So I dunno if I'm in the right forum, tow me if necessary thanks


I was driving on a 4 divided road today. 50 mph in a 45 mph zone, in the left lane - merged into the right lane, in the process a 3-4' piece of an oak tree (about 5" in diameter and had a bit of a kink in shape) becomes visible. Did my best to center the car on it, caught it with the front subframe on the drivers side, the drivers side lower control arm, a couple chassis points and the rear wheel launched the car off of it. The only visible damage I saw (on a lift right after I hit the log) was that one of the mounting "tabs" (don't do well describing things) for the front drivers side control arm was bent back to the point that it was touching the control arm. The steel is cracked along a line "tangent" to the bolt holding the control arm on.

The piece is the front cross member/subframe member. Wholesale on the part is ~$500 (from what I've found) and book labor is 3.2 hours. Does ANYONE really think its something I can get replaced with only 3.2 hours labor. I'd need an alignment, and my rear wheel *could* be cracked (not bent, checked already). The control arm could also have taken some damage and I need to look more closely at it (although it appeared just fine to me).

I'm trying to decide whether I'm better off eating the 1-2 grand (don't really have it, but I can scrape it together since I have to) or just let insurance deal with it. I'm 21, no tickets, no accidents, no claims of any kind - good grades discount, and would rather eat the cost than have high insurance for a few years, not to mention something flag on carfax and effectively lower the cars value.

Any thoughts or helpful advice?

I was hoping for a 13.0 this week too, instead I'm going to be borrowing my gf's corolla for the next few days

 

Ya should've taken pics so we could get a better idea of what you talking about.

 

I did, but haven't been home today to load them on my comp. My camera was at home when it was on the lift....etc. Anyway, part cost is $510. Dealer quoted me $560 in labor to replace it, but thats probably not all I'll be seeing in costs.

Sucks that someone not putting a tarp over their load of trees/branches/etc. costs me over a grand, but thats life I guess

 

I have an idea what you talking about, but not 100% sure. I ran over a median and bent something that is similar to what you're describing. Mine wasn't bad enough to require replacing though. Its the part the lower control arm attachs to, on the inner side of the control arm. It's really thick steel and can't be hammered back into place. I tried that already.

Get those pics loaded later and I'm sure someone will be able to help.

 

Thats exactly it. Bent to the point that the control arm is rubbing it, the piece is cracked on the bend and rusting....I'm very frustrated. Especially because I'm gonna miss great weather at the track.

And I almost twisted my car off the lift trying to pry it back some, that steel is tough...

 

Yup, it's the same as mine. You'll never bend it back unless you torch it first to soften it up. I'm really not sure what replacing it entails since mine was not bent to that point.

 

Insurance an no Z car for a week and it'll be fine. A coworker let a guy who claimed to be a detailer (on a bike no less) wash his car because he needed the money and his hood got ruined because they guy used a dirty brush. It could be worse, at least my paint didn't get hit at all.

edit - the pics show rust in the tear by the bolt, and the rust colored stuff in the very bottom corner is just wood from the log.

 

From the looks of it your lower control arm bushing is shot anyway. Recommend taking it to a dealer or bodyshop. Having them replace the control arm and when it is out, have them bend that tab.

 

The metal on that tab is cracked, I'm going to try to get a whole new members. And the car has 9,000 miles, if that bushing is shot thats sad....REALLY sad. I need to get a better look at the control arm but I think it might actually be ok.

We'll see what the dealer says.

 

I can see what you mean about the bushing.(yellow arrow) The bushing looks dry rotted with that crack. OP, you'll have to have the entire lower control arm replaced. They don't sell the bushings separate. The bushings are pressed into the control arm and come as one piece.

I don't know if thay tab can be bent back though.(red arrow) Mine is bent also, although not as bad. I'd say to leave it as is, as long as it isn't effecting the alignmentment or movement of the control arm. But the problem is, the bend looks bad enough to prevent movement of the control arm. The tab is thick and extremely hard to bend. Believe me I tried with a large hammer and Vice Grips.

 

The bushing is cracked and also the control arm has shifted forward. We typically see this if tow companies tow from the arms. However impact on that arm from the front or rear can shift that arm and therefor needing replacing.

 

I don't mean to question your expertice on the subject, but how can you tell the control arm has shifted foward? It the impact of the log was on the front side of the control arm, wouldn't it have shifter to the rear, if it did?

On the other hand, shifting foward due to a tow truck wench pulling on the control arm makes sense..

 

To be perfectly honest I hope that is the case because I do think the arm is probably stressed in some way, its just convincing my insurance company to cover it. Shouldn't be too hard, but its still bothersome, I'm not going to be able to get it to the dealer until Friday, my schedule is just too busy this week and its a 2 hour tow (the dealer in town really is that bad).

I thought I saw the same crack on the other side and it looked like a "molding" cut to allow some flex and control where the bushing cracked down the road (I assumed). I guess I'm wrong, thanks for pointing that out and I'll definitely ask the tech about it.

I was too distracted by noticing the crack in the actual subframe member to pay attention to whether the control arm really was centered, but it didn't look shifted when standing under it.

 

13.0 in the corolla FTW!

 

That thing can't get out of its own way. Its a great car, but there is no fun in driving it. I'll have a silverado (my dad has 2 trucks he doesn't use.....don't ask) for the mean time once I get the car into the dealer. Its fun in the rain to race civics (or other FWD cars) because I can pop into 4-high and kill them because of traction. At least there is some fun aspect to that - and I can finally haul some **** to the dump.

 

It's possible it's just from the angle of the pic. It appears that the gap between the back side of the control arm and the subframe is excessive. Again, it's tough to say for sure by looking at a pic. Just want to give the OP something to look at to be safe.

 

Also in the pic you can see where the bushing had been sitting. There are wear marks on the bolt shaft. Just trying to help.

 

I suffered almost the same exact scenario. I hit a concrete island and bent the same part the same exact way. I also cracked a wheel.

I took it to a Nissan dealer and they had to adjust my camber to the max. Like you said, they wanted about $1,200 to replace the crossmember.

I had to replace the wheel (obviously), but decided to see how the alignment worked. So far, it drives fine.

If yours is cracked, and your arm is worn or damaged, you really don't have a choice (other than insurance vs out-of-pocket.).

Sorry.

 

I already have a claim pending, just have to get the car in. I had a test tonight (went to the track after and watched, 42 degrees would have netted 12's with some luck but oh well) and work tomorrow. I'll get it in on friday, hopefully only down for a week. At this point its just money.

There was a G35 (new one) running 13.8 stock (auto) which I thought was actually pretty impressive.

 

Well the bushing is available on www.mynismo.com http://www.mynismo.com/products/?id=5348 and as far as everything else goes, bring it in for an alignment and have it checked out.