I jumped a curb about a year ago and bent my lca up front. The lca was clearly destroyed so i replaced that and took it in for an alignment. First place couldn't align it. Sears gave me an alignment but they said they ran out of toe adjustment so they had to turn my steering wheel a little to the left to make the tires perfect.

They checked over my suspension and all and told me everything was alright and I could just keep it that way. I want to fix it because it bugs me somewhat. Ive had no irregular wear on tires and no steering problems, it is just cosmetic. There are no obvious bends in anything else or obvious frame damage. I do notice however, one bolt that bolts the kmember to the frame appers that it was shoved over (scratched paint that makes it look like position was moved). The hole that the bolt is in is an oval shape so it would allow some movement.

What should I do and what should i replace to fix this problem. I like to do all my work myself but i realize that I can't do my own alignment.

I was thinking:

-Take it to frame shop and get estimate on what they would do to fix it.
-Replace tie rod end as well as steering knuckle, these are likely to be tweaked a bit.
-Look into moving the kmember back to original position if it has been shoved
-Get a new alignment.

What would you recommend?

 

The k-member is bolted and pinned, not sure how the bolt would move unless the pins bent.

Steering kunckle could be the whole problem, that would be my first guess.

Sears is not a good place to take it to, way over their heads.

Z28

 

Yep I am thinking steering knuckle too. The intregal arm on the knuckle sounds like it got bent also.

 

i run my own alignment/suspension shop.

the slot you see is where you make the camber adjustments. when i curb shot my left front from doing a 360 spin, it bent the lower ball joint stud, spindle, broke the rack and pinion, and bent the wheel. i couldn't see the spindle being bent as it's curved anyway. with the spindle being bent, i couldn't get the camber low enough. and finally, i compared the distance of the top of the wheel to the spindle from left side to right side. that's when i spotted it.

in your case, the k-member could have shifted to one side. look at the six bolts that hold it to the car. you may see the telltale scratches that would indicate it shifted at the bolt holes. if not, then it bent where the lower control arm bolts to it. you'll just have to stare at it comparing hte left to the right side until you can finally see the diferences. too bad you are in michigan. if you were here local in orlando, i'd say swing by and let me look at it.

 

Tap the threads in the tie rod end all the way in and cut off about 1/4"--3/8" from the round stud coming from the rack. This should get the steering wheel streight and put the toe in correct.

 

It may have bent the spindle. The last one we dealt with had a camber problem that couldn't be corrected. Examine the spindle very closely. You will often see the factory coating flaking off where it bent. Good luck!

 

I've done lots of alignments and have never ran out of threads to set toe. If the camber and caster readings are all good then theres no reason the toe can't be set. Just try taking it to another alignment shop and see what happens. Probably cheaper than throwing parts at it.

 

I am due for a tire rotation soon. I think when I do that and have the tires off, I will replace the spindle/knuckle on that side. I may get new tie rod ends just as maintainance and go for an alignment. If no one will do it, I'll go to a frame shop and see what they say.

Car was curbed under 25 mph so I dont think there is any frame damage and I had a few people look for signs of that.

Does this sound ok to you guys? Do you think this will fix my problem?

 

I would just have the alignment checked before throwing your money away on parts. If they come to the same conclusion as Sears then you may have bent parts but until then I'd keep my wallet in my pocket. I don't know how much alignment checks are in the states but we only charge $40 to check it up here and then adjustments are extra.