Hit gutter need help please

[vnsmanual]

Today at lunch i got sideways in the wet and it got outr of conttrol and i ended up going up a gutter onto a bit of grass then back off. I really didnt mean for all this to happen

If you hold the steering wheel straight the car wants to pull to the right.

Theres a very slight pull to the right. not noticeable unless you let go of steering wheel and roll for 10 metres. I had a look when the car was parked and one wheel is straight the other is on a slight angle, ie the right side has the slight angle.

I have just had a wheel alignment done as i put 18's on with new tyres. Is it possible that i have just knocked the alignment out?

what should i start checking to fix the slight angle. I dont wnat to chew through the front tyres.

PLease if anyone can help it would be great im really upset.

[nstone63]

go back to wherever you bought the tires from and get it checked

[vnsmanual]

like what do you mean? say that one wheel has come out of alignment and see what they can do? im posting up some pics if you all could have a look it would be good.

[vnsmanual]

[vnsmanual]

the last pic of the wheel is the one the seems out, which was the one that hit the gutter first. Do you think ive just knocked it out of alignment? or done more serious damge. Tie rod ends seem straight and radius rods seem ok.

[VN_Luke]

Shoulda splurged and got good tyres with those 18's

At best, it'll be a bent tie rod...
At worst it'll be a bent k frame/control arm/strut....

take both front wheels off and get some pictures of all the suspension components - particularly anything that looks bent, and we'll be able to help you out with what parts need to be replaced.

[fuzzy2308]

you prob just need a wheel alignment. how fast did you hit it?

[fuzzy2308]

go to a wheel fitter and get them to have a look

[vnsmanual]

i wasnt going to fast maybe ten or twenty k's. I rang up the tyre joint that did the alignement and said that i had it done last week and have only started driving it cause i got my p's a few days ago and that it seems out. they look at it three thirty tomorrow. Might take the wheel off and take some photos now. hopefully if its the alignment they will correct it for nothing. If its a tie rod end then do i have to change the tie rod its self or just the end?
Ill go get some pics it shouldnt be anything seriously bent i dont reckon its the k frame or nothing. it was a corner from a car par i just put the foot down a little to much for the wet.

Shoulda splurged and got good tyres with those 18's

There not bad for the Price i paid, Kuhmo (Zetum) 235/40/18's , 119 each fitted.

[havavb]

Same thing happened to me, but i wasnt being smart. The bloke i brought the car off said he put 4 new wheels, i had a quick glance over seemed all good to me, soon relised that the left back wheel wasnt brand new. That plus a stuffed wheel bearing or back diff. Or what ever the hell it is lol. That and changing a CD is not a smart idea in the wet when attempting to turn a corner. I had my pregnant cousin in the car which made shit myself cause i didnt want anything to happen to her or the unborn baby. Luckily the back end keep sliding and it ran up the gutter into a tree at about 20-40kph. Bent the metal frame of the front bumper, and slightly bent the actual frame of the car in. Luckily it was all able to be knocked back into place. Ever since that day i wont turn a corner at speeds which even risk a slight spin.

[Jesterarts]

really hard to speculate on this sort of thing without seeing the car in person or atleast some detailed images.

How hard to the right is it pulling? It could be that you've buckled a rim mate.

What angle did you git the gutter? front on? slide into it sideways? did the back wheel take a whack too?

If you're planning on taking pictures so post them up, spin the wheel once you've jacked the car up and check for any wobble.

You'd be amazed how much effect even the tiniest buckle can have on the direction a car wants to travel in.

On a side note, hope you've learn your lesson that you need to really be on your toes in the wet. Sometimes when it's wet its not slipperly and sometimes it's like ice.

But yeah, check for buckles, throw up some images and go from there.

[vnsmanual]

I took some pics ill upload them in the next post.

Its not pulling to hard to the right but there it is definelty pulling a bit. I slide out then went forwards up onto it. It was relatively head on, but the right wheel did go up first. I spun the wheel and it seemed fine no obvious puckles that i can see. with the car on the ground you can see an obvious misalignment (first pics) the drivers right is pointing out on an angle of 10 degrees or so, while the other side is straight (normal position). the back wheels went up the gutter to but at a much slower speed and alot straighter, they seem fine. Ive got in going into the alignment place, just said its playing up since the alignment. they will most likely take one look and say its not our problem buts its worth a shot. Im thinking its just out of alignment since i couldnt see anything visually wrong.

Have a look at the pics and let me know if you can seee anything.

[vnsmanual]

[vnsmanual]

By the way i will definelty be being more careful in the future! thanks for all your help and advice so far, i hope i can get this fixed!

[delcowizzid]

ide say bent strut its rooted anyway pissing oil out

[vnsmanual]

you think mate? i cant see any bend in the tower.

and oil? i replaced the oil insert with new gas cartridges about two months ago.

[thewheeldeal com au]

From the pics it seems the tie-rod end and rack end are ok but sometimes its difficult to tell to the naked eye. When you turn the rack end to adjust the alignment is usually when you notice it.

If the other side hot the gutter too I'd be looking at the rack end on that side as-well. Wouldn't be the first bent rack end I've seen from gutter love.

Even if there is a minor bend in the rack end or tie-rod end it can probably be adjusted to compensate without replacing but as always it's better to replace these things once damaged.

I would also ask the aligner to check and tighten all of the strut and control arm bolts too.

[delcowizzid]

was just looking at the oily shit all over the strut gas struts have oil in them too.if its going to bend its normally here or where the rod comes out of the insert

[Vlad01]

yeah that true. if you bend the shocker shaft then oil will start coming out.
push on each side and compare each one to each other and see what they do.

[vnsmanual]

Here is some more pics of the shock tube. It seems to be that its straight, i couldnt see and cracks or anything. Ill check the shocks out in the morning, they seemed fine however when driving. Lets hope its just the alignment.

[donboy2000]

Thats a damaged strut with all the oil pissing out you've bent it and popped the seal.

[vnsmanual]

Took it to tyre place they realigned wheel and checked everything over. Ive cleaned strut shock tube and it doesnt seem to be leaking anymore. im keeping an eye on it, i think its just dirty from when i changed the cartridge.

Long story short is they adjusted the wheel alignment and the steering wheel (from underneath) and its fixed.

Thanks to everyone that helped.

[GTP 85]

Just noticed that your first two photos weren't taken at the same point at the front anyway... i.e bumper in relation to the rear of the arch

[wortus]

Those sway bar links look a bit sus, the bushes are some sort of Urathane and it doesn't look like there is much movement available given how much those things rotate and squash I think you should look at that as it could be putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the front when you steer the car especially near full lock.

[Zeussy]

The washers on you're sway bar link pins should go the other way around, the way you have them allows them to 'cut into' the bush. Flip the washers over so they curve away from the bush.

Are they the 'heavy duty' ones off ebay, with the curved pin? How long have you had them in for?


And to me, the 'oil' in the pics looks like its just water/half wet still. You can see a drop of water forming on the bottom of the sway bar link pin.
If there was that much oil I think it would be a really obvious problem.