TJ: Cracked Flywheel? Due to Accident?

[RRosenwald86]

Hey folks,

So as I mentioned a woman hit my parked car last week. She side swipped my front end after going over a grass median.

My car was making a sound I NEVER heard prior to the accident (immediatly noticed this sound as I was done with the cops and pulling away to go home).

Dealing with insurance now.

Brought the Jeep to a shop which sent it to a local dealership. Looks to be a cracked flywheel (my TJ is an automatic). They said its "highly unlikely" due to the accident. Sounds like her insurance wont be paying for this? Is it possable that this cracked flywheel could be from her hitting my front end? I had MINIMAL damage to the physical part of the body (scratched bumper and end caps...). I NEVER heard this noticable sound prior to the accident...

Hope I wont be screwed over...

 

[dingus]

in my mind, a cracked flywheel wouldn't logically be caused by someone hitting your bumper... but if it happened RIGHT AFTER you got hit, it would make sense... did you tell the cops about this and have it amended to the accident report???

i'd say that the accident wouldn't have CAUSED the flywheel to crack, but if it was weakened from something prior, then the accident could have been the "straw that broke the camel's back"

 

[Laph]

it is possible it had a hairline crack in it before then when she hit ur bumper the shock fracured the flywheel even more producing the sound. if you fight the insurance company you may win just cause it wasn't doing it before she hit your TJ. worst tey can do is say no.

 

[RRosenwald86]

Ok guys, I just needed some reassurance. Clearly, I am going to try it, like you said the worst they can say is no...

The cops did not report any specific damage on any of the cars involved. We will see what happens.

 

[Laph]

Let us know how things turn out, i know I would have strangled the lady right in front of the cop if she hit my jeep, esp now that i had to drop full coverage to liablity due to the fact that I'm starting school next week and no job

 

[RRosenwald86]

I hear ya. Its honnestly such minor damage, most people wouldn't even notice it.

I would have flipped out on the woman had it been more damage. But hey, I felt kinda better in knowing my car *messed* up her car big time while my car left little more than a scratch in the bumper.

What sucks even more, is apparently the woman driving the car... turns out it was her friends car that she was borrowing. Too bad her friends insurance is going to skyrocket now!

 

[redrooster]

I don't think it is in any way possible that the flexplate cracked because of the accident. At first I thought that if it was in Park, that the tang holding the transmission in park could have locked the transmission down and caused the weak link to break (actually the tang would be weaker than the flexplate) upon impact. Then I woke up and realized that the torque converter spins with the flexplate and engine regardless of whether the thing is in Park or not.
So no, under the situation described the flexplate could not have broken. The Park tang could have broken, but you would know it when the Jeep rolled off when you left it in Park.