Should I worry?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I have Cobb Stage2 and I recently got in an accident, well not "too" recently- about 4 weeks ago. The body shop took almost 3 weeks to even get my car in to start repairs.

The damage: front bumper, passanger side headlamp, fender, tire/wheel, and driver side control arm. The brunt of the force was absorbed by the driver's side fender and wheel (hence the bent control arm). None of the damage pushed far enough to even as much as ding my hood though. Not to major overall.

Anyway I hear that I'm getting my car back early this week. Excited to FINALLY get it back I end up getting a call from the insurance company stating that the body shop just contacted them. They "noticed" a broken tab on the radiator so they want to go ahead and replace the whole radiator??? And they noticed the timing belt housing is damaged, and something inside (mentioned it being plastic?) is damaged which may need the timing belt to be removed to be replaced....which the body shop says they have to send to the dealer to get fixed.

First of all I'm a bit irritated that they took so long to "stumble" upon this additional damage I can't help but have a suspicion that their activities are less than scrupulous. Though I guess I can't prove it. I was just happy they didn't have to do any work on the engine. Now they are replacing my radiator with god-knows what kind of off brand...and they are talking about having to remove the timing belt! Heck where "IS" the timing belt on the STi? Is it anywhere near the driver's side fender?!

Anyway another concern of mine is it's going to be at the dealer and I'm wondering if they'll use any computer diagnostics beings the timing belt might have to be removed to repair/replace a housing. If so will they notice the advanced timing of the stage2 map and zap my cpu with some upgrade that will make my AP invalid?

I may just be overly concerned but I'm a bit insecure about my car being out of my hands for such a long time. Can anyone shed any light on whether I should be concerned or not?

Thanks in advance everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to read. Best Regards.

[sesolcSTI]

I know that in the past i have heard that the accessport is undetectable by dealerships and their computers. But if they have to re-time the car and everything, i guess it is possible that they will notice how the timing has been messed with. Cant you go over to the bodyshop and divorce the AP til work is complete on your engine?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

In the meantime I contacted COBB and they assure me it won't be a problem. The only issue to worry about is if they decide to upload a new software update to my ECU making my AP exstinct. In that case I would have to send the AP back to COBB for a free reflash.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll still be impatiently waiting to get my car back....it's going on a month this saturday! UGH!

[HuffRex]

I feel your pain dude. Everything will come together...its been almost 2 months without my car...finally I was able to get a hold of a V7 motor. It'll all work out!

[RyanG]

The inner timing cover might be cracked causing them to replace it. those things are actually very very brittle. Should be fine.
the timing belt is right up front under all of the belts. Dont worry about your timing issue.. They wont hook up any "scanner" to it. Even if they do, they wont know what to do anyway since they wont be able to touch the timing.
Your COBB timing isnt adjusted at idle anyway.. just under load so thats another way they wont see it.
Id be more concerned about WHY the cover broke. even though they are brittle, it still takes a good whack to crack one. I wonder what damage is done IN there.

[teh DIRT]

My cover broke....

when a tensioner bolts snapped and almost let the belt loose. luckily it rested against the crank pulley (metal shavings galore) and still spun. the belt moved out also and ripped through the cover

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Awesome thanks for the info...much appreciated.

Now I have to deal with the issue of having a "repaired frame" UGH! (see my other post)