Rear tire came off while going 70 MPH

[Stainless]

I decided to take my DeLorean to work yesterday for the first time, which is 47 miles away, one way. I had just driven the car from Mississippi to Utah a month ago and had zero issues with the car. About 22 miles from home on the interstate, the rear driver-side of the car just collapsed. All I remember is there being a lot of smoke and sparks, but somehow I managed to cross the carpool lane and get into the asphalt median without getting hit or hitting anyone else. It was the scariest driving moment to date.

It felt like the rear driver-side of the car just collapsed, and the car was super hard to control. I thought the lug nuts had come loose and that the rim and tire would be lodged in someone’s windshield. After I came to a stop in the median, I opened the door to find the tire lodged between the asphalt and car, still in the wheel arch, but at about a 45 degree angle. I immediately called Hagerty so I could get a tow home before I even got out of the car to see what the problem was. I could see when I opened the door that the lug nuts were still on there tight, and upon further inspection, I saw the splines and threads from the axle shaft, which meant that the hub nut had come completely loose.

I immediately remembered that the previous owner told me that he recently replaced all four hub assemblies. He must not have tightened the nut enough for it to have worked loose like that. I also noticed that there was now a bit of a tweak to the stainless quarter panel, so my flawless body was no more. It took the tow truck an hour to get there. As he started to drag it onto the tow bed, it was raised enough to finally fit a jack under the frame. I then did my best to put the tire back on the hub so it didn’t have to be dragged all the way up the ramp. The tire about came off again on the way home since there wasn’t anything holding it on there.

The car must have fallen on the tire so quickly and the brake lines combined must have held the tire under the car. Today I was able to get the car into the garage and see the extent of the damage. Here is where the car was dragging along the interstate:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0223.jpg

This is what it looked like after I took the tire off. The nut and washer were inside the rim:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0221.jpg

This is what the tire looked like after I took it off:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0226.jpg

My poor quarter panel! It's not terrible, but it's no longer perfect:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0224.jpg

This is what happened to the caliper and hub carrier. Both of them snapped:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0227.jpg

It really could have ended up much worse than it did. The tow truck driver was amazed that the car didn't have more damage... especially after he saw the grooves in the interstate behind the car that I had made.

Here's a list of things that I need to replace so far:
Rear Hub Carrier
Lower link, washers & pivot nut
Rear shock
Brake caliper
Rear brake line

I don't know what the condition of the actual hub bearing is. The outer drive shaft's threads are a little damaged, but I may get by. Is there anything else on the list that you would recommend replacing at this point?

When I removed the tire, I noticed that the hub nut threads were caked in grease by the previous owner. I'm wondering if the grease contributed to the fact that the nut came off the threads. I guess I'll never know for sure. Anyway, feel free to leave me some feedback. I'm glad this didn't have to be a thread where I announced that I had destroyed another DeLorean.

[Grover]

Glad to hear you are ok! I know the feeling after I hit a railroad tie and shattered a rim in half, then having to cross over the highway to get to the shoulder (not in the D).

While you are repairing it you should double-check all of the others to ensure they were installed correctly.

[Dangermouse]

Wow, you were certainly lucky that didn't end really really badly, and I don't just mean damaging a car. (I thought from the title that it was going to be because of an old NCT tire, not the actual wheel coming off!)

I'm surprised that you didn't hear any clunking sounds from that side prior to your trip.

[Evildeli]

Unbelievable! That could have ended up a lot worse. Good to hear you made out safe and sound and no one got hurt. Amazing pictures too. Now you can say you drive your car 'till the tires come off ;)

[David T]

googoofan5 brings up a very good point. After an episode like this anything the previous owner touched is now VERY suspect. I would replace the bearing too and both rear shocks. The panel is repairable. The good news here is you might actually be covered for this by your insurance. It is worth a call to find out. This could have turned out much worse if you hit a hole in the road or if someone alongside got you. While your luck hasn't worn off go buy a Lottery ticket!!!!!!!
David Teitelbaum

[jmettee]

Wow, lucky!

You never can trust that previous owners know what they're doing if you don't personally know them. I had an event last month when we had 9 other DMCs here. On 1 car of a new owner, we found the wheel lugs were CAKED with anti-seize. Obviously they did not know what they were doing....you don't want your lugnuts to come off easy!

