Hi, this is my first time here, so I don't know if I'm doing this right, but here goes:

we have a 1999 ford f350 7.3L. were pulling our 34' 5th wheel trailer back to MN when we had an accident involving a construction site (those cement barriers that block part of the road and the large drum size cones). A cone was in the middle of the zone, swerved to miss, but cone went underneath and did damage to truck and trailer. At the same time, hit an uneven spot in the road which bottomed out the truck., causing it to shift into neutral. Since it was dark, pulled off at next exit to examine what we could. As we drove on, heard a "growl" like running over rumble strips between 2/3 gear shift (automatic tranny), and had a vibration from about 45-60, then leveled out and ran ok. Tranny finally gave out when we were just about home. Dealership pulled tranny, said no evidence of damage other than internal, so put a rebuilt in. At test drive, had the same shake from 45-60. Found the drive shaft to be bent. We know that it is from the accident, but insurance is pushing not to cover it saying that bent drive shaft couldn't take out tranny. A complete teardown of old one to look for internal damage is $400.00, but since my husband taught automotive for over 20 years, he knows the bent driveshaft could cause an internal failure and cause total tranny failure. does anyone of you know what inside could have malfunctioned due to bent driveshaft, and how do we prove it? Thanks for any help.

 

bent drive shaft would cause excessive wear I would think on the internal bearings.

 

I agree the bent drive shaft can cause transmission problems, or U-joint problems, transfer case problems, differential problems, etc.

But you said the tranny was replaced and the noise was the same. I interpret that to mean that the tranny was not the problem, and your shop misdiagnosed it. Whether that is right or wrong, that is probably how your insurance company interprets it, and I cannot blame them. Seems your issue is with the shop, not the insurance.

If there was really a tranny problem at all, it might have been coincidental.

 

The way I read it, the driveshaft got bent which then ruined the tranny. They replaced the tranny, then discovered the bent driveshaft. Seems to me a couple of letters from knowledgeable tranny experts MIGHT be able to convince the insurance people.
Any way, good luck to ya'll.

 

I bet this is a possible source of lack of willingness by your insurance. They say, if you swerve to miss a deer and run off the road and damage your vehicle, insurance will not cover the damage. Now, if you do not swerve and hit the deer, then they will cover the damage. Seems awfully similar to your situation.

I hope things work out for you. This is tough luck for ya......

I do agree with Bill, the shop probably should have written the job differently.