Got rear ended, no damage on the body, but I'm having some engine issues now

[jasonbk]

Hey guys,

In this morning, I got rear-ended by a Cadillac at the red light.
Thanks for the tow hitch my car survived without a scratch (the car who hit me got a fist-sized hole on the bumper).

I exchanged the info and reported the accident.
For few hours I drove the car to bunch of places (to clinic, collision reporting centre, etc.)and it started and ran just fine.

After about 3 hours, I tried to start the car again and it was spitting out grey smoke(it smelled really bad), idled very high (1500 rpm) and whole car was vibrating really badly.
And when I applied a little bit of gas, the idle came down and stalled itself.

Few weeks ago I've replaced my:

New ECU with proper tune (I have 288' cam)
Replaced ignition wires, caps, rotors, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, crankcase breather hose
Checked TPS and confirmed it was working properly

I already opened a claim to my insurance company earlier today and said that there is no visual damage to the car.
They recommended some auto shop to get it inspected further - but at this point I really want to get it checked out at my go-to shop:

Q: Would the impact from accident cause the engine running issue?
Q: If it is, how do I prove that the problem is caused by the accident, to my insurance?
Q: Can I go to the shop of my own choice and still get covered?

If you guys have any similar experience let me know. I'm really confused about this and still thinking about what the next step would be.

[jasonbk]

Here are pictures of the scene that my witness sent to me:

[Danny]

It's totaled.

[TheTacoMan]

It's totaled.

[gart]

Check your exhaust/cat.

[jasonbk]

Will do. Do you guys think I can prove that the problem is caused by the accident, to my insurance? Anyone has first-hand experience dealing with insurance for internal damage?

[1843lamp]

Is your car an automatic?I was rear ended in a similar fashion ,no body damage but the collision somehow knocked out the transmission I did not find this out until the other car left and I tried to go on .the car would only limp along and put such a strain on the engine that it quickly overheated I was 500 miles from home and had to have money wired to a local bank and spent most of a week in a hotel while the transmission was replaced ,I was 17 then and saw it as an adventure ,I woul not view it that way today.

[jasonbk]

Is your car an automatic?I was rear ended in a similar fashion ,no body damage but the collision somehow knocked out the transmission I did not find this out until the other car left and I tried to go on .the car would only limp along and put such a strain on the engine that it quickly overheated I was 500 miles from home and had to have money wired to a local bank and spent most of a week in a hotel while the transmission was replaced ,I was 17 then and saw it as an adventure ,I woul not view it that way today.

No it's a manual. I made it home and the car was fine until it was parked for few hours.

[Stanley Rockafella]

It's totaled.

shit dude, you stole the words outta my mouth!

[jasonbk]

Lol ha, I actually disconnected the battery and pulled all of ignition wires and put them back.. And it's working normal

[jasonbk]

Well here's an another update - I'll probably post this on m20 technical forum as well - I can feel the vibration and bit of hesitation under load and there's an obvious funny exhaust smell, which could be my catalytic converter.

[jasonbk]

Just went to the exhaust shop and they pointed out that one of my cylinder is not firing. Will report back if I find out what the issue is.

[Sputnik]

check in the engine bay for any misplaced, damaged, disconnected wiring. Check the timing impulse wheel in front of the engine for example, and everything timing,air,fuel etc etc related.

[Sputnik]

check in the engine bay for any misplaced, damaged, disconnected wiring. Check the timing impulse wheel in front of the engine for example, and everything timing,air,fuel etc etc related.

[jasonbk]

Ok. When I unplugged my AFM it didn't change anything.

So I bought a used working AFM and it runs much better now - I don't think I hear anything funky when I rev it standstill. I did check all the wirings and they are all perfect.

But when I accelerate in higher gears the hesitation between 2-3k RPM is still there. It still runs a little rich in idle too.

My guess is that when the car ran like shit, it did some damage to the cat which is causing some hesitations under load + smell + a bit of white smoke in idle?