I always put blue Loctite on my axle nuts & all other nuts that I don't ever want coming off easily. I would definitely check all other axle stubs as well as other critical suspension bits for signs of grease or anti-seize. You've found out what a simple mistake by someone else can result in....& should suspect any other work done on your car.

Did the wheel give any signs of being loose before it happened? I can see how there would not be much notification as the bearing may keep the wheel from wobbling & would all of a sudden come apart.

[Stainless]

There were no warning signs our sounds whatsoever. My wife and I drove down to the spot where it happened today and I cannot believe how long the tracks in the interstate are. I guess from how far the tire wore down and the grinding on the underside of the shock mount, you get the idea.

Good advice on checking other things that the owner did himself. I'll go through everything in great detail before I take this thing on the road again.

I also forgot to mention that the parking brake pad crumbled as well. I'll need to get that replaced if the new calipers don't come with them.

Anyone have any idea what it would cost to have DMC repair the damage to the stainless quarter panel? Thanks in advance.

[DMC5180]

The interesting part here is that the Axel nut is a self locking type (deformed cone lock style) it should not have unscrewed itself. The axel and Hub are spline locked in position and do not rotate independently. I have seen an example of the hub splines running loose and stripping out. All that did was decouple the axle and hub making the car act like it was in neutral.

I'm guessing the nut was only finger tight. What kept the wheel on this long was the brake caliper until the carrier failed. Btw: there should be very little grease in this area. The bearing is a sealed unit and only a very sparing amount should have been used on the splines for rust prevention. It looks like he slathered it on in there.

The bad thing is that it will likely cost 2-3K too fix it. That's doing it yourself. I believe that hub carrier is NLA NOS, so you'll have find a used one. Your Tire is ruined and it's a Yokohama AVS Intermediate also NLA. Which means a new set of something else. I'd be using that insurance for sure if possible. Quarter panels can be repaired by the RIGHT person but thats not cheap. You may just want to replace the the panel with a new one or a good used one that includes the glass. If you choose to ship it to DMCNW for repair that would likely run 5-6K or more by the time your done.

[Bitsyncmaster]

If a sealed bearing gets hot you will get the grease weeping out of it. So maybe the PO did not put that grease there. note: I can't see any photos yet (work computer will not show most photo links).

Glad you recovered so well from that mishap. Tell the insurance company you hit a pot hole. Maybe you did hit somthing.

[Mike C.]

Oh man! Glad you were ok!!!

[stevedmc]

Be thankful the wife wasn't in the car with you when it happened.

On another semi-related note, this is why it is so important to check and replace your trailing arm bolts. Do you know if this has been done? If you are driving on the original TABs they need to be replaced before you do any more driving otherwise you could have an even worse incident.

As far as I know the original Girling calipers are no longer available but I believe the rear caliper cross references with an 89 Jaguar. I can't remember the model car but I put rear Jag calipers on my car about 6 months ago and have been fine ever since then. If you replace one caliper with something other than a Girling you should replace both so the braking power is the same on both sides.

[nullset]

As far as I know the original Girling calipers are no longer available but I believe the rear caliper cross references with an 89 Jaguar. I can't remember the model car but I put rear Jag calipers on my car about 6 months ago and have been fine ever since then. If you replace one caliper with something other than a Girling you should replace both so the braking power is the same on both sides.

I believe that's not quite correct, and that you lose stopping power with that particular caliper. I am not 100% certain of this, but I recall reading some other posts about it.

Here's some info on it: http://autos.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/68864

SpecialTAuto also has a picture showing the differences in the piston size.

--buddy

[Stainless]

Be thankful the wife wasn't in the car with you when it happened.

On another semi-related note, this is why it is so important to check and replace your trailing arm bolts. Do you know if this has been done? If you are driving on the original TABs they need to be replaced before you do any more driving otherwise you could have an even worse incident.

As far as I know the original Girling calipers are no longer available but I believe the rear caliper cross references with an 89 Jaguar. I can't remember the model car but I put rear Jag calipers on my car about 6 months ago and have been fine ever since then. If you replace one caliper with something other than a Girling you should replace both so the braking power is the same on both sides.

The trailing arm bolts have all been replaced with Tony TABs, so no worries there. Everything else in the rear suspension was nice and tight.

The rear calipers were recently replaced with Special T Auto calipers, so I'll be replacing this one with another Special T Auto caliper. The most expensive part of this whole ordeal is going to be the darn quarter panel fix or replacement. I have sent pics off to DMC and they have already gotten back in touch with me. To the guy that said this will cost 5K to 6K to fix is grossly misinformed. If I fix everything but the quarter panel, it will likely cost less than 2K.

