I put the car up in the air and nothing looks bent except the rim. I put the spare on and no more shake in the wheel but the alignment is way off (pulls hard to left) and visually appears to be towed in (angled in) about an inch or so. When I put it on stands and held a bar next to the half shaft that was spinning (CV joint 1/2" bar) it has a little out of roundness to it...is that normal? The tie rods visually look fine. Will a new rim and aligment solve this? The lower control arm also looks fine.
20 mph into curb in the snow.
2007-03-18 06:29:03 · 7 answers · asked by Dave 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
You would get off lucky with just an alignment, but I doubt this is the case. It is difficult to say what it could be -- especially since we don't know whether it is FWD or RWD, and I am guessing it is FWD as you made no mention of the upper control arm -- it could be a strut, the strut tower, lower control arm, tie rod or even the frame. Since it pulls, we can safely assume that it wasn't just the tie rod that was bent. So, I would guess you have a knuckle or strut bent, but there is really no way of telling without actually measuring the SAI, Caster, and Camber.
Good luck.
2007-03-18 15:56:32 · answer #1 · answered by Paul W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I recommend taking it to a repair facility where they will check, with a trained eye for visibly bent components. After that it has to go on the alignment rack to find any parts that are bent that were not visible, it is only then that everything can be corrected. Since the wheel has been bent, it is very likely that something else is bent too. Again, this can be checked and corrected after the camber, caster, toe, included angle, SAI and setback are all checked. I would say that there is a good chance that the lower control arm is damaged, but only an alignment machine can tell, probably.
2007-03-18 06:36:06 · answer #2 · answered by Mtech 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Take it to an alignment shop with a brand name such as Les Schwab - they will have a trained eye to find that which needs to be relaced. If you do not have the experiance - then you have no choice but to pay someone - just take it in for an alignment - they will know what to do & what questios to ask. . I recall an abmbulance that was involved in an accident where it slide into a curb - it cracked a gear in the steering box - once it was repaired & back on the road - the gear broke rendering it once again hapless - dont be too cheap when it comes to you r safety.
2007-03-18 06:41:56 · answer #3 · answered by thefatguythatpaysthebills 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok here is what I did. I was driving and went into a spin hit the curb with the rear drivers side back tire. I snapped my tire compleatly off.
Long story short, I had to have a new rim, new axle and new brakes. Screwed it up pretty good. The only thing that I didn't have to do was have the pumpkin repaired, that was Ok. My tire landed under the car so that the car came to rest right on top of it. Scared the liveing c**p out of me. Every thing else on my car was alright, nothing else was messed up.
Nothing like seeing your tire snapped right off though.
Have it looked at since you don't know if there is any other damage done to the pumpkin/gear box. You don't want to to take the chance that there could be some thing else wrong with it by driving it with out having it taken apart and looked at.
Oh yea, I almost forgot it also messed with my traction control on that tire so that they had to repair that as well. But every thing is back to normal. It could have been a lot worse, for you as well as me.
Take it in and have it looked at, it really makes good sense to have them check it all out just to be certain that there isn't any thing else wrong with it.
I got really lucky as a flat bed tow truck came along about 5 minutes after it happened. I was just getting on the phone with tripple A when he drove up. Guy said he had just left his house after having lunch. Dang I'm blessed, as that was all that happened to my car and no more than that.
Get it looked at you will feel better. Trust me, have it checked out or you could be driving and the the axel could break as it may be weak from the hit it took. Or there may be other damage that you are not able to see with out it being taken apart. Better safe than sorry.
You wouldn't want to be driving along and have the tire snap off and maybe go through some ones windshield and kill some one. I had a friend who when she was 16 was driving home after taking her driving test. There was a car in front of my friend and the persons tire flew off went through her windshield and she was killed by it. The lugs were not properly tightened. She died instantly, her name was Kathy S. she was so nice and way to young to die.
Please get your car checked, we don't need another Kathy out there. Please!!
2007-03-18 06:57:07 · answer #4 · answered by Cindy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You now need an alignment. Although all other part are ok, the steering mechanism is out of whack. A llignment is reasonable...and worth it. If not wear and tear on tires will be very bad.
2007-03-18 06:36:40 · answer #5 · answered by daleferdinand 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At the very least, you need an alignment if you're lucky. It sounds though, like you have damaged some component in your steering/driveline assembly. Best to check with a qualified mechanic.
2007-03-18 06:38:18 · answer #6 · answered by cottagstan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a new 1/2 shaft and alignment done
2007-03-18 06:33:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