okay... what did i break??

[MiZZ]

we had some black ice here tonight, car slowed short in front of me, i was going around the speed limit, but for black ice i would even consider the speed limit speeding...so i had to brake fast... didn't work... my tires are new but no match for the ice... I can see myself sliding into this car and how my insurance would love to hear this... I know to release my brakes when trying to turn away from something in the ice/snow rather than holding them. but by now it's too late and i slide into a curb... hit it pretty good.. dead on, so both front wheels took the hit... caught one flat...

what did i mess up? My alignment is WAYYYYYYY off.. in order to drive straight ya have to hold steering wheel is pretty much upside down for it to track straight.

my driver side wheel/tire seems to be sitting a little like this... / the chamber? is wayyyy off now... but it may just look like that cause it's low on air after the curb impact... going to have to check it out more tomorrow..

now i dont hear any sounds, creaks or popping even when turning, and it made a good 5 mile drive home over some decent bumps, but theres definetly something not right in there... the alignment first of all is definetly off... i'm sure theres more though because up front took a good hit,, it's a truck though! so hopefully the damage is minor... lol

what should i check for? plan to put it up on jackstands and get under there tomorrow and see whats up but just wondering what i should focus on? or what i should check that may not be obvious? I'm going to pick up a haynes manual for refferance but any help here is definetly appreciated! need the explorer on the road ASAP it's my daily!

damn black ice :thumbdwn:

-Mike

 

[MiZZ]

too add... there was a small metal post/pole (metal fence post with cement base, they had them about every 10 or so feet... guessing a new chain link fence is going there soon) about 3' high, i nearly missed it! But i THINK it may of caught the driver side wheel a little... because i remember i was trying to turn left, so my tires were still turned left when i hit the curb (no time to re-act to straighten the wheel or anything), so it's like they hit it at an angle and i may be wrong but the end of the driver side wheel may have clipped the little post since my wheels were turned left... if that makes a differance in what to check... it got my girlfriend a little shooken up and i had to attend to her LOL so i forget the exact details and was more focused on throwing on the spare & getting the hell outta there LOL... wish I could remember if the wheel hit the post or not... i'm thinking it may have clipped it on the inner portion of the tire as it was turned left.. which definetly can't be good...

I've driven thru crazy snow storns, ice storms etc... one dumb driver has to stop in front of me and ruin my whole track record!! haha it happens... Just hope it's nothing major..

-Mike

 

[JDraper]

Sorry to hear you messed up up your truck. You're gonna have to crawl under the truck and look at it. There are all sorts of things you could have bent. A good bet is the tie rod since it's one of the lightest components under the vehicle. However, since you say your wheel is ****ed over on an angle, you may have bent the driver's side axle arm.

Pix would help diagnose...

 

[MiZZ]

Sorry to hear you messed up up your truck. You're gonna have to crawl under the truck and look at it. There are all sorts of things you could have bent. A good bet is the tie rod since it's one of the lightest components under the vehicle. However, since you say your wheel is ****ed over on an angle, you may have bent the driver's side axle arm.

Pix would help diagnose...

pictures coming... didnt get much of a chance to look at it today it was still pretty icey and I got called into work (i guess one of my co-workers actually took a good chunk out of a tree last night from the ice and couldn't come in) unfortunate, but he's alright... so at least i know i'm not the only one LOL.


driverside axle arm, how much would I be looking at for a replacement if i were to do it myself (if its a DIY job, I have a bunch of tools and a decent amount of mechanical experience, but i'm not too font end/suspension smart..

anything i should shake around, check for play, etc? whem i had it on the jack to put the spare on last night i moved the wheel around to check for any bad play.. balljoints and all seem to be good, hubs don't seem to have any pivit/play to them... that basicly all i know how to check first hand.

any help appreciated, and pictures on the way....


-Mike

 

[cgriffin_5139]

Are you talking about the radius arm? Its not hard and yes its a diy job just go to a JY to get one.

 

[MiZZ]

Alright i think before when i thought the chamber of the tire is a little off, causing it to sit like " / " a little... today in the daylight it doesn't look as bad, I put some air in there with my compressor (don't wanna drive it till i know whats up) and it seems to be sitting straight now... it's now getting dark but i'll try and get some pictures

but definetly the alighnment is horribly off, as stated i have to hold the wheel almost upside down, in order to track straight... it pulls VERY hard to the left (if you don't hold the wheel you could pretty much sit there and do left hand circles....) if you hold the wheel in the normally straight/upright position.. you'll be turning HARD to the left. when i was driving it home, I backed it in and when i turned the wheel to the left to back into the driveway something up there rubbed pretty bad. (going to check whats rubbing tonight, w/ pics)


anyways it's an inconvience but no big deal, I just want to get it back on the road asap! going to pick up a haynes manual tonight so i can better explain to yas whats going on under there. just hope it's not something a few hours of back yard work and a trip to an alighnment shop can't correct..... and of course a new tire LOL.... ayyy a good excuse to the girlfriend why i now need to get 31"s (for now)

thanks,
-Mike

 

[410Fortune]

pictures!! You mayhave bent a tie rod, a radius arm, or a beam, or more.
It could be you just knocked your camber shim loose and it rotated, but from what you describe I doubt it, sounds more like you bent stuff...

