I got rear ended HARD last friday in my 99 F250 Crew Cab. The rear bumper and receiver is pushed all the way up to where the rear axle "Should be". The rear axle is 4 to 6 inches further forward. Leaf springs bent, rear axle bent, and most importantly the rear frame and spare tire cross member are bent.

Does anyone know the Ford guidelines for frame repair? I had read somewhere (of course now I can't find it again) that ford does NOT recommend repairing the frame due to weakness in the repaired section. Instead they require a "Frame replacement"

Anyone know?

 

I don't know where you had seen that info .But being in the autobody repair bussiness for about 30 yrs, since retired .That is a big hit and a major frame repair, any insurance company would total it . Unless their getting a kick back from the shop doing the work!!!!! that does happen

Depending on what you have tied up in this vehicle ,I'd take the money they offer and not deal with all the headach's with this vehicle . after repair

On the superduty the front part of the frame is the easist to repair ,if you look you will see a splice ,just behind the front axle !

Fomoco says what you have read because they don't want the liabilty of a bad repair shop coming back to them

This just my .02

Rich

 

Thanks for the advice Rich. The body shop keeps saying, OH it's fixable. But I tow a 7500 pound trailer every weekend and I don't want a questionable truck. Especially after an accident that is not my fault.

 

well, here is the deal, I am currently in the collision repair business....


frames are repairable, to a certain extenet. believe it or not, ford frames since about ~93 ARE NOT repairable in the front 12" section of the rails, they are convoluted, and are made to collapse a certain amount in a collision, and thus are not under any circumstance to be repaired!

now, the rear.............. it is the easiest part to repair, they are not boxed, and honestly, and not strong at all, quite weak indeed.....
however, what you describe is pretty serious, i would have to see pics to say for certain, but it does sound like a replacement item if the rear rails are where you say they are. in the indusrty, we use a couple terms...

kinked, and bent.
if it is bent, repair it.
if it is kinked, replace it.

kinked is identified by looking at the buckled area, if the bend area is 1/8" or smaller, it is kinked. (where it overlaps itself) since your frame rails are likely 1/8" thick , that figure would be 1/4"....in other words, if the rail that is folded over on itself has no airgap, and a sharp kink right at the bending point, the metalurgical properties of the steel have been altered, and thus cannot be put back to the same structural condition prior to the loss, and since the vehicle has to be "restored to pre-accident condition" by law, the frame must be replaced.

so, in summary, ask to see the frame damage areas, and if they fit the description above, tell them it is kinked, and must be replaced per I-CAR guidelines.

now, 3 questions for you.
who is your insurance company?
who is the other parties company?
who did you elect to go through?


good luck!

 

[QUOTE=mattsf250]
who is your company?
who is the other parties company?
who did you elect to go through?
[QUOTE]

Allied <A TITLE="Click for more information about insurance" STYLE="text-decoration: none; border-bottom: medium solid green;" HREF="http://search.targetwords.com/u.search?x=5977|1||||insurance|AA1VDw">Insurance</A> is my insurance company

Dairyland is the other parties insurance, and GROSSLY underinsured as well. Thank god I have Uninsured/underinsured insurance coverage.

Not sure who is gonna end up doing the work. It's been transferred 2 twice so far. First shop was not a "preffered" shop, the second "preffered shop was too packed to get to it in a timely manner. And yesterday they transferred it to shop right down from my work. So we will see.

 

You don't have to go to a preferred shop.

 

MAKE THEM TOTAL OUT THE TRUCK!!!! Think about it. no matter how much they fix it, that truck is now worthless for resale. that has to be at least 1/2-3/4 of the value of yoru truck to repair that (bed, frames, springs, axle, tailgate, bumper, + all the brackets, trinkets, labor ....!!!!) , IF they count in all the parts, meaning they should total it out. (Shops like to leave out parts to make sure theirs is the low estimate of the lot and that they get the job and it doesnt total out). Double check all parts on the estimate to make sure everythign you think could possibly be broken or damaged is included, no matter how much of a pain in the *** it seems. otherwise, you'll end up finding 10 things not fixed dont he road, to late to do anything, on a beat up bend truck you got back. I personally would be on the phone bitching at every agent and apprasiers you can get a number for that may deal with your truck. I used to work for an appraisal company, and after enough complaints, we would usually total it out to stop hearing from people, if it was a borderline case, which yours is at least borderline, if not cut and dry totalled.

also, make sure they call out all ford parts only, no aftermarket, and all new parts. these things they will try to pass off on you, but crying about them will get you places.

