Jumped a curb - negative toe - which part most likely bent?

[NCYankee]

I am assuming it's probably the rear toe link, but it could also be the hub / knuckle - which one would be the weaker link in a spinout that resulted in jumping a curb?

Thanks.

[NCYankee]

So no one here has any experience with jumping curbs and bending your car? I find that hard to believe

Well, I went out and bought a 24" vernier caliper - $7.99 at Harbor Freight (love that place.) Haven't had a chance to measure the toe link but that is my guess, as it seem to the the longest thinnest piece in the rear suspension - so from an engineering standpoint most likely to bend - though I am still not sure about the hub.

[S133P3R]

and it could be any of the arms.... RLCA, RUCA, toe rod, axle maybe?

[NCYankee]

The total toe is only off by about 1 degree, so the bend is not visible to the naked eye - but it is eating the hell out of my tires, though the wear is even across the tread.

I don't know how jumping a curb could bend the RUCA, since it would be in tension from such a hit. The RLCA is an awfully sturdy piece, and the camber wasn't off just the toe. It was a direct sideways hit to the curb, at a fairly low speed - less than 5 MPH, didn't even damage the tire or bend the rim. The only sign of damage is the inability to get the alignment within spec.

Anyway I was just hoping someone might have had a similar hit and let me know what part ended up being bent.

[S133P3R]

yeah... im one of many 240 owners whom have hit a curb while traveling sideways... my RLCA was bent and i had to replace it before i could replace my shocks or get alignment. if its not visible to the naked eye, why would we be able to see it on the internet? good luck!

[AZhitman]

^ Agreed.

RLCA isn't as stout as you'd think.

I'd drop the rear subframe completely and check all measurements... Best if you have a non-injured one to compare it to.

Hell, your entire subframe could be off-kilter.

I have seen the RUCA damaged in these cases as well - Mine was FUBAR where you adjust camber.

Rear toe being off can really whack out the hadling - Mine would "hop" sideways over pavement irregularities... Very disconcerting at speeds.

See if it can be "aligned out".

[NCYankee]

Thanks to both of you, that was helpful. Yeah mine hops over bumps, it's pretty hairy especially if the roads are a little wet.

I did pick up an entire half suspension from a salvage yard for $50, so I have undamaged pieces to compare - but the ball joint is sloppy so I can't just bolt the whole thing in - and I am trying to minimize bolt removal, they've never been out and I don't have a backup car if I break any. No part stores just stock them, you have to special order and they are not cheap. Unfortunately the salvage yard didn't give me the ones that were on it.

The shape of the RLCA is going to make measurement a little tough - S133, where was yours bent? The weak spot looks like the front attachment, it's a little skinny there.

Could a bend in the RLCA affect just toe? I am trying to visualize what effect that would have on tire positioning, it seems that moving the ball joint around would screw up camber more than toe - but I could be wrong, I really don't have a lot of experience with suspension problems and will bow to those more experienced. (Edit: I guess a bend in the front attachment of the RLCA would move the ball joint forward, and make the wheel want to pivot out - so that could cause excess neg toe.)

I did try to get it aligned, like I said the closest he could get it was about 1 degree out of spec, on the total toe. The tire wear is pretty even but very fast - last set lasted about 5k miles.
Modified by NCYankee at 9:30 AM 3/24/2009

[S133P3R]

it tweaked the back mount and back arm of the triangle shape... the metal is sandwhiched and you could see the back part had a slight gap which meant the part was garbage, i just visually compared it to the opposite side and you could tell the difference.... now im thinking about all the problems AZhitman brought up about the rear subframe being tweeked.... jeez!

i replaced my lower arm with one from a junkyard to expedite the process so i could get my blown shocks replaced. i will go back and replace the ball joints one day... i think you can use sentra universal ball joints... and they are a b**** to get in and out. ceheck this out for details... zer...ement

[NCYankee]

Thanks S133 - huge help, though I kinda hope it turns out to be the toe link, much easier to replace

[RustspecS13]

The factory toe link should pretty much be perfectly straight on all sides.

And total toe means squat, Im guessing all the excess toe is coming from one side? What is your actual camber and toe on the problem wheel?

When my friend popped a curb at like 25-30mph sideways (in my old car), it bent the LCA BAD, the mounting points on the subfram for the LCA, and snapped the toe rod. I was pissed but he made it right. But LCA's aren't really that strong.

If its only one wheel out of spec the problem part should be easy to spot. Also is your car lowered at all? That can cause huge camber and toe changes.

~Alex

[NCYankee]

Hi Alex,

Everything is stock - I can' find the actual alignment data sheet, the car has been sitting in my garage for most of the last couple years - but the numbers that stick in my head are max .35 actual 1.39 (degrees) - but looking at my FSM those numbers don't seem to make any sense, and now I am not 100% sure they were negative. I just remember that the toe was about 1 degree out of spec, and it was the only measurement that they could not get in spec.

Sorry if that's not very helpful - I really thought I still had the last alignment data sheet.
Modified by NCYankee at 7:23 AM 3/25/2009

[NCYankee]

OK if anyone is still interested - what with tax season and working 6 nights a week and all, I only just got the chance to take a really good look around and I definitely spotted a problem - the toe link bushing has pretty much disintegrated.

I know the bolt had been sticking to it well before the curb jump, as the alignment tech told me he was turning the adjusting bolt and it was turning back - he finally got it to stay by hitting the bolt with a torch, but I think the shock from hitting the curb probably finished it off.

Question is - could this alone throw off my alignment enough to cause the extreme tire wear I have been experiencing? The control arm doesn't appear to be visibly bent, I will measure the toe link when I pull it to see if that is the culprit.

[RustspecS13]

If you have visable toe, its too much for a street alignment and will wear tires out very fast. .4-5deg too much will cause lots of wear quickly, so 1deg is a huge problem.

Get a new toe adjuster asap and get it aligned to go back to enjoying your car.

~Alex