Luckily all 4 tires need to be replaced anyway. There is evidence of cracking on the outside, so they are past their useful life. So I can't really count the tires as being part of the repair cost because they are useless anyways. Thanks for your input. Feel free to give me more!

[Bitsyncmaster]

I would check that TAB. It may have been damaged with that breakage.

[tyb323]

With the clunking noise my car is making, combined with this story, I AM SCARED to drive my car. Hope your repair goes smoothly!!!

[stevedmc]

I believe that's not quite correct, and that you lose stopping power with that particular caliper. I am not 100% certain of this, but I recall reading some other posts about it.


The Girling brakes are no longer available. Just check Houston's website. Hervey does sell the best calipers available but they are rebuilt and a bit expensive for my budget when you consider the cost plus shipping your old ones back.

I chose the Raybestos brand from Rockauto because I could get a new set for about $90 shipped and I didn't have to return the old ones. And although the pistons are smaller they do the job just fine. I drive the delorean like a regular car, not like a Corvette or race car. I wouldn't trust the brakes on any Delorean, Girling or not, for extreme braking situations. Remember, we do not have the luxury of anti lock brakes so you should be careful with them all of the time.

Another way I see it, a new part is better than taking your chances trusting the seals on a 30 year old caliper. That and saving some money was my reasoning. I did however keep my old calipers just in case. If the Jag calipers fail me I will be sure to let everyone know.




The trailing arm bolts have all been replaced with Tony TABs, so no worries there. Everything else in the rear suspension was nice and tight.

I would still check the thing and make sure it is properly torqued. If the previous owner installed the Toby TAB there is a good chance he may have not properly tightened it. Plus the TAB wasn't designend to withstand the pressure put on it from your wheel coming off. It really needs to be checked and possibly replaced.




The rear calipers were recently replaced with Special T Auto calipers, so I'll be replacing this one with another Special T Auto caliper. The most expensive part of this whole ordeal is going to be the darn quarter panel fix or replacement. I have sent pics off to DMC and they have already gotten back in touch with me. To the guy that said this will cost 5K to 6K to fix is grossly misinformed. If I fix everything but the quarter panel, it will likely cost less than 2K.

Hervey does have the best calipers but keep in mind you will have to pay some sort of core charge. I believe the core charge is very expensive, but he does sell good rebuilt stuff. I would trust a rebuilt part from him over a 30 year old NOS part any day.

I think the $5k - $6k figure was based on you dropping the thing off at a DMC franchise and simply saying fix it.

[nullset]

DPNW does have some used calipers available - www.delorean-parts.com.

Also, Toby is awesome. I will buy anything from him that I can, and highly recommend him.

--buddy

[fnzen]

The hub is a pricy part , from what I understand all that are left are used ones. I was told this when I was having my shocks replaced and the lower bolt was stuck in the hub.

[stevedmc]

I stand corrected. I forgot all about the used ones that Toby sells. I would still want the thing to have new seals though. I wonder if he would rebuild one of his used ones (without requiring a core). That would be an excellent option.

[DMC_PRIME]

WOW, what a story!!

I am surprised you aren't adding a new set of "drawers" to your damage list. ;)

Good job keeping control!

[jmettee]

I do have to say you're lucky the wheel didn't come clean off & stayed jammed/semi-attached & slid along the road. If it came clean off & there was no friction at that corner of the car, you may have spun out of control.

I think I agree with whoever above said the nut probably was only finger tight. I forgot about the locking feature on that nut that makes it highly resistant to coming off on it's own.

[Ryan King]

That is really scary...

[DeLorean]

That is scary, but you can't blame the car- that's likely a simple lack or proper procedure being followed by whom ever had that nut off last. Are those nuts castellated, or are they the sort you crank the shit out of? Typically the specification on nuts of that sort are at minimum 100 ft/lb.

[DMC5180]

I have sent pics off to DMC and they have already gotten back in touch with me. To the guy that said this will cost 5K to 6K to fix is grossly misinformed. If I fix everything but the quarter panel, it will likely cost less than 2K.

Luckily all 4 tires need to be replaced anyway. There is evidence of cracking on the outside, so they are past their useful life. So I can't really count the tires as being part of the repair cost because they are useless anyways. Thanks for your input. Feel free to give me more!