 

[JDraper]

Are you talking about the radius arm? Its not hard and yes its a diy job just go to a JY to get one.

Nope..I was thinking axle arm. The arm that goes from the pivot out to the steering knuckle. It's the piece that the 3rd member mounts to.

 

[MiZZ]

Nope..I was thinking axle arm. The arm that goes from the pivot out to the steering knuckle. It's the piece that the 3rd member mounts to.

I'm going to get some pictures, I have a camera phone and it's dark, but i'm going to get some light out there and try and get some decent pictures. is there any particular areas i should focus the pics on? Like i said i know a little here and there but when it comes to suspensions and front ends, I know a little but not enough to really diagnose stuff other than ball joints, wheel bearing/hubs, etc etc.. don't know too much about the axle arms and all. good time to learn though i guess!

thanks again for the help!

-Mike

 

[JDraper]

I'm going to get some pictures, I have a camera phone and it's dark, but i'm going to get some light out there and try and get some decent pictures. is there any particular areas i should focus the pics on for you guys?

thanks again for the help!

-Mike

Steering knuckles, tie rod, radius arms, axle arms....

 

[MiZZ]

alright, plans changed a little have to run back to work for a couple hours, will have those pictures tonight when i get out. thanks again for the help sorry for the wait,

 

[MiZZ]

sorry for the delay! heres a couple of pictures i took tonight, but nothing really of the suspension/front end.. it was too dark and the pictures wouldn't come out.. so i took a couple of how the wheels sitting.

Bought the explorer haynes manual tonight to add to my collection of chitons, haynes and FSMs. anyways I will try and have better (daylight and front end) pictures tomorrow hopefully, again sorry for the delay i've been a little busy!

anyways, for now... heres a couple a pictures i snapped to show how the wheels are sitting. about the driverside front wheel. I jacked it up and was checking for play and everything.. found out where the rubbing i explained in my first post on this thread was. when you make a hard left, it will make the full turn but the tire is rubbing on the inner fender at full and near full lock/left turn..

anyways I don't seem to be getting any ball joint play or hub/bearing play/pivit. but When turning i do hear a slight clicking that may or may not be CV related, going to have to investigate further tomorrow.

I Drove it around a little bit today to see what it's doing... the alignment like said before pulls horribly to the left. in order to track straight you have to hold and fight the wheel in it's upside down position, normal upright/striaght position is now a hard left. it takes bumps and everything fine.. but i am getting a consistant thump, almost sounds like a flat tire that gets faster with speed,, the slower you go, the slower the thump is... example,, slow speed would be sound like thump... thump... thump... thump.... to thump, thump, thump, thump. with the speed of the vehicle. (best i can explain) it's speed consistant..

anyways the wheel in these pictures is off a jeep cherokee, but it has 235 tires like all others, I threw this on there because my front (un popped) tire has a good size bubble in it from the hit, so i threw this on there.. (not to mention I just replaced both front and on rear tire less than a week ago.... both new front tires are dead, one is popped and one has a bubble so it'll be a spare from now on i guess.... anyways I had the jeep wheel on there before I bought new tires to throw on the ex wheels and it never rubbed.... now it rubs pretty good when making a left... so somethings definetly off there.

I may be picking up a parts explorer but not a done deal, so tomorrow like i said i'll get some better pictures... but in the mean time if anyone can tell me what i should check for damage that may not be obvious to the un-trained eye. i'd appreciate it!

any help appreciated.

-Mike

 

[MiZZ]

heres the pictures, as you can see theres road salt/sand ALL OVER the truck, a testimate of the icey roads! it needs a bath don't mind it!

Driver side.. turned straight...

driver side.. full left turn (that little fender dent wasn't from the incident. lol..it was like that when i bought it, but it will be replaced in a week or two depending how much all this front end cost is going to rob me LOL)

passenger side.. full right turn... (wheel center postion seems normal on this side no rubbing or anything, it's possible it's maybe a little off but no where as bad as the driver side)

and NO thats not rust in this picture, it's caked on road salt... which will damn soon be rust if i don't get it off though!! LOL (no rust anywhere on the truck, besdies on the ugly spare tire rim!!!) speaking of the spare rim, it wouldn't slide over my auto 4x4 hub,, so i had to take the hub off and then put the spare on... so that is why it's not on in the pictures. any reason why it wouldn't fit?

sorry they're not the best pictures, but any help or suggestions appreciated!

