Bent radius arm?

[priano080293]

Got into an accident not too long ago, curled up my RA bracket...replaced tht with bushings from MOOG. The weel would rub when i turned...i measured from hub center to fender by the door. it was off alot before. its come down to an inch after i fought the new bracket in..could it be my RA slightly tweaked? It was a pretty hard impact on the front end...

[wood1]

Certainly possible, could be the beam too. You could measure one you know isn't bent or compare it to the other side.

It may help if you describe the hit, angle, speed, etc.

[priano080293]

I was out and about flying down an alley, it happened to turn to gravel before it made a 90degree turn. i hit the brakes and slid right into it. doing maybe..15 or 20mph. I was also backed into pretty hard prior to that. dead center..ruined my grill and maybe my rad support. inner fenders are straight...im gonna see if i have to replace it or if everything will go back together..headlights, grill, tranny cooler( not leaking just curled up a bit). thanks for any and all input guys!!

[wood1]

Slid into what, where did it hit the vehicle, wheels turned if so which way, all the impact on the tire or wheel etc etc?

[priano080293]

Hit the drivers front corner, curled the fender back(not the inner just the outer fender). I slid into a guard rail. Im under the impression it was the RA bracket and maybe the ra is tweaked...or(whats the brackets tht holds the beam?). The beam isnt creased at all , im just thinking it may be some of the brackets holding it...is the beam itself a weak point? Wheels turned right i assume seeing that is the way i was attempting to turn...i believe the bumper took all the impact from that...and from the accident. i dnt remember if it rubbed right after the accident.

[wood1]

Good bet you need a bracket. They are dirt cheap at the JY or can be obtained aftermarket.

Likely you have bent at least a tie-rod too. I would take it to get aligned after you sort out the bracket, the tech will tell you what's bent and needs replacement

[priano080293]

I replaced the bracket but had to fight it tooth and nail. whats the next best bet?

[Naasau]

Well, the front axle drop bracket could also be torqued... Now that thing is a PITA to get out as it is riveted in place.

When I took a curb on the front passenger side, many moons ago when I first got my explorer, I bent the RA Bracket, the Radius arm, the Passenger side axle housing, and the passenger side axle housing drop bracket. Oddly enough, the rim had a nasty rash on the edge, but was otherwise fine. (the incident involved a highway offramp in a snowstorm)

I guess that the point is that you shouldn't rule out anything when dealing with a high...ish speed impact. I would say that taking the whole rig into a mechanic for an estimate would tell you what's wrong... I'm not saying that you should pay them to do it, nor should you tell them that you are going to be fixing it yourself, just let them talk and get an idea of what all is still broken, then roll out to a junk yard to get the parts that you need.

[Naasau]

I would say that the most difficult part of this entire endeavor is getting the parts off of the junker in the yard...

IF (big if) you find that your axle drop brackets are indeed bent, have you considered what you want out of your X in the future; by that I mean it might be way less trouble for you to get an aftermarket bracket.