So i hit a gutter, advice

[Dr.304]

I unfortunately had to swerve to miss hitting a god damn cat and i mounted the gutter.
Car is a VS Statesman.

Now, the left front wheel is buckled and been pushed back towards the rear of the car.
I had a look at the assembly and couldnt notice anything major.

Would i be correct to say that the first thing to do would be to replace the lower control arm? What else could of been affected?
Im going to drop it at the mechanics but just as an idea, if anyone has input from experience?

I can get photos, but that would have to be later tonight...if required.

 

[Aussie_Hustler]

I wouldn't have swurved lol unless it was a dog

 

[monkeys437]

Id get an alignment done first and find out what is bent.

Oh, and never swerve to miss an animal. Poles, trees and other cars do far more damage

 

[yZoH]

P.S- Take it to a suspension specialist and get them to have a look at it, An internet forum cannot see your vehicle or know exactly how you hit the gutter.

Cheers
Mat

 

[Dr.304]

Thanks guys! lol

The rim is buckled, and i suspect the control arm is bent (went through a similar situation with a VN i had some years back).
Alignment first? Really? The wheel is like scraping the inside of the guard on full lock not fresh.

Oh and the boot is busted on that side so ill have to get that replaced aswell..
God damn cats (i only swerved cause i own a cat). I shouldn't of to be honest...it happened so quick.

 

[frogsta]

**** happens mate, recently hit a poor cat missed he first one but another was chasing it and hit the back wheel

 

[zersys]

Sounds like you've bent or popped the radius rod out of the control arm. You may have bent the control arm, but you'd have to hit the gutter pretty hard at a good angle!

Does the wheel go back and forth of is it stuck?

 

[Dr.304]

I will check when i get to the car.
Im not even going to worry about it hey - im just going to drop it off at my mechanics and ask him to have a look and source a replacement part (depending on what it is) from the wreckers.

Thanks guys.

 

[zersys]

Should be relatively cheap for the radius rod/control arm mate. But if the mechanic charges you an arm and a leg for it then I would suggest doing it yourself if you know how to use a spanner, relatively easy bolt off bolt on job, a few hours work, then go to your nearest wheel place for an alignment.

And also, somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but if you get a replacement control arm from the wreckers, you want to make sure the bushes aren't too worn in the control arm. If the bushes in the replacement control arm are 300,000km old and the bushes in the control arm on the opposite side are still in decent condition (or have been replaced by better quality bushes) and you might find the car will go to one side when you slam the brakes because the worn bushes aren't absorbing any of the force.

Also worth noting that the impact may have split/damaged the radius rod to chassis bush on that side, which you will definitely need to replace if it's been split or damaged. I would recommend replacing both sides here because these bushes are a crucial part of the setup that holds your wheel in place when you hit the brakes, they are also essential for your traction control to work properly.

Good news is that these replacement bushes are pretty cheap. If you decide to go after market then the priciest of the bushes will probably be the radius rod to chassis bushes.

 

[mpower]

Sounds pretty chronic - you can break a fair bit of stuff like this. I always hear the don't brake and/or swerve - starting to think it's good advice!