Picking up truck from auto body, what to look for??
#1
05-05-2010, 02:26 PM
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,611
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#2
05-05-2010, 02:50 PM
Champion
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Greenfield, Wisconsin
Posts: 3,686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well I sure hope they have an allignment rack .... because even in a small collision the chassis can get turned a little bit and your truck wont go down the road straight. First thing would is I would ask if they alligned it .... and hopefully they say yes.
To tell if it needs to be alligned after the body work, see if the truck pulls in any direction when you let go of the wheel or take off from a stop light. Also, have the person who dropped you off at the body shop follow you home. Have them stay back a good distance and see if your truck looks straight going down the road. Try to go down a hilly road, so at certain points they can be at eye level with your tires. All four tires should be in line with eachother. If its not alligned, it will probably look like your truck is going crooked down the road.
Next, check out how they did on the fitment for the body parts. While it may look good, look at the gaps between the fenders and the front doors, the hood and the fenders, the front bumper and the fenders, the grille and the hood, ect. I saw your accident photos, and with a collision like that its pretty easy for parts not to fit back together like they should. Just looks for even gaps, and that nothing is crooked. Like I said, just because it looks good doesnt mean it really is. Down the road when your detailing your truck you could realize on one side the gap between the hood and fender is 5/8" and on the other side there may only be 1/16"
Finally, comes the paint work. Hopefully you got alll new parts so no bondo had to be used, but if you didnt you should be able to tell how well they did. Get down at eye level and see how smooth it is, looking for orange peel, uneven paint and drips. Look to see how well the new paint matches the original, because if it doesnt match now it will never match. Paint jobs can turn out pretty scary if an untrained person did it. Again, you need to look really close as from a distance it will probably look fine.
Its probably not a bad idea in your case to also pop the hood and see how everything lines up under there. You should see all the screws and bolts in their proper places, ect. I wish you luck and sorry to hear about your accident. Post some pics so we can see how nice your truck looks again
To tell if it needs to be alligned after the body work, see if the truck pulls in any direction when you let go of the wheel or take off from a stop light. Also, have the person who dropped you off at the body shop follow you home. Have them stay back a good distance and see if your truck looks straight going down the road. Try to go down a hilly road, so at certain points they can be at eye level with your tires. All four tires should be in line with eachother. If its not alligned, it will probably look like your truck is going crooked down the road.
Next, check out how they did on the fitment for the body parts. While it may look good, look at the gaps between the fenders and the front doors, the hood and the fenders, the front bumper and the fenders, the grille and the hood, ect. I saw your accident photos, and with a collision like that its pretty easy for parts not to fit back together like they should. Just looks for even gaps, and that nothing is crooked. Like I said, just because it looks good doesnt mean it really is. Down the road when your detailing your truck you could realize on one side the gap between the hood and fender is 5/8" and on the other side there may only be 1/16"
Finally, comes the paint work. Hopefully you got alll new parts so no bondo had to be used, but if you didnt you should be able to tell how well they did. Get down at eye level and see how smooth it is, looking for orange peel, uneven paint and drips. Look to see how well the new paint matches the original, because if it doesnt match now it will never match. Paint jobs can turn out pretty scary if an untrained person did it. Again, you need to look really close as from a distance it will probably look fine.
Its probably not a bad idea in your case to also pop the hood and see how everything lines up under there. You should see all the screws and bolts in their proper places, ect. I wish you luck and sorry to hear about your accident. Post some pics so we can see how nice your truck looks again
Last edited by rengnath; 05-05-2010 at 02:52 PM.
#3
05-05-2010, 07:06 PM
Guest
Posts: n/a
bring a magnet and a felt pad. place the felt on the body and the magnet on the felt. IF they used bondo, this will help you know for sure. if you see a spot where you suspect they bondo'd and it looks funky, run the magnet over it.
I would also bring a small chunk of clay to check gaps with. playdoh would work too. stick it in on one side, say the door gap, then check the other side. if they dont match, you know the gap is off.
I would also bring a small chunk of clay to check gaps with. playdoh would work too. stick it in on one side, say the door gap, then check the other side. if they dont match, you know the gap is off.
#4
05-05-2010, 07:21 PM
Record Breaker
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: edmonton ab
Posts: 1,128
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I would suspect there isn't much bondo judging from the pics hood fenders rad support all would be R&I this being said check caps and paint. check for tint in paint get some good sun light on it and walk around. you have a fairly solid colour so shouldn't be to bad but lighter colours are harder to match. also find out what got painted and blended this would be where you'll see you difference in tint. my guess would be paint hood fenders bumper and I can't remember if your doors where damaged if not that's prolly where the blend is.
#5
05-05-2010, 07:40 PM
Record Breaker
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: edmonton ab
Posts: 1,128
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
also if your bumper looks a shade darker it could be cause of the plastic for some scientific reason I don't know but these plastic bumpers tint the paint look at any new vehicle from BMW to kia they seldom match.. you can ask to have it repainted by all means your just gonna **** off the painter.. any shop I worked at didnt pay for warrenty work cause its all flat rate
#6
05-05-2010, 09:25 PM
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,611
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#7
05-05-2010, 11:00 PM
Champion
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Greenfield, Wisconsin
Posts: 3,686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Drivetrain can get a little scary as you may not realise theres a problem until it wears more down the road. I would take it to a open parking lot, put it in four wheel and do a couple straight runs with it, taking it in and out of four wheel several times.
It probably will rattle though, and possibly not even from the drivetrain. My brother smashed a brand new ram after he got it, and the front end had several rattles that he could never find. Accidents suck.
It probably will rattle though, and possibly not even from the drivetrain. My brother smashed a brand new ram after he got it, and the front end had several rattles that he could never find. Accidents suck.
Trending Topics
#8
05-07-2010, 01:59 PM
Record Breaker
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: edmonton ab
Posts: 1,128
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#9
05-23-2010, 02:20 AM
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,611
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
