Last night i was getting some food and on my way i hit a sheet of ice and slammed into a curb doing about 40mph. The front suspension is way off and im guessing its a bent CA but im not totally sure if that is what is wrong. I dont want to go throwing money at this problem so im asking you guys for some help. Here are some pics:






Thanks.
Alex

 

 

The best help I can give you is to say that there is no way in heck that I can tell from pictures what might be bent. Take it to a shop to have it inspected. Sears will usually do a free inspection, but even if you have to pay for the diagnosis, it is better to have a pro at least tell you what is wrong, then if you want to swap the parts yourself at least you can be reasonably sure you are changing the right parts.

 

I agree.

Call some places and tell them what happened -- try to see if someone will give you a free estimate. Les Schwab might, but I am not sure.

Once you get a diagnosis, you might want to hit a few boneyards and pick up parts and probably another SE wheel. That one looks like it is done for.



Oh, I would also recommend when you get some extra money, hit up Craigslist for some snow tires. You can usually find ones that will fit our cars for $100 to $200. If you can't find the wheels, you can definitely find the tires, then buy some cheap wheels.

I have said this before, but I really mean it. Once you have driven in the winter weather (snow/ice) with actual dedicated snow tires, you will be at how much better your car behaves compared to white knuckling it, even with really good "all season" radials. It is definitely worth the money and if you change them over yourself when the weather gets bad, they will last for a lot of winter seasons.

 

i had basically the exact same thing happen to me a couple weeks back. My rim looks like urs and all my components looked like urs, you really cant tell whats bent. most likely the LCA, and tie rods are all slightly bent but who knows. I replaced my LCA, both tie rods, and sway link just ot be sure and since all of those parts looked worn anyways. That fixed my problem and parts were only like $100 ish.

 

Thanks for the replies, i will call around tomorrow or after xmas to see when i could get it looked at.

As for the wheel i have 2 spares sitting in my attic.

but ill start lookin around at boneyards for parts.

Thanks,
Alex

 

Open the hood and check the top of the coil tower. Perhaps this area is bent or strut bolts are broken off. It appears from the pictures that the top of the tire is tilted outward? the "A" arm looks O.K. but the top of the wheel is attached by the strut and this is possible to bend. I agree whole heartedly the you should have it looked at professionally. This will certainly affect steering and handling and that's very dangerous. Don't want a connection there to pop loose at 70.
Also, don't drive like you're on dry pavement with ice on the road. Use the accelerator and brake like you've got an egg between you and the pedal. Soft, easy motions. I grew up driving in Chicago and know how to drive on ice and packed snow. I avoid driving around here if I can when there is ice or snow on the roads because people just don't know how to drive on it. They try to blast around like they are on dry pavement ( especially the yahoos in Stupid Useless Vehicles) and seem to be very surprised when they land up upside down in the median strip. I hear complaints in the news about drivers who drive too slow in this kind of weather for the other drivers. I've got a revelation for them. You CAN'T drive too slow in these conditions. (Sorry for the Rant).
And, yes good ice and snow tires (especially studless, since we drive 99% of the time in the rain) such as the Nokians or Dunlops) will help some. I have dedicated snow's and wheels for all my cars. Get it fixed and be careful. I may be the poor dumb slob in the opposite lane.

 

Thanks for the advice but if i had known there was ice i wouldn't have been driving fast.... it was pretty dry out otherwise

 

When ever it is cold enough for there to be ice, you should assume that there WILL be ice, and usually at the worst possible place.

 

***UPDATE***

Took it to Sears today and got a free inspection, 2 guys there seemed to think that the spindle was bent. i have a feeling that the ball joint could be bent too.

What do you guys think i should start with? spindle? ball joint? or should i get a second opinion before i throw money at it?

Thanks

 

second opinion, but a bent spindle is not the typical diagnosis

 

Schwab FTW, I came out to a flat tire last week and brought the whole wheel in and said I needed it repaired, I then asked how much it would cost. The service lady looked confused as all hell, as if they would charge to fix a flat. After a few seconds she said "it might be $11". When they were done with it, the guy rolls my wheel out to the car and even asked if I wanted them to mount it which I declined, he never even considered charging me even though it was a Goodyear Aquatread which I don't think they even sell, so I obviously didn't buy it there..

 

Ya alex, just go to shwab. I hate them, but them or discount. I did the same last year and it was just a bent camber bolt. You need to drop the money and have them do it as well buddy. Ill help ya if you want, and you know the number, but im pretty sure your gonna have to have someone do it. And bent spindle? You have got to be kidding me.

Zack

 

Schawb is a bunch of ****in idiots, they said all i need was an alignment yet the front right wheel is completely cambered out... ****n morons!

Im just going to order a new LCA and ball joint, and a new tie rod end...

 

I think every tire store (regardless of the name) is kind of hit and miss.

My local Schwab is great, but they do tons of suspension work, due to the large amount of trucks (farm trucks and 4x4s) they handle, as well as all of the people who drive around all the time on dirt/gravel roads out in the boonies.

Some of the Schwab's in Portland suck *****, I assume a lot of Seattle is the same way.

 

Yea must be... hopefully i can have this fixed for under $150

 

I checked out your photos, and (at least to my eyes) the strut looks like it's bent right at the junction of the lower spring perch and the lower strutt tube. The polished shaft above it appears to be pointing along a slightly different axis...

 

Ball joints aren't terribly expensive, and are a normal wear item anyway. If you haven't changed them recently it would be money well spent even if the ball joint isn't the problem. If your bushings are worn to any extent, it would probably be better to just bite the bullet and replace the LCA's.

The same goes for the struts. It is hard really to tell from those pictures, but struts are normal wear items as well. While they aren't as cheap, or easy to replace as ball joints, they can still be done at home, and wouldn't be a bad investment. If it were me, I would do the LCA's first, and if that didn't fix the problem, then I would replace the struts.

I would think that the spindle is perhaps the least likely of the three to be damaged, and wouldn't replace it unless replacing the LCA's and struts didn't rectify the problem.

The thing that worries me about the whole situation is that there is a possibility that it is the chassis that has been damaged, and you could replace all that stuff only to find out that there is still a problem. Honestly, if it were me, I would hunt down a reputable frame / suspension shop and have them give it a good once over, even if I had to pay them to inspect it, just to be sure that there isn't frame damage before I started throwing parts at it.

At the very least, you should be taking a nice long look at the two sides of the car, and carefully comparing the shapes and angles of the chassis near the suspension mounting points, as well as looking over all the suspension components very critically. Often, if you REALLY compare one side to the other, you will be able to see where / if there are bends that don't belong, you just have to really pay close attention.

 

Yeah, I completely agree with this...

 

Thanks guys, I already ordered the LCA and Ball joint along with some struts so you dont need to post *****. Ill let ya know if the LCA and struts fix the problem.

Alex