I'm hoping you guys can help me out here. I was driving at night and did not see a turning median. I stepped on the brakes, skidded a bit, and my front left tired popped the curb. Now, my tire has been pushed back and it is rubbing against the fender wall. Is this a bent axle? I don't want to get ripped off when I bring it to a shop. Could it possibly be anything else? If possible, would anyone know how much labor would be involved to fix it? I will post a pic as soon as I can, but it's pretty much as simple as I described it: Tire has no gap towards the back side, and it is clearly touching my splash guard. If anyone knows what might be wrong, please help!

 

Sounds like you bent your control arm.

 

That thought had also crossed my mind. My alignment seems bad, but other than that, I can drive it. Thanks for your input! How much labor does it take to replace one of those?

 

I am no mechanic but wouldnt driving it put pressure on the outer and inner CV joint and cause premature damage. I'd say get it fixed ASAP or dont drive it unless you really have too....just my opinion

 

Oh man - don't drive it if it's as bad as you say it is - wheel touching back of fender!
I would suspect you could get a new control arm and have it installed for around $300 US - but don't take my word for it, I'm merely guessing. And that's assuming you haven't wrecked anything else.
Good luck.

 

The exact thing happened to me too. I bent my control arm by hitting a curb,and the wheel was rubbing against the mud flap. My mechanic charged me $75 for a used control arm and $75 labor.

 

Not saying you should do this but I once did the same thing to my first car miles from anywhere (out in the desert, wheelin'). I slammed into a hole and bent the control arm back enough that the tire'd rub on the fender whenever I turned the wheel. I had a hydraulic bottle jack in the car so I took off the tire and jacked between the fender and the wheel hub enough to clear the fender with the tire on. Believe it or not, the control arm bent 'back' to where it was supposed to be and actually worked very well, just a very slight pull to one side. This was a beater and I drove it like that for another 30K miles till I graduated from college! I'd never consider some shiite like this again as my life is too valuable to me now!

Inspect and replace everything that appears damaged on your front end.

 

could be a bent control arm ($87.50 plus shipping brand new)
or a bent/collapsed strut (too many options pricewise)
Your money is on the control arm.
Which I do sell complete, brand new with ball joint and bushings.

 

You sell the control arm with bushings AND the balljoint already installed for 87.50 ??! That's seems to be a great price. Hmmmm.....

 

I think it's fair especially when the dealer is 188 list

 

Thanks everyone, good help! I work at a tuner shop, but the tuners there are more familiar with tuning and modding with aftermarket parts, rather than fix ups. I was planning on taking it to a mechanic because I think my wheel bearing is bad. It makes an annoying metal-scratching sound every time I drive. I was hoping labor might be cheaper if I do both. I really have no clue either on how much a wheel bearing costs, or if even that is the problem. Has anyone else had this problem with the Maximas? I'm told that the wheel bearing problem happens with older Maximas all the time. I was just wondering if there was any truth behind this??

Again, thanx for everyone's input! I'll know better if a mechanic tells me, "you need a new everything!" Thanks!

 

i hit a curb and had to replace 2 stuts 1 ball joint and twisted the chasis not fun at all

 

Here is a picture of the tire. The car is hoisted up, but you can see the arm is bent severely back.

 

Take off the wheel and see if the control arm is bent. Compare it to the other side. But SOMETHING is bent that's for sure. I doubt it's the strut as the rubber upper mount is pretty flexible. I'm betting it's the control arm. Make sure the tie rod isn't bent also

I also can't believe a "tuner" shop can't handle something as basic as a control arm. Tuning must mean installing apc products. hehe

 

tuner shop means they can modify but not fix.

 

same thing happened to me in the snow last winter. it was the contol arm. I got one from the junk yard for bout 60 bucks and had it installled for around 200 and everything was fine.

 

for another $27.50 plus ship you could have had a brand new one with NEW bushings and a new ball joint