Violence and Your Vehicle | Joe & Tony's Service Inc.

Violence has been a part of our consciousness lately. The photo presented here is an example of how gunshots can wreak havoc on a vehicle. What are pictured here are a radiator, AC condenser and a valve cover removed from a 2006 Ford Escape with a 3.0 litre engine. The vehicle came in overheating and losing motor oil.  Our staff being familiar with the CSI TV shows and a  hole in the bumper cover led us to the diagnosis.

Sure enough we followed the trajectory of the entrance wound all the way to the valve cover. It took faith in us on the part of our customer since we could not predict the ultimate damage that had been done to this vehicle until it was pretty much back together. Amazingly, the bullet (which was never found) missed the cooling fan blades and hoses among other possible obstructions and we were able to stand behind our original estimate.

We never really learned the circumstances surrounding the reasons why the Escape was exposed to gunfire and really didn't care to know. Unlike most auto failures, when you really can't get enough information, this was a rare case in which less background was better.

Bullet Damaged Auto Parts
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Road Salt & Your Vehicle | Joe & Tony's Service Inc.

We're always talking about rust and corrosion created by road salt and other chemicals used to de-ice the  roads in the winter. Most of the references are about the damage to brake and fuel lines and undercar suspension parts (trailing arms etc.). But recently a 2004 Chrysler Sebring with 74,000 miles on the odometer came in with a complaint about a "banging" sound from the rear and it demonstrated how pervasive and insidious these chemicals are.

As this photo shows salt (white discoloration) had gotten to the very top of the left rear strut and weakened the bracket that holds the strut to the vehicle. A broken piece of the strut bracket is visible in the picture. The failure was creating the noise that our customer's passengers who were riding in the rear seat complained about.

This kind of damage is never seen, but makes even experienced repair people wonder how much other automotive infrastructure has been compromised in the yearly effort to keep the roadways passable. Maybe it's time for a new standard for the materials used in vehicles or better yet some R & D on non corrosive chemicals to combat ice and snow.

Salt Damaged Rear Strut
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