ARGH!!! They may total my truck!!!

[RhainyC]

Ok, so my mechanic says the gearbox is leaking, and the tie rod ends look tweaked and with the box and those things repairs will probably be around $800-1500 depending upon which shop...

Called my insurance agent, and they will allow up to approx 75% of the *industry standard* price for my truck, anything over that, and they will total the truck.

ACK! I need to do this myself or buy the parts myself and have a shop do it...so I don't have to pay out the nose...

Does ANYONE have any ideas? Anyone maybe live within driving distance who could come and either do the work or show my hubby how to do it???

Can we see I am totally at a loss here....

 

[Ranger5.0]

how much will the insurence company give you for the truck? If it realy does cost more to fix then the actualy value of the truck, then why keep it. Anywho. If the steering box is leaking at the sector shaft, then you can get a kit and replace the seals, this is more of a patch than a fix, but I did it with my truck, and there is 10000 km on the new seals, and no leaks. The tie rod ends shouldnt be THAT expensive. Maybe the shop is giveing a realy high quote with hopes that it WILL get scraped.

 

[MAKG]

A power steering gear is less than $200. A pair of tie rod ends is around $30.

A Haynes book is $25.

A Pitman arm puller is around $10 from Harbor Freight. Same for a set of flare nut crow's feet. I'll assume you have sockets and extensions, and a basic 1/2 inch torque wrench.

Add in $75 or so for the alignment, and you're done.

Replacing the seals is not going to fix your problem. Collisions do not cause seal wear. They might break internals.

 

[rickcdewitt]

you could total it,buy it back and fix it with the money they give you.its not a big deal to have a salvage title,especially with an old ranger not a classic or expensive car.

 

[RhainyC]

Thanks folks! I am still just heartsick...

Ok more history, the truck is financed. I have about 13 more payments of $220 per month before she is paid off. I have spoken with the insurance, and the truck is worth (in their eyes) about $1500.00, less the deductible of $500.00. The insurance will pay about a total of $1000.00. So, unless the repairs through the shop(s) are less than that, the truck will be totaled by the insurance. The monies from that will go towards the balance of the loan. Which will leave me money owing...

I am thinking that the best thing to do, is try to do the work ourselves...hubby is not a great mechanic for in depth stuff like this, but a manual is first step.

MAKG, thanks for the good suggestions, and I do realize that the gearbox needs replacing/rebuilding. It was leaking before, and the hit probably did more damage than simply busting the seals. The steering wheel was a full 1/4 turn towards the passenger's side...so it is probably partly caused by the bad gearbox.

I was thinking that by going to a shop and getting the detailed estimate, we would know what may/should be replaced...we would have a starting point. We don't have a shop or garage to do the work in, so weather will be an issue as well...

Ok, so would it be easier to buy a proper full bumper/floor type jack to get it up off the ground to work on? Or???

Sorry to be so emotional here folks, but it's a long story...this truck means more to me than most people would believe.

Thanks for the input.

 

[MAKG]

You can work with the spare tire jack AND a pair of jackstands.

No jack is sufficient to support the vehicle on its own. An internal hydraulic leak will drop the vehicle.

I proper floor jack can be found for $70 or so, but it really isn't necessary for one-time use.

Note that you can change the steering gear with the wheels on and the vehicle on the ground. It's only for the tie rod ends that you need to lift the vehicle.

 

[RhainyC]

MAKG, thanks again for sound advice. I hadn't realize the gearbox would need to be done with the truck on the ground. We do have a decent floor jack, so that is an expense we don't have to cover, thankfully. I was thinking more the pro style that I have used at the tow yard but if the tie-rods are the only thing..we do have some jack stands and ramps.

I am talking to my kid brother is a half way decent mechanic, so hopefully he can come help hubby with the repairs.

Another question though...sorry to be such a PITA...

Is it a good idea to have the alignment shop check it over and get the estimate, since we are kind of clueless here? Or, should we just get it up in the air and visually see if we can tell what is broke? I am fairly adept, but never worked on a 4WD vehicle before. My usual was drag cars and my old '65 Chevy PU with a straight 6/292 ROFL...I admit I am probably way out of my league here, but have little choice.

Thanks again, your input is truly appreciated.

 

[metalmacguyver]

just a thought on the estimate, if the powersteering lines are rusted, they may have added replacing them into the costs. i had mine done a couple years ago and it was about 250 labor.

 

[MAKG]

Actually, if you can work on one of those big-ass cast iron inline 6 SOBs, you can do this. The power steering gear is THE SAME. The Pitman arm isn't, but it sure as heck is close enough.

And 4WD really doesn't come into play here. 4WDs steer just like 2WDs. You just have to remove the hub. And it's hard not to if you pull a wheel off.

I'd let an alignment shop look it over. Most will inspect the front end and check alignment for free.

 

[RhainyC]

MAKG, Cool! Well my normal mechanic said something about the Drag Link looked tweaked...and the tie rods, so those are part of the front suspension and in some way work with the 4wd? Or am I way off here? I won't be such an idiot when the Chilton AND Haynes manuals get here...

 

[MAKG]

No, you're not messing with suspension at all here. It's all steering.

The nomenclature is a little muddled here; Ford inverted Y steering has two tie rods -- one connected to the Pitman arm and the other connected to the other tie rod. And two tie rod ends. And that's it.

GM A-arm steering has an inner tie rod, outer tie rod, drag link, and idler arm.

He's just saying your steering linkage is bent. Seems fairly likely under the circumstances. These aren't TOO hard to yank from the junkyard if you're pinched for cash. Pick a donor that got whacked in the rear.

 

[RhainyC]

WOW! Ok, well hopefully that is all it is then...but the shop will look things over closely and tell me what is bent hopefully.

Sadly after many years of living in Junkyard Heaven (aka Southern California) I now live in an area where junkyards are few and far between...but not totally out of the question.

So, I will quit pestering you now... :wink: At least until I have the estimate, which I hope to get Friday morning...I hope the little girl can manage a 30 mile round trip to the alignment shop...I plan on taking surface streets...no freeways for her right now.

MAKG Thank you again for all your input and help, it means a lot to know an old lady can come here and get sound advice.

 

[gotmudd]

ALL of the repairs you need can be done with tires on the ground, just make sure that your wheels are straight ahead before dissasembly. haynes manual will have fairly detailed pics of what everything is and where it goes. BEFORE removing tierod ends tape end where it enters sleeve AND count number of turns to remove. and yes i would recomend alignment, @$49 at les shwab

 

[metalmacguyver]

Gotmudd, if you go and look at the rest of the posts started by RhainyC, you will see the progression of the repairs to her truck.

 

[Mutant Pony]

I don't see how it could be possible to put $800 in the steering of a Ranger. I think I could do it for about $250 complete with alignment.