[lracerk]

Hi Everyone,

So I believe one of your fine gentle men or women f***ed around and I found out. Welp...I bought a wrecked a 2017 RS with hopes to rebuild it. It has extensive under carriage damage. I believe I can revive it.
If it belonged to one of ya fine folks here at focusrs.org it would be nice if you can help in someways to give me some details on the wreck.

So far it needs the following:
Crash bar
Lower radiator support
Radiator
AC condensor
Oil pan - To previous owner - What did you do and why is there a hole? Hope you didn't blow a rod...
Intercooler
Intercooler piping
Driver side Axle boot - I'm gonna replace the whole axle altogether
ECU - To previous owner - Dude why did you take the ECU?
Hood hinges and alignment
Driver side tire

I bought most of the parts and boy these parts feel cheap. Like really cheap.....just saying.
I hope to find some engaging and supporting folks here to help me build it back up. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile enjoy the pics:

Thanks,
Lawrence

 

[Atomicinternet]

That's the one I stole and did some joy riding in. Also I was drunk, so I can't really shed any light on anything.

 

[RSt~n~peace]

Post the VIN. The owner likely didn’t do anything after they wrecked it. It was likely towed into a repair shop for an estimate and they removed parts to see the extent of the damage. Once they got to the magic number the insurance agency called it a total loss and the parts they removed “didn’t make it” to the auction.

You should be glad the PCM was removed. At least there’s a chance the motor is ok and will only need a new oil pan.
If it was in there, the people at the auction would’ve been running it without oil and coolant.

Either way all of this is why they have pre-auction inspections. Good luck.

 

[Wiley Marmot]

That's the one I stole and did some joy riding in. Also I was drunk, so I can't really shed any light on anything.

I shot out the street lights, No Passing Signs, and your mail box with my AK 47 while he drove. That's the WAY we roll!

 

[lracerk]

Post the VIN. The owner likely didn’t do anything after they wrecked it. It was likely towed into a repair shop for an estimate and they removed parts to see the extent of the damage. Once they got to the magic number the insurance agency called it a total loss and the parts they removed “didn’t make it” to the auction.

You should be glad the PCM was removed. At least there’s a chance the motor is ok and will only need a new oil pan.
If it was in there, the people at the auction would’ve been running it without oil and coolant.

Either way all of this is why they have pre-auction inspections. Good luck.

Thank you and that is a good insight and right people would have driven it to move it around without oil.

 

[lracerk]

I shot out the street lights, No Passing Signs, and your mail box with my AK 47 while he drove. That's the WAY we roll!

You guys are hilarious. I love this board already!

 

[lracerk]

Update: Got the oil pan out. Well at least one good thing is that I can get rid of those fine metal deposits at the bottom of the pan.
Thoughts: I've been working on cars as a hobby for a long time. Looking at the oil pan as well as the block and build material overall makes me realize how car manufacturers are achieving lower costs. CAST ALUMINUM!!! I'll share more pictures tomorrow. Huge difference in working on a modern car vs working on a cast iron block and steel parts from the early 90s. Parts feel so fragile compared to a MR2 I rebuild couple of years ago.

 

[big jim]

but the weight savings is nice. if our car had cast iron motor/trans/ptu/rdu...that's probly an additional 150-200 lbs?

 

[Pezzar]

might be worth getting a body shop to check the chassis legs

 

[lracerk]

but the weight savings is nice. if our car had cast iron motor/trans/ptu/rdu...that's probly an additional 150-200 lbs?

You’re absolutely right on the money about this!! However, Transaxle and Differential casings don’t have to cast iron but their internals do need to be a stronger metal(or alloy) which is really the case now a days anyways. But for a motor a cast iron would be preferable IMO in force induction application. However, I do like this RS platform.

 

[lracerk]

might be worth getting a body shop to check the chassis legs

Once I’m done with the mechanical stuff that’s the first thing I’m gonna do is get my body shop guy to true up the frame horns.

 

[CPMaverick]

ECU was in the line of fire there. It might have been destroyed. If not, for sure someone along the line just removed it so it wouldn't get broken and decided to 'keep' it. Happens a lot, so many of these wrecked cars are missing stuff that's easily removed and re-sold.

Good luck with the build. Looks pretty straightforward as long as the engine is OK.

 

[lracerk]

ECU was in the line of fire there. It might have been destroyed. If not, for sure someone along the line just removed it so it wouldn't get broken and decided to 'keep' it. Happens a lot, so many of these wrecked cars are missing stuff that's easily removed and re-sold.

Good luck with the build. Looks pretty straightforward as long as the engine is OK.

Thank you. The damages are mostly under carriage and lower front. Intercooler and piping, axle booot, lower radiator puncture, AC compressor, oil pan, etc. Found a lot of twigs. My hunch is that the previous owner was either doing a cool drift or lost control somehow drove over the curb and hit some sort of structure in front. He/She may not have taken the ECU cause then they would have also taken the carbon fiber intake???
Is hard to tell but thank you.

 

[lracerk]

Some shots from today. Not my finest work in RTVing an oil pan but I got the job done.

 

[CPMaverick]

hunch is that the previous owner was either doing a cool drift or lost control somehow drove over the curb and hit some sort of structure in front. He/She may not have taken the ECU cause then they would have also taken the carbon fiber intake???

Yeah it doesn't look stripped, but like I said the ECU may have been dragging and necessary to remove. And no tools required. And then it becomes very easy to go missing.

I had my front end off recently, my ECU bracket broke after hitting a racoon and I replaced it. The ECU is in a very vulnerable spot. So hopefully I can help with any questions posted here. If not I'm sure others can.

 

[Pezzar]

If the car was mapped amd not declared to insurance company removing ecu would stop them knowing it’s been mapped?

 

[lracerk]

Yeah it doesn't look stripped, but like I said the ECU may have been dragging and necessary to remove. And no tools required. And then it becomes very easy to go missing.

I had my front end off recently, my ECU bracket broke after hitting a racoon and I replaced it. The ECU is in a very vulnerable spot. So hopefully I can help with any questions posted here. If not I'm sure others can.

I was also baffled by where the ECU sits

 

[lracerk]

If the car was mapped amd not declared to insurance company removing ecu would stop them knowing it’s been mapped?

I also had a similar thought. It’s possible he took the ECU cause he paid for a tune. Figured he would be able to just plug and play with a new car. But to his surprise…..the dealership has to marry the car to the ECU but basic functionalities should be plug and play.

OR like the other guys are suggesting the wreck processing guys may have just snipped it if it was dangling.

in any case I paid $900 for the new ECU

 

[Pezzar]

I also had a similar thought. It’s possible he took the ECU cause he paid for a tune.

And this would invalidate insurance if not declared

 

[CPMaverick]

And this would invalidate insurance if not declared

Depends on the country / state. This seems more common in the EU/UK. I've never heard of it happening in the US.

In any case, if the insurance company wanted to check for a tune, I am sure they'd be even more suspicious if the ECU was missing entirely. Then it goes from insurance denial to insurance fraud. I don't think stealing your ECU would be a good course of action to avoid insurance investigation...