, wearing gloves you can yank that back into place enough to get another radiator in there. Or use a hammer and a block of wood once the old radiator is out.

Make sure you get all the air out of the cooling system when you go to fill it, check the hoses for wear marks from moving parts.

If you make your way through Sacramento I can knock that repair out in a couple hours. Bonus is the bar across the street!

 

That’ll pull out with a ratchet strap and a conveniently located tree. Probably won’t even need to block the wheels. If you’re strong you might even pull it out with your hands.

I got my radiator off Amazon for about a hundred bucks.

Tell that garage sorry but no.

 

Just for those interested, my insurance came up with their own quote of about $2700...and they've written me a check.

I am curious, as I know very little about what these types impacts do: is it bad on the clutch or drivetrain to have an impact like that? I would think those parts are designed to withstand an impact that didn't really even seem to jolt us that much, and that did not deploy the airbags. Basically, I just want to make sure any damages are discovered and covered.

 

From what I have seen damage to the drive train is more likely from a hard impact on the rear of the vehicle

Granted if your engine is pushed back a foot that is way more then that little impact you had.

The scary part with a deer impact like yours is the deer coming up and hitting the windshield

 

As long as you don't have anything rubbing against moving parts you will be ok.

I rarely see drivetrain damage in my shop unless there was an object ran over or they fly off the road. That estimate will not cover all the damage, its hard to see everything until its taken apart.

Its only intended to cover the obvious visible damage, 4-5k is probably closer to all the repair costs, shop labor rates, materials and parts mark up.

But it will get you back on the road and you can fix it for much cheaper then shop rates.