Ya thats about right if YOU do most of the work less the quarter panel. I was stating IF a DMC facility did all the work it could be 5-6K to fix everything. The labor rates are about $120 per hour. 70% of the labor would be dealing with quarter panel R & I and repair work. Btw it would be good for you to find most of the parts used privately. Core charges apply to that stuff. A set of tires are still $600.00 regardless of needing them anyway. Its all part of the repair cost.

[DMCMW Dave]

BTW - last time I looked the left rear hub carrier is still available. Just don't break the right side!

[DMC5180]

That is scary, but you can't blame the car- that's likely a simple lack or proper procedure being followed by whom ever had that nut off last. Are those nuts castellated, or are they the sort you crank the shit out of? Typically the specification on nuts of that sort are at minimum 100 ft/lb.

The torque spec is 270 lbft. for that nut. It's self locking, not a castle nut.

[TTait]

You mentioned Haggarty in your first post. If you file a claim, do it carefully. Many times collector car insurance does not allow you to file a claim if you were driving the car in to work. I suspect that what you meant was that you were driving for fun, or to a club event which happened to be near work, but that you were not planning on working that day. In fact, i wouldn't mention the work thing at all when you file the claim, just to keep things simple.

[DeLorean]

The torque spec is 270 lbft. for that nut. It's self locking, not a castle nut.

Aah, yes. Well, whom ever cranked it last probably didn't. Also, in my experience (I have had this happen too, but cough it before the nut fell off), when the drive shaft nut loosens up like this, it does not just "fly off" there is typically a several mile period of lot of abnormal noise when the wheel starts to "tilt" and the brake rotor hits the brake heat shield, and the wheel bearing gets damaged and starts to growl loudly. It would typically be something that would make you pull to the side of the road and "check things out"

Did this abnormal noise not happen in this case?

[Stainless]

No abnormal noise whatsoever in this case. If I had heard anything unusual, I wouldn't have hesitated to pull over to the side of the freeway. I still don't see any way that I would have caught this. After buying a car, who honestly thinks to check the torque on a hub nut? :)

I am just glad it happened when and where it did. Like I mentioned earlier, I had just driven 1600 miles a month ago and have only put about 100 miles on the car since. Better that it happened 22 miles from home rather than 1000.

I also would be foolish to have anyone but me do the work of repair since I have the tools and know-how. I am very distrusting of others working on any of my cars, especially now that this happened due to a previous owner's work. For those of you that have the disposable income to be able to pay DMC to fix your cars, good for you. I am not one of those DeLorean owners, unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice about the Hagerty claim. I will definitely keep that in mind if I decide to involve them.

I got a response from DMC regarding the panel repair. Even though I sent a half dozen photos of the panel, I was told that they still won't know how much it will cost to repair until I ship it there. If it is repairable, he said it shouldn't take more than 3-4 hours of repair time. So doing the math, it will cost $400 in shipping ($200 each way), and that's before the $100 per hour labor charge to fix it. It could cost $800 in repair and shipping fees. That's still cheaper than a new panel... but geez. I would hate to ship it to them only to find out it's not repairable. Decisions, decisions.

[DMC5180]

If you bought a new one, the shipping would be one way. but The panel would be more money, and you'd need to remount the glass and vents. You'd have a perfect panel when done though.

[stevedmc]

You mentioned Haggarty in your first post. If you file a claim, do it carefully. Many times collector car insurance does not allow you to file a claim if you were driving the car in to work. I suspect that what you meant was that you were driving for fun, or to a club event which happened to be near work, but that you were not planning on working that day. In fact, i wouldn't mention the work thing at all when you file the claim, just to keep things simple.

Hopefully they don't read DMCTalk. This is one of the many reasons I am willing to pony up $800 a year for normal insurance. I ran over Bambi last year and had no problems filing a claim with Safeco. They were even nice enough to wave my $100 deductible because it took a little longer to get the work done than originally expected.

Oh, and not only did they wave the deductible, they also paid for the mechanic to replace my shift linkage bolt which broke while it was in the shop.

[nullset]

I think it's K-Jet's fault. Why don't you try a carburetor? Carburetors don't weigh as much as kjet, so they won't fatigue the hubs as quickly, and the damage would've been less severe.