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[EMG7895]

If you did bend one of the beams or radius arms, I wouldnt tackle that without a warm shop and a strong impact wrench to break those nuts loose.

 

[MiZZ]

in the first picture, the red circled area is me trying to point out how it seems the wheel is sitting way off centered in the fender, towared to the rear. that is how the wheel sits straightened out..

edit: but like said before, in order to drive straight, you have to fight the steering wheel and keep it in it's almost upside down position....(you have to turn and hold the wheel toward your right, or the wheel will try and correct itself to the upright position, which is now a hard turn left) rather than normally up right/straight. forgive me if i'm rambling, I know i've said this (about the steering wheel)already a bunch of times in the thread but i'm just trying to explain in as in as much detail as possible.

 

[MiZZ]

If you did bend one of the beams or radius arms, I wouldnt tackle that without a warm shop and a strong impact wrench to break those nuts loose.

I Have a decent size air compressor and some air tools...which may or may not be strong enough but we'll see... I do have a garage, but my camaro is currantly taking residence in it, on jack stands so theres no weight on the tires (them goodyear eagles aren't cheap!) I don't drive or even move it out in the winter as it hasn't seen one in about 12 years! but it may just have to come out for this job! but i rather not with all the salt on the road still even though the ice has long melted... my house hose is frozen stiff so i wouldn't be able to hose it off before putting it back in garage which is a no-no!! lol. but we'll see.

anyways any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

-Mke

 

[MiZZ]

bump!


I know the pictures aren't that explanitory but any suggestions on what to check, I didnt feel any play in any of the front end components, the radius arms seem nice and in place to me, but i'm not exactly sure what i should be checking for with them, i've never dealt with radius arms, i've replaced upper and lower conrol arms in my old s10 (bagged it). but don't really know all what i should be checking for... but i will get some better daylight pictures ASAP..

thanks,
Mike

 

[Burns]

can you get a pic of the front of the Explorer with the tires straight and possibly one of the front end....

 

[MiZZ]

sorry for the delay guys, this all couldn't of happen on a worse week, been unbelievebly busy!! no promises! but i will try and get some pictures tonight... it's just when your looking at the front end nothing seems to be loose, bent or otherwise severaly damaged... that i can see and it's hard to catch good pictures of the front end with my horrible cam phone!! even in broad daylight.. I have my girlfriend asking around with some of her friends and co-workers if they have a good quality digital camera so i can get some good front end shots.

bare with me please,lol!! sorry again for the delay, work is priority one! lol
all help appreciated.


-Mike

 

[MiZZ]

Well i've tried to get a hold of a good digital camera with no luck, Snapped about a million pictures of the front end in the daylight but my camera phone takes horrible pictures with minimal light.

anyways, I'm picking up a full running explorer tomorrow for parts (it has a dead clutch. but motor, body, tires etc are all great) I need new tires and for the price i'm picking the truck up for, it covers the tires alone!

anyways, From looking at the front end, moving stuff around, having someone turn the wheel while i check for play etc... I've found, there is absolutely no play, but it seems the driverside wheel has been pushed back about an inch, but everything seems fine in place..... I'm so 100% lost I have no idea what to do, the explorer is my daily driver and has been sitting on jackstands and I really need it back on the road ASAP!!!

I'll have a whole parts truck so i can also compair the 2 front ends... but honestly theres nothing a picture could even help here, i can't see anything wrong besides the driverside wheel looking a little pushed back, and the rubbing.. (as pictured above... ) what would cause this that i should check? tie rod doesn't seem bent, tie rod ends are fine, radius arms seem fine, axle arms don't LOOK bent.. everything seems sound.... i'm so confused, I really can't afford to take it to a mechanic and i'd rather do the work myself anyways.

again all i can diagnose is...
its pulling hard to the left, steering wheel and wheel/tire alignment is way off. when turned fully left it the driverside tire rubs, it didn't before.. theres also a thumbing noise thats speed consistant, sounds similar to a flat tire, slows and gets more consistant with speed increase/decrease.

please help, i know the basic front end components but you guys are telling me to get pictures and all when i just really need to know what to check, even if it's a list of things to check... (as i know without pictures, it really could be anything, but an area to check would be a start!)
camera phone is horrid! but honestly pictures wouldn't hekp, everything seems in place. tires point and track perfectly straight.. when the steering wheel is in the upside down position... otherwise it tracks left, but still theres no obvious wacky angle to the tire or anything.

if anyone local wants to come look at it, tell me what it needs i'll throw ya some $ for your time.. heck if ya wanna lend some help, you can take anything you want off the parts truck. (which is 100% all there) i'm at that point!! because i can't figure it out!! and I need to fix ASAP

I feel like a dummy but it's funny because I've done so much work engine, etc on my camaro and previous vehicles, but when it comes to bent front end components, i feel like a nOOB all over again, I rather not pay someone to do it, but i will gladly take a hand/advice.

-Mike