So My starter went out no biggie. I had my car (62 mercury meteor, unibody car) towed to my place to fix it. I got the started solved no problem fired right up. The tow truck driver scraped my bell flowers for about 5 feet loading it up on the rollback. I'm just wondering if the pressure from it dragging could of broke the unibody or bent it. The tranny also is damn near rubbing the tunnel. The driveshaft rubs the whole tunnel at any speed in every gear except reverse. The car now sits lower about an inch on the passenger side. Should i just call the tow truck company and tell them to pay for the car to get fixed whatever the problem is and reimburse me my tow charge? Most of all does anybody have any ideas to as what the problem may be? Thanks, -Cam.
Sound like you got some damage there. I would get a body man to look at it and figure out what is bent or broken. Do the doors close the same as they use to. That was one big sign the the body was bent or swisted. I would contact the towing co. about it. We use to race some falcone back in the 70's. We use to swist them from racing. Some were so bad that when you left the line the dome light would go on. and when you open the door they would pop open and you had to lift them to close them. When we were done with them they were junk.
Sounds like there is some damage here. Although you need to be able to show how it wasn't damaged prior - if that makes sense. Forgive me my ignorance, but what is a bell flower?
Bell flowers are exhaust tips. that are usually run along the lower quarter panel. I had my buddy come and take a look at it, He's a body man and he said there's no visible signs of damage.All doors and lenders line up correctly. I'm at a loss right now.
Broken spring, or spring popped out of pocket? Broken transmission mount? Maybe the transmission rubbed on the truck body as it was pulled on, breking the mount on the tail of the transmission...now allowing the driveshaft to ride higher?
Like he said check the springs and the mounts. check the trans mount. and check to see if the driveshaft is bent. Any damage found should be paid for by the towing co. I know if they did that to my car loading it. I would be in there face.
You said the car set lower by 1 inch on the PS. Does set low along the whole car or just the front or rear?
Some of these tow truck drivers seem to want to over-tighten the car when it is tied down on the truck. The power tie-down system seems to have way more power than it needs to keep the car from moving. If you remember what components they attached the hooks to, look for bent or stretched areas relating to this. I always ask them not to tighten the car down any tighter than necessary before they do.
the car sits lower on the rear passenger side, the tranny has moved up almost as to where the linkage wont go into 1st or reverse. i tried to look at my springs but living in an apartment is no good for that. he tightened the front of the car then the rear then pulled the winch tight as hell. I'm going to explode on these guys.
I would highly recommend NOT exploding on these guys....chances are, if you do, they will say like the other bloke mentioned, prove it wasnt like that prior to use towing your peice O chit (I"M NOT SAYING IT IS) if you can than explode away, you still may get the shaft....you know the old adage, catch more flys with honey....then if you dont get the desired result, then explode away, and send em a letter from your lawyer...sounds like the driver tightened the living snot out of it aand drooped or broke something...
i'm guessing that it was loaded front of the car onto the rolll off first. usually, tow guys hook the cable from the winch in the front of the car (who knows where they hooked it on yours) and a ratchet down strap or a chain in the back to secure the car. the problem is, they put the ratchet strap or chain on loose, and then use the winch to pull the strap or chain tight (pulling the car with it). maybe the tension on the ratchet strap or chain was too much, and it tweaked the suspension or the unibody ? alot of these guys look at an old car as just that...an old car. they could give 2 shits about it...all they want is their money from the tow. this may not be the case, but it's very possible.
If he hooked to the car other then the rear axle and pulled it tight with the winch he could has twisted it. It is hard to get it throught there head that you do not need to pull the car that tight. all they need to do is hook the front axle or suspension and rear axle and pull it down. The body can ride on the suspension. It will not go anywere. Working as a fire fighter, after a a wreck I seen alot of guy pull the body down on the suspension then they wonder why they bent the car.
I would call the tow truck place and tell them of your concerns and then go to a good collision shop for an evaluation,asap. See if they can see what happened, and maybe help you to convince the tow truck company about what happened. Its probably will be an uphill battle with them, but with a professional evaluation, you may have a better chance, especially if you have to take it to the next level.
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