[stevedmc]

I think it's K-Jet's fault. Why don't you try a carburetor? Carburetors don't weigh as much as kjet, so they won't fatigue the hubs as quickly, and the damage would've been less severe.

Not only that but carburetor owners know how to tighten bolts. ;)

[SBL]

Rob Grady may be the best DMC stainless body panel repairman around. I have seen some remarkable work he has done.

You should at least give him a call.

[David T]

All of the Delorean vendors have the ability to repair the S/S panels. It will come down to your personal preference and shipping costs. Depending on the extent of the damage and the time it will take to repair it, it may work out cheaper to just replace it and sell or trade the damaged panel. A lot also depends on if the insurance company is paying and what they want to do.
David Teitelbaum

[Stainless]

Rob Grady may be the best DMC stainless body panel repairman around. I have seen some remarkable work he has done.

You should at least give him a call.

Thanks for the tip. I have sent him information regarding the repair. Hopefully he'll be willing to tackle it.

[Ashyukun]

Hopefully they don't read DMCTalk. This is one of the many reasons I am willing to pony up $800 a year for normal insurance. I ran over Bambi last year and had no problems filing a claim with Safeco. They were even nice enough to wave my $100 deductible because it took a little longer to get the work done than originally expected.

Oh, and not only did they wave the deductible, they also paid for the mechanic to replace my shift linkage bolt which broke while it was in the shop.
Yeah, I have largely laughed off all the offers - either from other companies or for my own insurer (USAA)- for specialty classic car insurance since all of them have restrictions regarding miles driven in a year or that you can't leave the car unattended in a public parking space. Thanks, but I want to be able to drive to work on a semi-regular basis and be able to drive down to DCS next year and back without blowing the mileage limit...

[content22207]

... they also paid for the mechanic to replace my shift linkage bolt which broke while it was in the shop.

This is one of the items you should carry a spare of in the car -- it's an odd size shoulder bolt that is almost impossible to source locally.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Stainless]

I finally heard back from my insurance today after filing a claim. I answered a bunch of questions about what happened while I was being recorded and all that jazz. The good news is, they told me that they will pay for all of the "resulting damage" from the wheel coming off. So hopefully that will be pretty much everything. I'm so glad that I decided to involve my insurance so it won't be such a financial drain on me.

An appraiser will be contacting me soon to come see the car. I imagine that he'll verify the damage and have some way of estimating the cost of repairs. I plan to have all the parts listed that need to be replaced, as well as costs, the supplier, and info on the quarter panel repair. Hopefully he doesn't mind that I have already disassembled the brakes and hub so I could see the extent of the damage.

Anyone ever have to deal with an appraiser when a car was damaged?

[DMCMW Dave]

The more info you can hand them the better. Print out the item part pages from delorean.com with pictures and price. This car is NOT in the standard insurance guides so they are looking for any info you can give them.

They will often call one of the dealers for labor estimates.

In your case it appears they will pay for everything but screwing the nut back on since that was the cause. . . .

[Stainless]

The more info you can hand them the better. Print out the item part pages from delorean.com with pictures and price. This car is NOT in the standard insurance guides so they are looking for any info you can give them.

They will often call one of the dealers for labor estimates.

In your case it appears they will pay for everything but screwing the nut back on since that was the cause. . . .

Great advice. Thanks. I plan on doing all the labor myself, except for the stainless repair, which my insurance will hopefully appreciate. I hadn't thought of printing off the actual parts pages, but I will definitely do that.

[Canon20DFan]

My wheel fell off on the highway... I'll try to make future threads as catchy. You're very lucky you're not dead. You're also lucky other Delorean owners weren't nearby, they would've scavanged your car for parts while you were making your phone call...

[dhaney]

Anyone ever have to deal with an appraiser when a car was damaged?

A few years ago I was hit from behind by a lady in a newer Toyota Celica. Her car actually got underneath the Delorean!

I got ready for the appraiser by giving them the DMCH (most expensive) web site to review and then printed out what I could see as necessary parts.

It was pretty painless since the appraiser was totally clueless about the Delorean. When he looked at the car we went through exactly where she hit me and what parts were bent or broken.

Even if you are going to do the work yourself make sure to include in your estimate the cost of shipping the car to your choice of vendor. You should get paid for that. In my case since the Delorean is a specialty item the insurance company paid me and not the shop doing the work.

I am betting the driver of the other car was shocked that my repairs were almost $8K and that didn't include any Stainless panels, but it did include a charge for a new rear fascia. I am betting yours will be even more expensive due to the stainless steel panel repair/replacement.

