Front end damage

Forceful Llama · Jan 4, 2014

So I was involved in a accident last month and it did some damage to the unibody. On the passenger side, the outer part where the bumper mounts folded in, but the inner portion is straight as far as I can tell. Should I get it pulled straight and weld some stiffeners? Or take the payout if the insurance offers one?

VAhasnoWAVES · Jan 4, 2014

your best bet is to put it on the rack and really check the unibody. if that is the extent of the damage... its definitely repairable. but id want to be sure before making the investment. youll be pissed if you dont catch it until the stiffeners dont line up.

Elkwagn · Jan 5, 2014

Put it on the frame rack and have it straightened, then add some reinforcement. I would go with the HD offroad ones, they go all the way to the front. I have had two cherokees (including my current one) that I bought hit in the front, took them both to the frame shop, added stiffeners and bracing and they both worked out great. BTW they were both wrecked worse than yours! Easy fix, plus you can take the payout too!

Action Fab · Jan 5, 2014

Meh. It's a $1500 vehicle anyway. Insurance is gonna offer you jack crap for it. Even if the total it, buy the sucker back. Bet they let you keep it for a few hundred. As for the frame damage. That's not a big deal as long as it seems to be driving fine and the doors are still working well. Knock that sucker back straight and either plate it or throw one of my ORSfab.com bumpers on to strengthen the frame horns and hide the damage.

kastein · Jan 5, 2014

Do all the panel gaps and doors etc line up nicely still?

Check for kinks on the top and bottom of the frame rail and make sure the outside face hasn't been bent inward. If that all checks out... use channel locks, vise grips, a BFH, and a dead blow to massage that back into shape, then put stiffeners on if you feel like it.

Should be fine. I've bent that area on two different XJs/MJs I've had, straightened it back up, and had no issues afterwards.

88trailcrawler · Jan 5, 2014

Can't really tell the extent of damage in the pic.

Mine slid into a snow drift before I bought it. Bumper, mount and grill were a little tweaked. I installed a JCR bumper and frame tie ins instead of trying to replace stock. The JCR was a bit more forgiving on alignment and with the frame tie ins and beefy bumper, I was able to basically pull it all back into place using the mounting hardware.

Forceful Llama · Jan 5, 2014

The doors and everything seem to line up and function fine. If nothing else I'll get it straight enough to get. Bumper on for now and plate it later.

markw · Jan 5, 2014

Those are the stock bumper mounting holes. It looks like the bracket bent that back, if the doors open/close and the gaps look good, along with the inside of that rail, you'll probably be fine straightening it. The good bumpers will have 3/16" plate that tie the bumper in using the steering box bolt holes and the sleeved hole which uses a 9/16" or 14mm bolt behind those. Also, be sure to check the front crossmember where it connects to the frame rail, mine had cracks there.

Front end damage

Forceful Llama

NAXJA Forum User

VAhasnoWAVES

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Elkwagn

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Action Fab

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kastein

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88trailcrawler

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Forceful Llama

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markw

web wheeler

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