Well, the joyful mountain drive ended up really pissing me off today. There was a rock fell in the road as I rounded a curve, I really didnt have time to swerve out of the way, and it didnt look THAT big, sooooo, i tried to straddle it and boom! Followed by "tic tic tic tic tic tic tic". As you can imagine, my heart sank, my mouth dropped open...

So I pull over look under the car to make sure no fluids are spewing out, nothing, but a piece of plastic by the tie rods is ripped almost completely off. It was bouncing off the ground when I was driving, creating the tic sound. From what I could see, it was drivable, at least to make it home. Well immediatly I put it on ramps to assess the damage. I took some pics but cannot seem to get them posted. So I will do my best to describe.

Damage:

The crossmember with the two big bolts that attach into it, (I believe this could be the center jack point, its right behind the oil pan, was dented up maybe 1/4 inch on the side the rock hit, sorta just dented in the middle upward. The oil pan has a nice sized dent in it the size of a quarter, 1/4 to 1/2 inch in depth. The force of the blow to the oil pan seems to have pushed the bottom of the pan up a little, its no longer level, no cracks or leaks. The rock seemed to hit the left side of the crossmember where the tie rods bolt in, where it was shoved to the center of the car and mashed into the oil pan and the center of the crossmember. When it hit the left side, where the tie rod is, it bent the metal there too. So basicly I have damage three places. By the tie rod on the crossmember, the center of the crossmember caved slightly, and the dent, and pushing in of the oil pan.

Ok, so I have an appointment with the dealer on Tuesday morning to lube the rear axel. I will have them check over the car. My concern is the car seems to pull a little to the right. Could that be from the damage too the crossmemeber? Do I need a new oil pan? How much could this cost? Should I file an insurance claim?

Any input would be helpful, thanks!!

 

From your description, there's little functional damage. The dealership will check the oil pan and front crossmember, but they likely won't need to be replaced. The bottom part of the oilpan is a sheetmetal sump, where a dent won't matter too much.

If you were driving another sportscar, you might find more extensive damage. Nissan engineered the Z to be tough and durable.

 

Hope it's just a ding and nothing major.

btw, when you stoped did you pick up the rock and throw it to the side so it would'nt happen to anybody else?

 

I imagine the rock was kicked away by the car, or something.

 

Time to upgrade to an APS oil pan!!!

 

lies, ***.hole.

lol joking. Sorry i can't give you any advice or info, never had it happen to me before.

 

upgrade oil pan, good idea.

Yea, the rock was busted in half and splattered off the side...

So far, its just out of alignment, got that fixed today. I am having nissan inspect the car tuesday. If there is anything that needs replacing, I may make an "act of god" insurance claim. Oil pan looks pretty easy to get too, I could probably upgrade that myself.

 

Dont know what year your car is but there was a TSB on my 04.5 for drifting right. they replace a tension rod and its good to go now. I wouldnt worry much about the crossmember, but would like to see pics of the pan.

 

Well thats good to know about the TSB for the drifting to the right. I thought I had a slight drift to the right before I hit the rock... The alignment was off, but it didnt fix the drift. I do have an 04.5 as well

I am still a little worried about the crossmember, mostly because it took hardest blow. It actually hit right where the funky looking heat shield bolts on to the crossmember, and broke the heat shield where it bolts on. I'll try not to worry too much about the crossmember until I get it looked at by Nissan, and maybe after that TSB. Thanks for that info!

Just for my information, can the crossmember be replaced if needed? It looks huge, and welded to a lot of the car... I will post pics of the pan shortly, just setting up photobucket.

 

well, nevermind...pics wont post. here is a photobucket link

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e167/jcapell2/

 

Thanks for that...I got a chuckle, but Nissan didn't design the Z to run over $#!+ that would dent the oil pan. I mean Homering is one thing but c'mon....

[/kidding]

 

Tell yu what, next time I see a rock even somewhat questionable, I'll stop if I have too. Although, where I was at, I could have been rear ended, or been involved in a head on collision going into the blind curve in the opposite lane (if I tried to go around).

 

Yes.. I think the price is around $500. I hit a rock once, had to replace upper and lower oil pan and sway bar, but my crossmember was okay. Rocks in the road suck.

 

Thank you! Yes, rocks suck...

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

Pray for my Z! Its at the stealership as we speak...

 

Alright fellas, I need input.

Dealer confermed the following:
Dented oil pan, might need replaceing due too some screen in there
Front cross-member "slightly tweaked"
Dented exhaust
Dented Muffler
Broken splash gaurds
Broken heat shield

Other misc. work
TSB's being performed:
rear axel clicking (covered under drivetrain warrenty)
drift to the right (tension bar, not covered)


I am having Nissan price out what "needs" to be fixed, and a price for everything fixed.

Ive never filed an insurance claim before for something like this. I was told this will be filed under collision, so I will have to pay a $500 deductable. "as soon as the rock touches he road its considered collision"

I know we carry insurance for a reason, I'm just worried about my rates increasing.

Opinions, file a claim or not to file a claim?

 

Check with your agent, but I REALLY think whoever told you this would be a collision claim is just plain wrong. I'd be willing to bet this would be under your comprehensive.

As for filing a claim? Well, only you, your deductible and your agent can determine whether it would be "worth it" to you or not to file a claim. Good luck and trust me, I KNOW it sucks. I ran over a bottle jack laying in the road in my C6. Ugh.

 

Alright... the tally is in, an let me tell yu, I'm excite not!

Axel click TSB- covered
04.5 right drift TSB (right front suspension compression rod)- $400


Now the rock damage:

Oil pan- $220

Crossmember
Crossmember support
splash gaurd <------all that $3200
heat shield
exhaust/muffler


TOTAL: $3520


I was told the only thing that really HAS to be done would be the oil pan. I dont think I can live with a "tweaked" crossmember, not on the Z. The 400 for the right front suspension compression rod is going to have to wait for now.

Right now, I'm thinking filing a claim and getting it all fixed is the way to go.

 

I even argued that. She responded that "once it touches the road..."

I guess I will fight for the comprehensive once I get a little deeper into the claim.

 

wow... that turned out to be a lot in repair bills, sorry bro. Maybe you could replace some of those things yourself and save out on labor. The oil pan isn't too hard to do.