Dan

[Stainless]

My insurance company had an appraiser come out to see the DeLorean this morning to assess the damage. By how prepared I was with documentation and spreadsheets, he said I couldn't have made his job any easier. A couple of things surprised me: 1) he said that the insurance company was going to pay me for doing the work myself and 2) it only took maybe 10 minutes in total to get it over with.

He snapped some photos of the VIN, odometer, and damages, then I went down the list of parts that needed to be replaced, estimates for shipping, and he was on his way. Since my rear caliper and parking brake assembly are both shot and are worthless, the insurance will even pay for the huge core charges for both, which is way cool. We're going to have a shot at getting the panel fixed since it has the potential of being much cheaper than a new one, so I'll get that removed and shipped off soon.

I really couldn't ask to be treated better by my insurance company. In my earlier estimates of the repairs, I failed to take into account the large core charges for the caliper parts, but so far the cost is around $2500. I'll have a final number that my insurance will pay later this week. The parts add up quick!

[Stainless]

For those of you that have been following the action, I thought you would appreciate an update. Last night I put the car on all four wheels again for the first time since the mishap. My insurance has been very great to work with. I ordered all of the replacement parts from DMCH and Special T. This is what it all looked like all put together again:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0256.jpg

I don't know what the previous owner was thinking, but he has everything COVERED in anti-seize. The hub nut threads on the rear passenger wheel (the one that didn't come off) were covered in the stuff too. So to be safe, I removed the hub nut, which came off way too easily. Then I used brake cleaner to get all of the anti-seize off. I used a nice dosage of blue loctite on both of the hub nut threads and torqued them to 270 ft lbs.

I am seriously paranoid about all the work that the previous owner did to the car now. Before I take the car on the road again, I'm going to check the fronts as well and go through and check the torque on all of the nuts and bolts so nothing like this happens again.

I still haven't shipped off my quarter panel to get fixed, so it will still be quite some time before I'm cruising around again. I did get it removed though. I'm just waiting on a box that this panel will fit in. This is what the car looks like right now:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/jlattin21/DSCN0257.jpg

[Grover]

I like the I <3 U on the body tub, nice touch.

All kidding aside, great work and I agree with you as I mentioned it when the thread was started, check the important parts of the car that the previous owner may have touched. Great to see it almost back on the road!!!!

[tiger38117]

I almost bought this car. It was 15 minutes away from me. Even had pictures made with my 1905 one day. Yikes.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/bluebirdinmemphis/81%20Delorean%201905/DSC01087.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/bluebirdinmemphis/81%20Delorean%201905/DSC01088.jpg

[TTait]

I think you may have misspoken when you said you were driving the car to work. Its possible that your policy won't cover you for commuting for work, just driving for pleasure - which is clearly what you meant to say.

Glad no one got hurt - I had a friend driving a Uhaul that the entire back end dropped out of, bounced down the road and went thru the windshield of a minivan behind him - both the mother and a kid in the back seat came within a few inches of losing their lives, but it threaded the needle and missed them.

Your insurance should then cover a lot of this, but it will not cover the part that originally failed. I once had an engine fire in a Ford, caused by a faulty PCV valve - it cracked the block and melted most everything under the hood, which also had to be replaced. The insurance company was very firm that they would pay for all the subsequent damage, but not the part which failed. Ha-ha, the repairs ran about $4k, but I had to pay the deductible and cover the $3 for the PCV valve.

When working with the adjuster, insist on OEM parts, new or if need be used (unless you had upgraded shocks). A good local shop can both do the suspension work, as well as remove the rear quarter and ship it off for repairs or replacement. You are probably equidistant from either DPNW or DMC-CA or Houston. You can try to tell them to ship it to one of these locations. The advantage being that they can and should check the car over thoroughly to see what else is messed up.

Make sure they consider that at least both rear tires need to be replaced, not just one.

If the insurance company cuts the check to you, or a friendly shop, then you might consider aftermarket brakes etc. to offset the cost of your deductible.

The main reason not to consider them is that they do have change the braking characteristics of the car. All due respect to Steve et al, if I ever hurt or killed anyone else on the road in an accident, I wouldn't want to have to wonder if my choice of brakes might have contributed to the problem. I'll run aftermarket starters and AC evaporators, I have a different radiator and fans, the list goes on. I draw the line at brakes with different specs though. I think its telling that no Delorean vendor will sell the Jaguar brakes - no one is willing to stake their business on the performance of this substitution. Its a choice each owner needs to make themselves. there is no right or wrong to it - but brakes are serious stuff, and you never know when you will need them to work at 100%, or whose live is on the line when you do.

