Wheel misalignment

[Anonymous]

Today I lost my concentration a bit and put my car into a high kerb (not another car thank god). The impact was only at about 5mph and the wheel clouted the kerb almost flat on, however i now find that the wheel rubs a bit on the mudflap when im turning left

It did rub a bit anyway, as I have 195/60/r14's on and mudflaps +lowered) and i can only get 2 1/2 fingers between the trailing edge of the front arch and offending wheel whereas i can get 3 fingers on the other side.

I dont have to mention that the steerings a bit out too.

My question is, how hard is it to identify the exact problem (bent control arms etc), and what is most likely to be the problem. I checked under the bonet and checked teh suspension turrets just by sight, and they seem ok.

Thanks

Toby

[Anonymous]

Wotever, the steering will need re-tracking so you'll need to go to a tyre place to have that fixed. You can get them to check the tie bar/lower control arm/ball joint/wheel bearing etc whilst there. Most likely it'll just be the steering rod end if you weren't going too fast.

[Anonymous]

bent lower arm ?10 for new one from scrappy (or free from me if u pick one up) and u might need new lower balljoint cause they arn't that strong

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

[Anonymous]

My friend had a similar problem on his nova and it turned out to be a bent strut so check that.

True, True...

[Anonymous]

Looks like i'll be spending a bit of time after thursday fixing everthing then.

The only thing is that I cant really see what is bent out of shape - although i imagine that the angles will be so small on the control arms that I wont be able to see?

I'll goto the scrappy and get a whole nearside suspension setup just in case

Any1 got any tips on how to undo the bolts tho, they seem a bit tight.

[Anonymous]

use good quality, well fitting tools
p.s. i will put money on it just needing lowerarm and the tracking setting

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

[Anonymous]

LOL, I did this last year to mine, bent strut in 2 places, wishbone and snapped steering rack mounts. I never got any money from the insurance but repairs came to ?1000+ cause i damaged all the hub etc. I only hit it really slow, was actually a fence post on the ground. Still have the same prob 15 months on. Still rubs, fuks tyres. Chassis was checked and was within tolerance but I think it is out. I measured the wheelbase the other day and it is half inch shorter on left side. I've been told u can get the wheel pulled forward like on a jig and think this is the next step as everything else has been done by myself, new balljoints etc. The only other thing I was trying to locate was an adjustable tie rod??

Nad

List of replace parts.
Spax PSX Strut(bent in 2 places,was only 2 months old)
Steering rack + mounts
New N/S hub
New Discs + pads
New upper + lower balljoints
New anti-roll bar + 2 tierods with mounts
New wheels bearings
New sus top mounts
New wishbone

1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?

[Anonymous]

lol @ ?1000 i have all the parts exc the shocker in my back yard, also if u did that much damage the car must be bannana shaped!

have you drop tested the car to see if it is straight?

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

[Anonymous]

Well,

Just to put my final points to this saga, went to RSR today to get it checked out; had the car up on the lift and two guys spent 5 mins looking about, the only things they found were some old war wounds from previous owners that wern't serious at all and both lower arms looked fine (no ripples) They reset the tracking, so the car now drives straight and the wheels both seem fairly 'straight'. I have a feeling when driving along that I may have mishapen something, but i dont think that its anything serious and i'll probably wont even notice/forget about it in a few weeks time.

I think to be on the safe side tho, i'll take it easy for a bit and replace some of the arms in the summer on both sides anyway.

Tracking done by laser and not too bad at 20 quid!

[Anonymous]

I ran my old nova up a curb on my way to a cruise once and had it jigged and all new front suspension components on both sides and it never drove the same as it used to ever again (think it was 99% me though thinking it was not driving right!) So in the end is sold it as there was no way i was putting my 2ltr in it as it pulled to the left under acceleration. So i went out and got a k reg gsi to put the engine in instead :-)

They say "good things come to those who wait" and me and John have waited longer than most!

[Anonymous]

Ste, wat u mean by drop tested. Any yes, the easiest way to write off a car is to hit the wheel in to the back of the arch. Mine only tapped it as i was going slow. The rest of the damage happened when i drove 4 miles in it and the wheel nearings had gone, taking out he discs etc...

Nad

FWD cars will always puyll to one side or the other, its torque steer. One driveshaft is longer than the other.

1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?

[Anonymous]

hang weights (spikey weight on string) off main parts of the car and mark on the floor where they point with chalk, the remove car and look/measure floor that should show any think that is too short and the area when the size is missing

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

Driver required to take car to VBOA/TRAX apply at ste@novaload.net

[Anonymous]

draw/mark lines in diagonals on the corners and if they cross exactly in the middle its straight :)

"I'm a junky with a monkey"

[Anonymous]

Well I already measured the wheelbase and even if the chassis isnt out the wheel base is 1/2 inch thru suming being wrong. Now just got to find sum mullah and a place to sort it!!! Its wearing out my bloody mudflaps :(

Nad

1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?

[Anonymous]

just measuring the wheelbase won't work cause the axle/suspension might be bent you need to measure the shell

in this picture
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/dedcbd7d/bc/My+cars/1.2i+1995-1998/Repair+Pics/__hr_Left-Rear.JPG?bcXpLg8AGwl4cmX7

you can see the measuring system attached to the rear beam mounting point (orange thing with pointy bit on) and the measurements sheet is attached to the passanger door

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

Driver required to take car to VBOA/TRAX apply at ste@novaload.net

[Anonymous]

Ste, i cant see the piccy, can u e-mail it me if possible. The reson I think the wheelbase it out is cause the left front wheel also rubs on lock at the rear. The front shock is new, and the rear is pucker. I think its pulled the front of the car in...

Nad


1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?

[Anonymous]

Ste, m8 u got that piccy please. Oh and I got the MOT on Thurs/Fri whoops, i wonder wether this could be the end for Mr Martini :-/

Nad

1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?

[Anonymous]

go to a garage with a jig and ask for a copy of the measurments for a nova

16v Nova - Toolkit, Trouble, Points and great expence all come as standard :)

2.0 16v back soon :D

Driver required to take car to VBOA/TRAX apply at ste@novaload.net

[Anonymous]

I did this in my old nova SR, the drivers side front wheel was rubbing against the rear of the arch. So, like a true pro, i used a jack and proceded to jack the wheel forward!! after several times of doing this the wheel seemed to stay in the right place!!! I then drive the car about for a week and did about 200 miles. At 50mph the steering wheel was shaking so much it was pulling out of my hands!!! i sold the car the next week.

[Anonymous]

Ta Ste, got the MOT today, i wonder what it will fail on ow :(

Nad


1 nutter, some kit, some filler and spray and wallah!! Who was it that said 'Everythings been done to Nova's' ?