How messed up can the car's alignment really get?
 

How messed up can the car's alignment really get without bending or twisting any control arms or the steering subframe? I hit a patch of ice on an unanticipated strip of bricks laid in the middle of the street, pretty much lost control of the car, and ended up hitting the curb with my front right wheel. Now the wheel is set back about an inch or so. I just wanted to know if this could happen without bending the control arms or twisting my steering subframe.

Thanks in advance for the input.

If the wheel is set back, you've more than likely bent something. Best option is to pick it up on a lift, and closely check all the front suspension. You've probably bent the tie rod end, maybe control arm and/or spindle, possibly the strut too.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with some of the suspension terminology. What is the "tie rod end" and the "spindle" in the suspension setup?

At this point you have every reason to go to an alignment shop and have the alignment checked. It's only about $30, and considering that a slight tweak in alignment will destroy your tires in a hurry, it's money very very well spent.

Dave

How hard did you hit the curb? If the wheel is actually an inch back from normal, you've definitely bent something. Just get under there and look for anything different from the other side of the car. With a sideways hit to a curb, I'd be looking at the subframe around the lower control arm pivots.

Get an alignment. It's around $100.

It is just peace of mind.
You'll sleep better knowing your suspension is checked out to be safe.
You'll really hate yourself IF something were to happen as a result of not getting your suspension checked.

You'd better pay someone who knows about these things to handle it.

Tie-rod = essential part of steering rack, if bent, tampered with or broken. Toe will be way off, which leads to huge amounts of unwanted tire wear.

Spindle = a.k.a. steering knuckle, usually holds 2 bolts from the bottom of the strut and other important things like the tie-rod, brake caliper and the CV (if you have them)

If either of these are bent or broken in any way, yes you are looking at a neccessary fix, and if any of it needs replacing, it WILL need an alignment.

I hit a curb several years ago and it appeared that I had broken something ( the steering wheel was 15 - 20 degrees off center. I got an alignment and steering wheel was back on center. I may have been very lucky.

You are lucky. The adjusting cams at the lower control arm pivots can allow some movement. Maybe an inch, but unlikely - depends on where they are set prior to hitting something. After that, something else has got to give, and it's usually a subframe, control arm, tie rod, etc. Very minor bending can often be compensated for with alignment.

If I hit a curb, I'd be looking at all these components to determine what needs replacing. Then again, if I hit a curb, it's going to pretty hard, because I just don't lose control of the car at low speeds. I don't drive mine when there's ice on the road!

If the wheel is moved back an 1", you have damaged components and need a competent shop to investigate....

I concur. :)

Don't forget to look at ALL of the control-arm's mounting bushings/tab.

:-) neil

Hey must be able to adjust alot -- my car was broken into, and in the process the would be theives reefed on the wheel to try and break something loose, i don't know what they were trying to do, but anway, the steerin wheel ended up being about 30 degrees off centre, and a wheel alignment got it back to normal.

If the wheel is moved back about 1-inch, then it's most likely either a control-arm, control-arm mount, and/or the front hub/spindle that is bent/broken.

If it was the tie-rod, it would be angled either in or out.

:-) neil

you shouldnt even waste your time or money getting an alignment with bent parts, your better off going to the junkyard and getting a control arm and strut to start with and go from there. if you pay for an alignment first they will take your money and say "hey your control arm is bent but i aligned it as best as possible' which is going to be a shitty job and your going to have to get those parts anyways

yeah, i say just get ur ass under there and look... if u see a bent arm or something... then head to a junkyard like they said and pick some up. atleast take some pics so people on the forums can give it a look too if ur second guessing ur self

The same type of situation happened to me 2 1/2 years ago. My wheel was off center also. I damaged the tierod and the control arm...I would say that you have the same damage.

That's why I suggest an alignment check. It's not expensive and it will tell you for sure if things are ok or not. Looking for bent suspension parts will not help much if the damage is slight.

Dave

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys! Yeah, I'm already looking for spare parts. I did spend some time looking at my suspension, but as I don't have a lift, and I'm not very experienced in the suspension department, I couldn't tell if a part was really bent. I did realize that the lower control arm seems awfully hard to bend, as it looks like a humongous hunk of metal, but I guess anything can happen down there. Also, can someone tell me what the tie rod looks like, and where it is located? As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to bring my car to a shop.

Thanks again for your great help, guys!

Look at the control arm MOUNTS.

:-) neil

The control arm mounts appear to be part of the car's body. How would one go about fixing them?

Depending on the damage, you can usually bend them back and then re-weld and reinforce them.

We did that with my rear subframe toe-arm mount . . .

:-) neil

There is damage. If there isn't damage: Go to a different shop that will find the damage. Just my .02

I was looking at the parts manual, and I was just wondering if the "steering knuckle" is the same thing as the "spindle."