Glad you and everyone else is ok. The car can be fixed.

Take it easy...

Tom

[Stainless]

I think you may have misspoken when you said you were driving the car to work. Its possible that your policy won't cover you for commuting for work, just driving for pleasure - which is clearly what you meant to say.

Glad no one got hurt - I had a friend driving a Uhaul that the entire back end dropped out of, bounced down the road and went thru the windshield of a minivan behind him - both the mother and a kid in the back seat came within a few inches of losing their lives, but it threaded the needle and missed them.

Your insurance should then cover a lot of this, but it will not cover the part that originally failed. I once had an engine fire in a Ford, caused by a faulty PCV valve - it cracked the block and melted most everything under the hood, which also had to be replaced. The insurance company was very firm that they would pay for all the subsequent damage, but not the part which failed. Ha-ha, the repairs ran about $4k, but I had to pay the deductible and cover the $3 for the PCV valve.

When working with the adjuster, insist on OEM parts, new or if need be used (unless you had upgraded shocks). A good local shop can both do the suspension work, as well as remove the rear quarter and ship it off for repairs or replacement. You are probably equidistant from either DPNW or DMC-CA or Houston. You can try to tell them to ship it to one of these locations. The advantage being that they can and should check the car over thoroughly to see what else is messed up.

Make sure they consider that at least both rear tires need to be replaced, not just one.

If the insurance company cuts the check to you, or a friendly shop, then you might consider aftermarket brakes etc. to offset the cost of your deductible.

The main reason not to consider them is that they do have change the braking characteristics of the car. All due respect to Steve et al, if I ever hurt or killed anyone else on the road in an accident, I wouldn't want to have to wonder if my choice of brakes might have contributed to the problem. I'll run aftermarket starters and AC evaporators, I have a different radiator and fans, the list goes on. I draw the line at brakes with different specs though. I think its telling that no Delorean vendor will sell the Jaguar brakes - no one is willing to stake their business on the performance of this substitution. Its a choice each owner needs to make themselves. there is no right or wrong to it - but brakes are serious stuff, and you never know when you will need them to work at 100%, or whose live is on the line when you do.

Glad you and everyone else is ok. The car can be fixed.

Take it easy...

Tom

Tom, you make me laugh. You must not have read the thread because the car is already about 90% fixed. All that's left to repair is the panel that is being shipped to DMCNW to get fixed by the pros. Thanks for the tips though :)

[TTait]

Ya- oops - the last page or two got by me. Well, maybe somebody else can benefit in the future.

I did note that someone said they printed out price quotes from DMCH as they were the most expensive. Awww - c'mon. I know we can't actually do business with Delorean One, and they are basically shut down, but the website is still up and running!

If someone can quote their pricing for a new set of lugnuts and a festoon bulb they will have covered their deductible...

Perhaps this can be Ed's gift to us.

T

[sztybel]

Man I am just reading this thread and I am totally amazed what the previous owner did to the car. I've been working on my car a lot lately and one of the new tools I acquired was a torque wrench capable of getting that axle nut on the car at 270 ft. lbs.

Congratulations on coming out of the accident alive! This is almost as impressive as landing an airplane in the Hudson River.

[Marty]

So glad you're ok! What a terrible experience. I had a front wheel come off my old YJ (it was determined someone was trying to steal the aftermarket wheels). My brake disc wore flat and created a big groove in the asphalt. But I was lucky like you, and no one was injured.

[Stainless]

Thanks guys. The car is just about ready to get back on the road again. Currently the rear quarter panel is at DMCNW and Toby's crew will be tackling the repair next week. I expect to have it back in no more than a couple of weeks and then she'll be back on the road shortly after that. The car is back on all four tires again as of last night. I had the wheels sandblasted and powder coated and a new set of Cooper Cobras installed.

So with the suspension put back together, the brakes working, all hub nuts removed and reinstalled with thread locker and torqued properly, this fiasco should never happen again. I'll be relieved when I can start doing other things to the car that are more rewarding, such as fixing the A/C :)

I'll let you know when the momentous day comes that the car is back on the road.