Nmax92

I almost had a heart attack the other day. I noticed my front right tire
is wearing on the inside faster than the left and when I look at the car head on. I can see that the f/r wheel is at more of an angle than the left. i'm talking at least 3 degrees where the top of the tire is in and the bottom is out.

So I took the car to get an alignment. the mechanic then tells me that he cannot do the job because the wheel is angled to much. He then started to check under the car and called me over and showed me that the car was hit on the right and who ever did the body work did not pull the chassis enough.
There was a f---ing fold in the chassis in the area of the back of the control arm and FSB.
He said that wasn't causing the wheel to angle like that. He said my "spindle" is bent. I can't remember going through the Chilton's manual and reading anything about a spindle. I remember reading about the steering knuckle. Is the knuckle and spindle the same thing?

This is where my heart attack kicks in, I need:
1.to have the chassis pulled back into place
2. new ball joints
3. new "spindle" or steering knuckle
4. F/R CV joint

What really ****es me off is before I bought the car, I checked out car fax and nothing came up about any accidents on the car. Everything came back clean.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

isnt there some carfax warrenty?

spindle bolts to the bottom of the strut and is attached to the lower control arm via the ball joint. I'm not completely sure but I bet that they are calling the steering knuckle the spindle. Matt93se or Candiman might have spares they could sell you, or maybe Maximan190.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Carfax is sh|t they can only tell you about accidents that have been reported or when a car is totaled. The vast majority of accidents won't show up on a report.
Sounds to me like you're lookin' at a $1500 job if someone else does all the labor.
Or else just about $500 for frame time assuming it can be fixed.
Get it looked at asap!
Some states also have disclosure requirements (I think)
The previous owner may be responsible for not telling you about the prior UNREPAIRED damage
BTW if you bought it from a dealer SUE 'em!
or at least sic the News after em if they won't fix it free

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

Calm down bro. This doesn't sounds like a complicated job to do but an expensive bill if let someone does it for you. If I were you, buy a FSM or Chilton or Hayes book and read each section carefully on how to replace them. Here is how much it might cost you for the parts:

Ball Joint (~$35) www.thepartbin.com *new*
Spindle (~$80) www.car-parts.com *used*
CV Joint ($70-100) www.thepartbin.com *reman*

That's for each side. If you gotta do both sides, then multiply by 2. It'll takes you a good whole day to do it. Just make sure you got an impact wrench and plenty of PB Blaster bottles. Not that expensive if you do it yourself. But it'll cost ya some limps if pay someone to do it cuz this job is very stressful.

Btw. The spindle is that ugly big metal pieces you'll see if you take off the wheel. It's that thing that goes from where your strut attached to and all the way down to where your rotors is resided. The whole thing is called the spindle, it's nothing but a big goofy looking piece of metal so I wouldn't worry too much if you had to get a used one. They're not that expensive if you get from a junkyard.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

You can pick up an entire spindle WITH the ball joint on it from a junkyard for about $50. I buy them from $40 to 60 all the time. the fun part is the ball joint and wheel bearing may be shot.-- It's a used part and you're rolling the dice, but it's better than the $500+ for a new spindle, wheel bearing, dust seals, and ball joint from the dealer!!


I also don't see how the spindle could be bent on the car itself, but if it's got that much frame damage I certainly wouldn't agrue with the suspension shop about it being bent. $40 is nt much to spend on the spindle to ensure a good alignment.

As for replacing the spindle, it's extremely easy. remove the axle nut, 3 ball joint nuts at the bottom, tie rod end, and the two strut bolts at the top. that's it. I can do the job in probably 20 min start to finish.
add another 45 minutes to replace the axle (see the 3rd gen FAQs about instructions to swap the axle), then you only need to owrry about getting the frame pulled..

that can be anywhere from $100 to $3000 depending on the damage.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Ball joints new = $25 ea shipped ( From me!)
Cv axles complete $60 Autozone etc.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

Hey man. I saw a brand new alternator on your website for $150. I know this is a really silly question but is it really NEW? OE and made by Hitachi?

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

It is new.
But not OE nor hitachi. It is made by an aftermarket company of 100% new components

bonzelite

iTrader: (2)

i just replaced my entire spindle thingy as well. made awful noise and wore my tire prematurely on the outside only. a warped rotor fCK'd up the bearings and sleeve thingys. then vibration carried throughout entire driveline suspension >>> it furthermore wore the axle bad and i had to replace the whole right side half-shaft-axle/spindle/rotor/bearings/boot/rotor/cntrl arm bushings. not fun. would have cost a small fortune at dealer or garage, but parts from junk yard were dirt cheap. so there is hope for you most definitely.

matt, did you get my email about the parts? if not, check your pm.