Help! hit curb...bent something in suspension!!!!!!!!!!
11-19-2011, 02:08 PM
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Help! hit curb...bent something in suspension!!!!!!!!!!
long story short...hit curb...now my passenger side wheel is crooked...it still sits in the same spot...( it doesnt sit closer to the bumper or closer to the sideskirt) but my wheel sits as if i had the steering wheel slight turned to the right so the side closest to the bumper is sticking out...
...and to drive straight i need to have my steering slightly veered to the left. ill have some pics later if it helps. what did i bend before i go and start buying parts
...and to drive straight i need to have my steering slightly veered to the left. ill have some pics later if it helps. what did i bend before i go and start buying parts
11-19-2011, 02:18 PM
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front or rear?
also, a picture would help.
If you're talking about your rear passenger side, you probably bent your camber and/or traction arms or just knocked the eccentric toe or camber bolts loose.
also, a picture would help.
If you're talking about your rear passenger side, you probably bent your camber and/or traction arms or just knocked the eccentric toe or camber bolts loose.
11-19-2011, 02:23 PM
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front...pics are up....if you you look at the pics showing the straight down angle you can see how the hub/brake caliper/rotor are slightly angled
11-19-2011, 03:02 PM
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On most cars the steering wheel is turned slightly to the left or right of center when you're going straight down a level road. If you remember how your steering wheel was positioned under those conditions before the accident, compare that to the position of the steering wheel now when the left wheel is pointing straight ahead. That will tell you if the steering rack has been shifted because of the impact.
It's really hard to tell if the suspension components are bent without some sort of jig or template to compare known good ones to your parts.
It's also possible the mounts for the suspension components have been bent out of position.
It's really hard to tell if the suspension components are bent without some sort of jig or template to compare known good ones to your parts.
It's also possible the mounts for the suspension components have been bent out of position.
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11-19-2011, 04:11 PM
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Pics are too small for me to see/examine.
It looks like your toe was knocked out of alignment. Check your tie rod ends & tie rods first to see if they are visibly bent/damaged. That's where you usually adjust toe up front, and if that's the problem part, it won't be too expensive to repair.
They should look similar to this:
It looks like your toe was knocked out of alignment. Check your tie rod ends & tie rods first to see if they are visibly bent/damaged. That's where you usually adjust toe up front, and if that's the problem part, it won't be too expensive to repair.
They should look similar to this:
Last edited by SparkleCityHop; 11-19-2011 at 04:18 PM.
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11-19-2011, 04:32 PM
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I haven't damaged any components up front yet, so I'm not sure what gives out first in these situations. If you had a problem in the rear, unfortunately, I have first hand experience with repairing bent arms and what tends to "go first" in the rear.
I'm sure that there are others on here that have some of the "unwanted experience" you're looking for.
I'm sure that there are others on here that have some of the "unwanted experience" you're looking for.
11-19-2011, 04:59 PM
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My bet is on the inner tie rod as well. That was the first thing that was visually bent when I took a hit to the front wheel and I had the same symptoms as you described for the steering wheel.
11-19-2011, 07:43 PM
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thanks for your responses...i will try to get better pics of the tie rods and ends...and now that you mention toe alignment...it could make sense...cuz my left front wheel was the one that made contact first...i completely shattered the hell out of the wheel yet that side everything is sitting fine...im going to order a new wheel and drive to firestone and get an alignment and see if its just that and if not they will tell me whats messed up. does this sound like the right thing to do
11-19-2011, 07:59 PM
#13
Id take it to a specialty shop instead. A lot of those national chains dont keep their machines calibrated properly. Also when you want to ask complicated questions they start backing away from you slowly...
Dont cheap out when it comes to suspension, not on this car.
Dont cheap out when it comes to suspension, not on this car.
11-19-2011, 08:00 PM
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Yeah, a good alignment guy is going to be able to tell either:
A) whether or not any parts are visually bent
B) whether any bushings are visually torn
C) whether or not something has broken/shifted
D) whether or not he can get it to pull back into spec through normal means
And even if you got under the car and determined that your tie rod ends were bent, and you were comfortable replacing them yourself - you would still have to take it in for a new alignment anyways. Better to let one place be responsible for the troubleshooting, repair, and alignment. Be sure that they give you a before and after printout of your alignment, and if you can scan/upload it to here - there are some pretty smart guys like Jason-ZYA that can look at an alignment report and pretty much tell you which bushings/parts may be in question. I am not that smart.
A) whether or not any parts are visually bent
B) whether any bushings are visually torn
C) whether or not something has broken/shifted
D) whether or not he can get it to pull back into spec through normal means
And even if you got under the car and determined that your tie rod ends were bent, and you were comfortable replacing them yourself - you would still have to take it in for a new alignment anyways. Better to let one place be responsible for the troubleshooting, repair, and alignment. Be sure that they give you a before and after printout of your alignment, and if you can scan/upload it to here - there are some pretty smart guys like Jason-ZYA that can look at an alignment report and pretty much tell you which bushings/parts may be in question. I am not that smart.
11-20-2011, 08:05 AM
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Yeah im usually opposed to firestone but i know the guy who does the alignments and hes pretty good so ima take it there if somethings wrong ill replace it and go back for another alignment. Ima get lifetime...thanks for your help guys ill come back with updates when i have em
11-20-2011, 10:57 AM
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Hint - keep your bent part as a desk paperweight and conversation piece. It's amazing what good conversations can start up from having something like that on a corner of your desk.
Last edited by SparkleCityHop; 11-20-2011 at 01:38 PM.
11-20-2011, 04:43 PM
#18
My money is on the appropriately name compression rod. I hit a curb a couple of years ago and they do indeed compress. I’ve also broke a spindle (me and my car have a love hate relationship) and it just snapped, no bending. You can measure the end to end on both compression rods to see if they’re the same. And you prabably blew out your lower control arm bushings as well.