Engine Coolant Temperature!! (Is there a way to display it?)

[Mechanic]

Inuvik,
. . . . I was West bound on I-90 in WY at mile marker 179 which is about 25 miles West of the SD border at about 8:30pm CT at 80 mph. I had just dimmed my lights because of oncoming traffic and I was scanning back to my left when I caught sight of the deer in my left hand side vision. I knew that I was going to get hit. I got down on the brakes hard and I was in full ABS when we collided. I think that I was down to 65 when we hit.
. . . . Both front fenders, the radiator support, both left doors, the fuse box and a bunch of wiring, the bumper cover and fasicia, the grille, the hood, the left inner fender liner, the left headlight, the headliner, the left side A and B pillar trim, and the drivers door panel are damaged. Both left side curtain airbags, the drivers passenger seat airbag, and the drivers seat belt all deployed.
. . . . The frame, suspension, and drive components are all fine. It tracks straight with no pulling, vibration or noise. I have a bruised left shoulder but that is the only injury and it is minor. The side curtain airbag kept my head out of the drivers window and the seat airbag kept me off of the door panel. Of course I was wearing my seat belt. I was able to maintain full control of the vehicle and it was not disabled. I drove it back to WI from WY.
. . . . About 7:30am I stopped in a small town called Murdo, SD for gasoline and a break. I was immediately stopped by an officer that was concerned about my well being. He wanted to known when it happened and if I was OK. He also wanted to know if I had reported it. After it happened I continued West to the next town which was about 25 miles away. I called the WY Highway Patrol and then my insurance company to report the crash. I told him this. He did a quick check on my paperwork. I asked him if there was a shop in town that could cut off the mangled left front fender and remove the inner fender liner. He guided me to a repair shop on the edge of town and called the owners for me. He waited there until they got there. It took them about an hour to arrive and about 15 minutes to cut the fender away and remove the liner.
. . . . My left headlight is laying someplace in WY at exit 179. I wasn't going to wander around in the dark on I-90 looking for it or the deer. The car will probably be totaled. 7.5K miles and I have';t even made a payment on it.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . The deer probably weighed 150 to 175 pounds and I was doing 80 when I saw it and probably still around 65 when we hit. I have Fibromyalgia and PTSD. Driving is very relaxing for me. I am healthy except for old age. I live in WI but I am not from WI. I was born in TX on the Gulf Coast and raised in LV, NV. I am a desert rat and I take long drives out West just to relax. I'm not bothering anyone or hurting anyone. Of course there is risk but being alive is a certain death sentence. No way out of and no way around it. I could be killed just lying in bed.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

[Top_Fuel]

Man...that damaged a lot of panels but it's amazing it was still drive-able! Sorry it happened but glad you're OK. Hard to imagine it not being totaled unfortunately.

[Mechanic]

Top Fuel,
. . . . I figured about 5K in damage that night. The following day in Murdo, SD I figured about 7K. I took it to a body shop here in Reedsburg that is certified by my insurance company and they are thinking between 10 and 11K. The airbags are very expensive. The radiator support has to be replaced. It can't be straighten. This means draining the AC and Coolant. Removing the Condensor and Radiator. A lot of stuff has been destroyed. I am impressed that I was able to drive it home considering the amount of damage and the size of the deer. If I had been in my Protege I believe that it would have been a lot worst. The Side Curtain Airbags kept my head off of the drivers window and I would probably have been stunned or even knocked out which means that I would have lost control and had a secondary collision. Yep! It could have been a lot worst. In 50 years of licensed driving it is the first time that I have ever hit a deer. Up to Wednesday night I could count the number of animals that I have hit on one hand. Now I have to use two hands. I don't like to kill things and it isn't the deer's fault. He was just doing what animals do.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

[Mark]

Top Fuel,
. . . . I figured about 5K in damage that night. The following day in Murdo, SD I figured about 7K. I took it to a body shop here in Reedsburg that is certified by my insurance company and they are thinking between 10 and 11K. The airbags are very expensive. The radiator support has to be replaced. It can't be straighten. This means draining the AC and Coolant. Removing the Condensor and Radiator. A lot of stuff has been destroyed. I am impressed that I was able to drive it home considering the amount of damage and the size of the deer. If I had been in my Protege I believe that it would have been a lot worst. The Side Curtain Airbags kept my head off of the drivers window and I would probably have been stunned or even knocked out which means that I would have lost control and had a secondary collision. Yep! It could have been a lot worst. In 50 years of licensed driving it is the first time that I have ever hit a deer. Up to Wednesday night I could count the number of animals that I have hit on one hand. Now I have to use two hands. I don't like to kill things and it isn't the deer's fault. He was just doing what animals do.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

That's some major damage. It's really good to hear you weren't seriously hurt. Glad the Mirage kept you safe, & it got you back home. Your new scan gauge probably helped assure you that your engine wasn't overheating on the way back home.

I hope your insurance company takes good care of you!

I live about 25 minutes from Reedsburg. Small world!

