Chosen Solution
Hi everyone, I got in a single car collision and caused a lot of damage to the front of my car. My attention keeps getting drawn to this crack/split around the engine. I’m not a car man myself, is this the engine itself or a cover/base? Does this broken piece mean the car is totaled/whole engine needs to be replaced? Would appreciate any information on this, thank you.
What we can say here is limited. You need to take this to a body shop, or at least a shop who can inspect it and be sure the damage is repairable. The engine looks fine but check the exhaust manifold. It looks fine as you just avoided having to replace it but better to check then find out later. First thing you need to worry about is the crumple zones, and crash bar under the bumper. If those are pushed into the point you need to cut and weld, the car is usually a total loss at that point due to the cost to patch it in, unless it’s a recent MY. The cost of the parts and labor usually do it, as you need to put it on an alignment machine to get it correct - and even then, there will always be alignment issues so if you sell it, the buyer will be able to tell. I don’t see anything concerning, but it looks like the foam in the bumper, bumper, radiator and A/C condenser took a lot of the damage. As a matter of caution, give replacing both a serious thought.
It does look like the brackets for the crash bar took a nasty part of the crash, so you need to make sure the subframe around it isn’t damaged as well. If it isn’t, you can usually replace them on the Hondas. You will want to replace both, and inspect the crash bar and replace it if needed - usually if those get bent in, the crash bar took a fair bit of damage.
This is also concerning, as it looks like a good portion of the front-end crumple zone may be damaged as well. You really, really need to take this to a body shop for a professional look. The hood and bumper are cosmetic - you can get those all day at a junkyard, but you may need to get a can of clearcoat and Perfect Match touchup paint, or get the parts painted at a body shop. Check the headlight, but do not be surprised if the crashed side needs a new headlight. If anything like parking sensors got ruined, replace them all at once because it can screw up the system if you have one that’s damaged in a crash, and an intact one.
Johnjohn40092 John quite the damage. Hope everybody is okay. So as for the “crack. That is your timing gear cover. Cost for that around $100USD aftermarket. That is not a catastrophic damage and can be repaired. Question now is why did this happen? Check your engine mounts and see if those are okay. That engine looks slightly pushed back to the right rear. It is possible that this is due to the strain of getting hit on that right hand side. As for what else is damage, yes it is a lot but looking at your fender and the right side wheels etc. it appears there is not much structural damage but a lot of plastic damage. Until that is removed you really can’t see the extend. The front crossmember and the rest of the bulkhead seem to be unaffected. Again, let the pro’s check that out. Sub-frame and other structural parts are readily available and body shops do a pretty amazing job in getting things straight.
