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Advice on a side-swiped Baja

Hi,

My Baja got side-swiped by a car coming from the opposite direction about a month ago. We were each going about 35 mph at the time so it took quite a whack. It's in the body shop for repairs right now. The problem I'm having is that there's a slight bump/bonk/clunk that I experience sometimes just before the car comes to a complete stop. The dealership has checked it out: 1. they can't reporduce (and neither can I) 2. they've checked the engine mounts and some other "usual suspects" that might be affected in Subarus in this type of collision and found nothing.

My Baja is a 2003 with 111,000 miles on it and I'm concerned that after "everyone's" satisfied that all the necessary repairs are done the problem will get more serious and the insurance company will give me a hard time about it being associated since the case is closed (as far as they're concerned). The car has some considerable mileage on it -- the type of mileage where people might start to use as an excuse thinking everything is going to start going wrong on a car anyway. It's been extremely well-maintained.

Can anyone out there offer some advice on what I might tell them to look for -- ESPECIALLY possibly something that might be internal and easier to overlook? Has anyone else had a similar collision/what damage did you experience?

Thanks in advance for the help.

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Reply to
phillystyle
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I'm thinking the spring around the strut. If they didn't turn it so the end sits in the hole/recess in the cup, maybe the spring is sliding around. Could also be the plate (bearing cap) at the top is loose/worn.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Bitch and moan to the dealer, the repairer and the insurance so that 'everyone' knows there is a problem even though they cannot duplicate it at the time. And importantly, get it written down on any of the repair documentation.

That way if/when it reappears there is a paper trail straight back to the insurance claim.

Reply to
Bugalugs

I'm confused. Did the sound happen before or after the accident? The car is in the shop being repaired now, right? So how do you know the sound won't be gone when you get the car back? I would just road-test it after the repairs but BEFORE you sign off on the repair work, check to see if the sound is still there....

Dan D '99 Impreza RS2.5 (son's) Central NJ USA

Reply to
Dano58

Sorry about not replying sooner, I appreicate the answers/suggestions. For some reason I haven't been able to view new posts for some time. It also seems like my posts are taking days to hit the board too.

Ok. I'll have the springs/sturts checked out the next time I take it in to the shop.

As for complaining, I've complained enough and I've had it duely noted at the dealership and in the notes at both insurance companies that this sound is a concern and cannot be duplicated on command. I've been told by both insurance companies that it won't be an issue in the future to address this if it becomes a significant issue. :o|

The sound definitely showed up after the accident. I was confident that the sound wouldn't go away after the reapirs because I mentioned it when I dropped the car off and even though they couldn't duplicate the condition, they had the service dept investigate all the components they thought it might be and turned up nothing, so they weren't planning to fix anythnig but bodywork.

The work's done, I've got the car back and I've heard the sound maybe twice. I'm working really hard to try to recreate it. Another clue perhaps is that the last time I noticed it, I was braking, almost to a stop and making a slight right turn onto a side street.

Thanks for listening and the input everybody.

-- SUB

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Reply to
phillystyle

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