accident...might my durango finally be totaled?

[sdhatch]

hey, i dont know much about vehicles, wondering if you guys could help me out. i was rear ended and pushed into another guys trailer hitch. the transmisson fluid was leaking all over the place, i figured i just busted a line. when i tried to drive it to the side of the road it started shaking real bad and making a ton of noise then stalled. i turned it back on and drove it but it really didnt want to move. im thinking this could be from the busted line, or is the possibly more damage done? id really appreciate it if someone could at least give me an idea as to what they think. also before ive had a big problem with my steering wheel shaking real bad and pulling to the left one day, then to the right the next, any ideas?

[Benzman]

It may have punctured the transmission cooler, which looks like a small radiator mounted to one side of the radiator. Once the fluid leaks out the transmission will no longer function very well. You shouldn't drive it like that, you could do more damage to the transmission.

The shaking sounds like worn suspension. Could be a bad ball joint, very common. Could be other suspension joints, or steering dampener.

[sdhatch]

yeah i figured it was probably something with the ball joints and or suspension. thanks for the help. do you know of a website where i can learn about all the parts and gadgets under the hood and how they work, and what they do?