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . The Scan Gauge was very useful. I checked before I got back on I-90 to see if I was losing any fluids and I wasn't. Even though the radiator support is shoved back about 3 inches at the top it didn't even break the the lines going to the Condenser. The fan is still working. I haven't released the hood yet because once I do I will probably have to take it off. I don't think that it will close. It feels like the release cable either came off or broke. I can reach the latch from where the left fender used to be. I watched the engine coolant temperature very closely to insure that the engine wasn't in any danger of overheating.
. . . . The ScanGauge was very handy in other ways. By watching instant MPG and the Average MPG I was able to calculate how far that I could go on a tank. Since I was climbing up the front range the gas mileage always drops, add in 80 MPH and it drops even more, but when you throw in a 25-30MPH head wind my average was about 19.5MPG. Not a lot of range on a 9 gallon tank. In one stop I made the last bar had been flashing for about 20 miles. I put in 8.2 gallons.
. . . . By using the MAP reading I could get a good idea of what the altitude was along with watching the vegetation. By running full throttle at about 2,000 rpm and waiting for the MAP reading to stabilize. Here in Reedsburg where we are at about 1,000 ft the reading is 14.3PSI. In Murdo, SD where the altitude is about 5,000 ft the reading is 13.3PSI. In Moorhead, WY, which is where I went to report the crash, the altitude is about 8,000 ft and the reading is 10.2PSI. Very interesting to watch.
. . . . I setup the ScanGauge with the proper tank size and engine size. At 6,500 RPM here in Reedsburg I was showing 100HP. I dropped that by about 10 percent. In Moorhead I was showing 65HP. Yes, my Speedo is about 5% fast. I adjusted the ScanGauge so that the speed reading was about 5% lower than the vehicles Speedo.
. . . . Coming back I was running with a tailwind. At 80 I was showing 32MPG. At 75 it was 35, at 70 it was 38, at 65 it was 40, at 55 it was 45. Lots of other interesting readings from the other gauges. Before the crash the IAT was about 15 degrees higher than the outside temperature. After the crash with the left fender and fender liner gone and the hood bent up the IAT was the outside air temp.
. . . . I appreciate your good wishes. I have GAP insurance so I won't be stuck with a car payment and no car but the question is will I be able to get a new car or am I going to be on foot. I no longer have a trade in and I don't have enough money to make a down payment. I can't walk very far and I don't know what I will do without a car. I have never been without a car in my whole life so I am concerned about that.
. . . . I did enjoy my trip even though it was cut short. I stopped at the Badlands National Refuge in SD on my way back. I got there at about midnight on Wednesday and I curled up in the car and slept until about 6. Dawn was breaking when I woke up. I saw a bunch of Bighorn Sheep and a very large herd of about 100 deer. The speed limit at the time was 25 so there was no danger. I haven't seen any Bighorn Sheep for 20 years. Really cool!
GOD Bless and Thank,
rich!

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . The repair estimate came in at 11.5K. They will probably total it. If so I am going to ask them to cut me a check for the maximum amount that they will pay and then do a lot of the repairs myself.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

[Mark]

Mark,
. . . . The repair estimate came in at 11.5K. They will probably total it. If so I am going to ask them to cut me a check for the maximum amount that they will pay and then do a lot of the repairs myself.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

$11,500 is a lot of money. If you keep the car, it will be interesting to hear what they will be willing to pay you. Does having a lien on a vehicle complicate doing that? When you finally pay off the car, I assume the title will be stamped "salvage". Not a big deal if you keep the car for a very long time I guess.

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . I just found out that AF insurance has declared the car a total loss. I won't find out how much they will give me and still allow me to retain ownership of the car until tomorrow afternoon. I have a catch 22, chicken and egg problem. The check will be made out to me and Capital One. The problem is is that Capital One won't release the funds until the repairs are completed. If I had that kind of money I would just let AF total the car and I would make a down payment on a new one. Argh!!
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!

[Mechanic]

Mark,
. . . . I have two options. Let them total the car and take procession of it. My GAP insurance pays off the balance of the car and I am on foot. I have Fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, heart disease, and my metabolism is messed. I can't walk very far, I can't stand for more than a minute or so at a time, I can't handle the cold very well, and I can't stand high heat indexes. No car is a death sentence for me.
. . . . The other option is to take a check towards the repairs and I retain ownership of the car. I still have my car payment. The total amount will be some percentage of the value of the vehicle minus a salvage value. Probably around 9K. By doing most of the work myself and subletting out the repairs for the radiator support and paint work I can put the car back to like new condition for that. I also have to sublet to a glass shop. The headliner was damaged when the side curtain air bag deployed. Getting the old headliner out is no problem You can cut it up and take it out in pieces. It is installing the new headliner that is the problem. Either the windshield or the rear window will have to be removed. If you bend the headliner you have ruined it. It is made of a thick fiber type of material that doesn't take kindly to being bent. Then the window has to be reinstalled.
GOD Bless and Thanks,
rich!
P.S. Anyone out there want to help??
rich!