Rebuilding the frontend of my P5

[NinjaJack247]

I just got into an accident today and I need advice from who ever can help me. Please. I now know the part I need and it's the whole radiator support core.

 

[whatusername]

what is it u need to know?

 

[njintau_fsd]

Shoot man, the best thing I can tell you is to go and get a donor car from the j/y with an intact front end and then cut the radiator support off it and weld that to your car. You may want to check to see if there's any extensive frame damage too and fix it. Imo (and I know you don't want to hear this, trust me I've been there) you should junk it. That front end is jacked and I think, even if you fix it somehow, the car wouldn't be as structurally sound as it was before and would be a potential hazard (you can potentially die the next time you get into a front-end collision.) I'd say the safest route is to get another Protege5 and swap whatever performance parts you have on your car. I'm sure there are more knowledgeable guys here who might give you different advice but I seriously think you should go this route.

 

[whatusername]

i dont agree.. from the looks of the pics u rear ended a vehicle and all the damage is up high. fenders appear to b in tact im sure rad and fans are shot. and radiator support is gone. if u have no frame damage then get a new core support from jy have it welded on then get remaining parts ie. bumper n grill. and rad n fans,

 

[Myrithel]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123835482-Car-accident!!!
^ my little accident thread, lots of pics. End result: totaled.

Get better pics of your bumper reinforcement and frame ends and tell us about the accident. Was it legally your fault? A rear end so you're stranded without insurance? If you have insurance I would definitely find another P5. If not, you might still want to consider it, but the damage depends on what took the impact; how fast you were driving, etc. In my case, the frame took a considerable amount and was pretty bent in one direction.

Assuming ONLY the radiator support only needs replacement, I would buy 2 or so Blair spot weld cutter drill bits and cut out the 30 or so spot welds holding the support to the car. Then, I would buy one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Radiato...ts=Model:Protege5&hash=item565edd2822&vxp=mtr
And go to a professional welder to get it spot weld back in place. The welding is not an amateur job, and you need to be 100% sure the rad support is perfectly aligned otherwise everything else won't.

If your frame was impacted, you would need to get a 4 wheel alignment to see how much of it was, unless you can obviously see frame deformation.
My frame ends looked like this at the end of the day (from the front end, but you can assume that everything else was bent around a bit):

 

[tweety2300]

Before you do anything get the frame checked out. If it's bent they might be able to straighten it but it will probly never be the same

 

[NinjaJack247]

Frame checked out and I have started the rebuild welded a new support core in

 

[NinjaJack247]

Story is that I honestly did not see this lady at the stop light it was dark out and her car was black (2011 Camry) I turned my head towards my cousin because I was talking to him looked back and I had time to try to come to a stop like 10 15 feet away put my foot on the break but black ice carried my right into the ladys rear end. I honestly wasn't going fast the speed limit was 40 and I was going slower because I just had spent 2 hours detailing my car. I work at dealership here in Minnesota, Nissan to be exact. The reason being going slower so I would kick up and snow or get dirt thrown on what I just cleaned. I am no told I didn't even have to call the cops because the lady I hit moved her car away from the seen of the accident. I ended up getting a ticket for failing to stop even though I tried. It my be worth going to court for I don't know yet.

 

[seventystangfan]

Best of luck to you man. I appreciate the fact that rather than giving up on your car, you're giving it the time and money to fix it. I'm sure if you went to court you could probably get the ticket lowered/removed. I will be back to see progress!

 

[Justin2129]

I ended up getting a ticket for failing to stop even though I tried. It my be worth going to court for I don't know yet.

I dont know about where you live, but here they always let you take a 6 hour driver improvement class and the judge will dismiss the ticket upon completion (if you havent been in the class already)

 

[tweety2300]

Consider yourself lucky, in va 99% of the time it's a wreck less driving ticket. Even if it's unavoidable you still get the ticket

 

[NinjaJack247]

What I have boughten thus far and by the numbers. Radiator core support = $60.99, Radiator 129.99, 2x Radiator cond fan = $53.53, upper radiator hose = $13.99, black hood = $94.99, 1 headlamp assembly I get the other headlamp with the front bumper on Monday.

 

[whatusername]

shudda did a wtb thread i wudda sold u my rad and fans for $60

 

[NinjaJack247]

quick update Radiator and fans are in. Just notched im going to need a new coolant and windshield wiper reservoirs..

 

[NinjaJack247]

and at the end of the day here's what she looks like! All's i need to do is get a shift cable, left headlamp, bumper, coolant and windshield reservoirs which I shoild be getting tomorrow!

 

[seventystangfan]

Awesome! Fast turnaround for such an accident. Once you do get it all together and on the road again you should consider those DDM HIDs. Worthy upgrade for not much cash.

Nice work!

 

[NinjaJack247]

i just fitted everything on there last night and it looked good.

 

[NinjaJack247]

having fan issues I was able to start the car but runing it for 30mins the fans did not kick on I did not want to drive considering I did not want to over heat my engine any helpful hints?

 

[whatusername]

Double check the connection from the fan to the harness to make sure it is connected nice and tight.. Also check your fuses make sure none of them blew from the accident and check the cooling fan relay.. You can also test the fan by running directly power to it.. The fan on your left is the radiator fan the one on the passenger side is the AC fan. Directly ground and power the radiator fan to see if it turns on and it wasn't damaged in the accident

 

[NinjaJack247]

and another thing to replace my shifter cable do I have to pull apart my dash its the one that goes through my firewall?