 

well, Allied insurance used aftermarket parts, it is in your insurance policy. unless of course you have an endorsement for OEM only parts, then they can still use "used" parts in the repair....not a big deal, since the parts you need are RARELY ever available at wrecking yards used. the frame however, will be available more than likely.

i dont know about you, but i would rather have a used frame than a repaired frame, assuming the frame damage is sever as you describe.

no disrespect intended, but ALOT of people see damaged vehicle and immediately say "it's a total!" when in fact they have no clue........totalled vehicle for the most part are vehicles that cannot be repaired to "pre-loss" condition for less than the replacement cost of said vehicle.
now, insurance companies also do not use kelly blue book for the most part, they use it to determine approximate value, and to get an IDEA of weather or not the car is a goner, but ACV (what your truck is insured for) is what comparable cars/trucks in your area have sold for are are selling for, blue book is not even close to ACV!

one last thought for ya to digest........

just for your own info, get the KBB retail high book for your truck, multiply that number by 70%, and this is approximately what your insurance company will spend in the repair of your truck, if it goes beyond that 70% figure, they check the ACV to see if it's really a T/L, if it is WAY above 70%, like ~ 85-90%, they total it, and then determine ACV to settle with you.


ohh, really, last thought for sure this time

you tell them where the truck goes, not the other way around! who's truck is it? yours right? well, an insurer is not allowed to force, or even recommend a repair shop if you have already decided on one. so you tell them, and thats that!


ACV = actual cash value

good luck!

 

I currently have a 1995 F150 that was involved in an accident about 2 years ago. I woman pulled out in front of us while we were towing our trailer Totalled her car, but the police noticed very little about ours. In fact after all the police had left I had to call a tow truck and have it pulled home because of the bumper being in the tire.

Upon further inspection the frame was quite bent. A Snake Farm estimator (the woman's insurance carrier as well as mine) concluded there was only $4400 in damage and would not total it as value was a little over $5000 It was repaired, but has never been right. And with all the little add-on expensed and the rental truck bill of $950, the far exceeded what they could have paid simply totalling the truck. It wears right side tires like mad. It clicks and pops for no real reason. And they replaced parts with salvage crap, like the fogged up headlights, specs of paint all over grill. The fender was obviously dented and you can see where they sanded down the body filler. There are other problems not listed here as well. I got screwed pretty hard on it, but needed the truck back and did not feel like fighting them, especially after they tried to only pay a fraction of the rental bill the first time.

After reading about the front frame repair on 93-up trucks mentioned above, it makes me wonder what else should not have been fixed on mine. Good luck to you on your truck. Don't let them do to you what they did to me

 

I chose this last shop. Just happens to be on their prefered list of body shops and they actually wanted to take it in. (I've known the guy for years)

I have pics, but don't know where to post them here to show em. Also too, the front was damaged too. The car that hit me, total loss. The car she pushed me into, a total loss. The front of my truck? Not as bad as the back, but the bumper, grill, both head lights, passenger side fender, hood...........blah blah blah all need to be replaced.

 

to post pictures go to the top where it says "user CP" then go to edit gallery on the left hand side and you will be able to create a gallery of photos.

 

OK, pics are in my Gallery. As usual the pics don't do it justice. At first I thought it was a simple, new bed, bumper, some paint, some brackets and presto truck is fixed. The further they dig, the more they find. All the exhaust hangers are broken, the manifold on the passenger side is broke, the driveshaft is full compressed and bent the carrier bearing retainer. The list goes on and on and on.

The last pic in the gallery you can see the receiver pointing straight at the ground.......hhmmm wonder where my reciver with 2" ball went??

 

At first the pics dont do justice to the damage. After looking though you see how bad it really is. I think this insurance company is in over its head trying to fix this thing. Im sure alot more damage will appear down the road. Good luck getting your "old" truck back. Hope everything turns out ok for you.

 

If you have a competent body shop and are willing to do it, order a new frame and have everything switched over to the new frame if you really want to keep the truck. It will be good as new then and it is really not all that big a deal to do and you will end up with good results in the end

 

After looking and reading your latest post ,push them to total .its not worth the agrivation (spelling) later on .Trust us we've been there done this too many times before. Some bodyshops that are slow work wise we'll try to not alow them to be totaled,they need the work.

By all means if you do have it fixed,make sure the claim is never closed,keep it open for as long as needed for future things that happen.

Make sure your insurance company knows this!
Demand it of them in writing signed sealed and delivered

My last .02

Rich