HandOfReform

So, I live in central Illinois and we got some serious snow/sleet all day today. I was driving home from work and someone in front of me stopped abruptly and spun around so I hit my brakes, my ABS went crazy but not crazy enough, I slid, trying to turn, and nailed a curb with my front driver side tire, it felt like a pretty hard hit, though I didn't jump the curb or anything like that. The wheel has some pretty serious scratching and chipping, but the tire looks fine, it seems like the tire is holding air so that shouldn't be a huge deal, but I'm more concerned about the alignment and all of that, is there anything I should look out for and should I take it in to get checked out at some point also where would I take it?

Picture of the wheel attached so you can get an idea of just how bad it looks, I'm going to try to replace it, although I sort of just want to buy the upgraded diamond cut wheels, and put my tires on those, then buy a set of winters and put them on the stock wheels, although I think I would also need to buy a set of TPMS sensors with them...any advice on the wheels or sensors...where I could get a replacement stock?

probmxstyle

I would take it in and have the alignment checked. Let them know what happened and have them look for any bent parts. Even if its slightly off, you will accelerate your tire wear.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

ABS isnt a life safer.
just to clear the air.


and I would check for bent suspension components.
WHen you hit a curb,you definitely are bending/warping/breaking something.

HandOfReform

Yeah it actually seems worse than I originally thought, I have to hold the steering wheel pretty slightly to the right to go straight, rather than going straight. I suppose I'll see if I can get it into the dealership tonight, really not looking forward to this, can't do a crazy expensive repair right now...

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Dont go to the dealer, silly!

get your insurance involved.
pay the 500 deductible(thats if you have a 500 deductible.) and get your ride fixed.

I guarantee you, that you have more damage than what meets the eye

HandOfReform

guhhh here's to hoping it's just an allignment issue. I'm going to see if I can get out of work early today and head to a shop in town...the only 2 big options are the axle and the tire control arm right? Or could suspension and such also be an issue?

probmxstyle

Could be many things, Control arm, tie rod, strut, axle. More than likely its the tie rod or the control arm. Hopefully its just the tie rod.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

you can also get down on your hands and knees and take a quick glance at the side of impact.

if something is broken or bent; you'll notice it right away

spdandpwr

good luck with everything!

HandOfReform

Yeah thats what I'm hoping for, doesn't sound like tie rod is too terribly expensive...I'm not too sure about control arm though.

I regret not doing that while it was in my garage last night, I may see if I can get a moment to do it today at work.

Thanks, just set up an appointment with a tire shop in town, hoping everything goes well...

Trentimus

In the spirit of being save you should examine that area's suspension.. nothing like a wheel falling off when you're driving... BUT

You might get lucky and they just have to repair the wheel. Positive thoughts and Justin is right if it's a big enough deal get your insurance involved, that's why you pay them.

Best of luck!

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

this happened to me a little while back. the easiest way to explain what happened to me is with a time line.

mid December 2011 - swiped curb pretty hard, went through insurance, got wheel repaired, front bumper and lip repainted, alignment fixed

late January 2012 - large leak from steering rack which emptied the entire fluid tank, dealer concluded busted seals were from impact and fluid leaked into boot and finally burst out of boot weeks after incident, insurance paid for rack replacement

early March 2012 - leak from transmission at axle seals, dealer replaced axle seals and found that several teeth had broken off the half shaft, dealer concluded damage was from impact, insurance agreed to pay for half of the labor and parts


Conclusion - get EVERYTHING checked

HandOfReform

Thanks for all the good luck notes guys! Not sure if anyone will be very concerned about it, but I took it in to a reputable tire shop in Bloomington and it sounds like to the eye everything looks fine. They're going to go ahead and do the alignment, which they say will also be able to show if anything is messed up, when I figure out what I'm doing with the wheel. I'm torn on what to do with that, I found a "cheap" one on eBay (link-ed) and I think that may be worth it. My other option is trying to get it repaired in town, which I've heard may be worth it.

Once i get that done they'll throw it up and do the alignment and tell me if anything is wrong.


Jesus dude, that's a really awful, I'm thinking I may have gotten away better than you did, although it doesn't sound like I hit quite as hard (no paint body work, anything like that). It's sounding like I may have been lucky with mine at this point...we'll see when they throw it up.

I have a...less...reputable...mechanic in town who did work for me on my old car (86 Legend, 03 Chrysler) and I may see if I can get him to take a look at the stuff you mentioned to see if he can see anything going on with it.


Thanks again everyone for the advice, if anyone has any advice as far as what I should do with the rim, get it repaired or buy one, or buy an OEM replacement, let me know.

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

My front bumper and underspoiler had to be repainted because I was slammed on coilovers at the time so they were at curb level

You could probably get away with getting the rim repaired though. My rim looked just like yours does and after I got it back from the shop, I thought they had replaced the whole rim. I couldn't tell that it was ever damaged. But the shop assured me that they had sent the rim out to be repaired and not replaced.

HandOfReform

Ah, that's rough, luckily, I sort of bounced off, I probably wasn't going fast enough to jump it or scrape over it...I'll probably see if I can get it repaired here, though, the local place in town has some bad reviews from the guys on the car enthusiast network in the area, so we'll see what comes of that, worth it to at least check out his prices I suppose.

If I did want to get it checked out like you're saying, to check all the systems like you had done, would I basically just ask for a checkup inspection or should I mention specific systems? I know Tuffy in town does a free inspection with an oil change...but Tuffy tends to exaggerate things to make them sound life threatening, and bend you over for pricing to fix it. Although, that may be better...get the worst case scenario from them.

the_razor

I had a similar situation where I hit the curb on a ramp. They replaced my driver side fender, mirror and painted driver side doors, front and rear bumper plus replaced my outer tie rod (which got bent) and 4 wheel alignment. Since it impacted my wheels I think the valve stem also got affected and noticed some air leaking out going to replace that soon. Finally the body shop guys stretched my car according to them "little bit"

robtroxel

Replace the wheel. The E Bay priced one is a great deal.

WholesalePartsGuy

You should get it checked out like everyone mentioned just to make sure you didnt do any real damage. I am also reponding to let you know I can get you the best deal on the diamond cut rims or just a single rim. please pm me if intrested. Thanks Larry

HandOfReform

I thought so too, and getting it repaired sounds like its going to be $70 or $80 anyways, so not that much more and I could just get a brand new wheel...

sent.

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

I don't think any of the things I mentioned would be included in any free inspection. Problem is, all my issues developed over time and were deep inside. You can't check the steering rack seals unless you dismantle the rack and rebuild it. The axles/shafts can't be checked without removing them which is a bit costly. My half shaft was vibrating because of the broken teeth, therefore prematurely wearing out the seals, causing fluid to leak out.

So I guess what I'm suggesting is get a visual inspection done to the outside of the power steering rack, tie rods, axles, axle seals, check for leaking fluids, etc. Then be prepared and maybe put some money aside if a hidden issue pops up a few months down the road.

But hopefully you don't have any future issues