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      06-22-2018, 02:39 PM   #1
$iriu$black
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Hit a curb and might have bent something.

So I recently ran over a curb at ~30mph and it basically ruined my suspension and alignment. I took it to Turner to get checked and had the long overdue tie rod assemblies replaced and then aligned. After that impact, passenger side camber can’t be adjusted to spec. I will put in the info below. Could anyone help diagnose which is bent in my suspension? Strut, control arms, the knuckle or whatever it maybe? I know it’s hard to fig out without a visual of the car, but maybe some experts can chime in?

If it helps, immediately after the impact the front wheel (apex ec7 18x8.5 et45) touched the strut and basically rubbed the inside wheel lip as I limped at 5mph home ( we were 500ft away). I am now running the 207M wheels up front with stock tires so it is drivable and does not rub. But with the summer wheels and tires (235 40 18) it’s completely in contact only on the pass side. Hopefully that made sense.
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      06-22-2018, 03:05 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by $iriu$black View Post
So I recently ran over a curb at ~30mph and it basically ruined my suspension and alignment. I took it to Turner to get checked and had the long overdue tie rod assemblies replaced and then aligned. After that impact, passenger side camber can’t be adjusted to spec. I will put in the info below. Could anyone help diagnose which is bent in my suspension? Strut, control arms, the knuckle or whatever it maybe? I know it’s hard to fig out without a visual of the car, but maybe some experts can chime in?

If it helps, immediately after the impact the front wheel (apex ec7 18x8.5 et45) touched the strut and basically rubbed the inside wheel lip as I limped at 5mph home ( we were 500ft away). I am now running the 207M wheels up front with stock tires so it is drivable and does not rub. But with the summer wheels and tires (235 40 18) it’s completely in contact only on the pass side. Hopefully that made sense.
Normal procedure is to replace everything on that corner. They are all bolted together, so they will most likely all be bent.
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      06-22-2018, 03:08 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech View Post
Normal procedure is to replace everything on that corner. They are all bolted together, so they will most likely all be bent.
I am planning on replacing the tension strut and control arm on this side. I have Ohlins R&T, will the strut need replacing too ($$$)?

Anything else that might need replacing that I missed?
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      06-22-2018, 03:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech View Post
Normal procedure is to replace everything on that corner. They are all bolted together, so they will most likely all be bent.
I am planning on replacing the tension strut and control arm on this side. I have Ohlins R&T, will the strut need replacing too ($$$)?

Anything else that might need replacing that I missed?
The strut is the most likely part that is damaged. Especially considering your symptoms.

Will also need the knuckle, hub, wheel bearing, speed sensor.
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      06-22-2018, 03:20 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech View Post
The strut is the most likely part that is damaged. Especially considering your symptoms.

Will also need the knuckle, hub, wheel bearing, speed sensor.


Ouch.

If it helps also, after what happened, I had intermittent lights on the dash:
Yellow BRAKE light
Yellow "Sliding Car" lights
... and the (!) light in the middle of the cluster

I don't have a code reader but I'm assuming this is the speed sensor malfunction light? It's gone now though and never had it again after the few times it lit up.

Painful to know the adjustable strut "might" be toast.
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      06-22-2018, 04:06 PM   #6
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For the dash lights, wether the cause is a bad wheel speed sensor, or a wheel misalignment that is throwing off the steering angle correlation. The resulst is a loss of ABS and DSC, you can drive without that.

As for the strut, one bare strut shouldn't be too expensive.
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      06-22-2018, 06:56 PM   #7
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For the dash lights, wether the cause is a bad wheel speed sensor, or a wheel misalignment that is throwing off the steering angle correlation. The resulst is a loss of ABS and DSC, you can drive without that.

As for the strut, one bare strut shouldn't be too expensive.
Yeah I thought it was the alignment that threw the steering angle sensor off. The codes are gone now though.

I have Ohlins R&T so it might be a pretty penny. Lead time is 4mos as it’s special order if only a replacement is needed according to a source. I guess they don’t want to break up sets.

It’s not confirmed though that it’s bent. Maybe it’s worth it to get it diagnosed ($$$ as it requires dismantling the whole front suspension). Oh well.

Maybe anyone can point me to a good source where i can get this unique part. Most sell sets.

Last edited by $iriu$black; 06-22-2018 at 07:02 PM..
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      07-02-2018, 11:52 AM   #8
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Is the only way to determine if something is bent to take all the front passenger side suspension off and inspect? I am seriously thinking of doing this myself rather than pay someone to do so, but have not done it before. I consider myself quite knowledgeable of where things go down there but lack confidence due to being my first time. Is it that hard? I figured I'd mark where everything went (camber settings up top) and just remove/reinstall. Figured it'd save me diagnosis fees and then buy what is needed (most likely everything). I'm suspecting it's the strut only but who knows?
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      07-02-2018, 04:13 PM   #9
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It's very hard to eyeball suspension components for damage, as it only takes a slight bend to throw things off; this is especially true of curved components, like the control arms. It's best just to replace everything, and if it were me I'd do both sides unless you've already got new stuff in there, as it's good practice to replace components on both sides of the axle at the same time.

On the positive side, the suspension is ridiculously easy to R&R, especially if you have an impact. You don't even need a ball joint separator. You could bang out both sides in an afternoon if you have basic mechanical skills, decent tools, and proper instructions.
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      08-19-2018, 08:46 PM   #10
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So I will be in the process of rebuilding my front Passenger suspension. Already got a new strut, both upper and lower control arms, knuckle and bearing. My question is:

Is there a right way of assembling the knuckle and bearing? Can I install the bearing onto the knuckle while it’s on a work bench (might be tough to torque it to spec though) OR attach the knuckle first on to the strut and arms and then install the bearing? Maybe I’m just overthinking this?

Also, no need for any special anti seize or whatever when the bearing is installed onto the knuckle, except on the bolts, right?

Thanks for any help. I’m investing to buy a plugin impact gun to help me w this job. Hopefully it’ll be a big help.
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      08-19-2018, 10:00 PM   #11
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You can definitely fit the bearing to the knuckle on a bench, but you might have to wait until you bolt up the control arms to torque those bolts down to final spec. Don't put the strut in the knuckle until the bearing is torqued down, as those bolts become somewhat blocked by the bottom of the strut, and it's nearly impossible to get a good wrench in there unfortunately.

After that, get the strut in, torque the pinch bolt, attach the brake line brackets and sway bar links, torque the ball joints on the knuckle, then set the car on its wheels and torque the control arm bushings when the car is at proper ride height.
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      08-20-2018, 11:19 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by chris_flies View Post
You can definitely fit the bearing to the knuckle on a bench, but you might have to wait until you bolt up the control arms to torque those bolts down to final spec. Don't put the strut in the knuckle until the bearing is torqued down, as those bolts become somewhat blocked by the bottom of the strut, and it's nearly impossible to get a good wrench in there unfortunately.

After that, get the strut in, torque the pinch bolt, attach the brake line brackets and sway bar links, torque the ball joints on the knuckle, then set the car on its wheels and torque the control arm bushings when the car is at proper ride height.
Thanks chris_flies ! If I will be really careful as to not mess with the Tie Rod end, will I be good without an alignment after? I plan to mark the position of the three nuts for the strut up top in the engine bay and reinstall it as is to get as close to pre-install camber as possible (note the alignment specs on first post). Things of note, I do have camber plates (Dinan) in there. Thanks for the help again.
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      08-20-2018, 03:03 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by $iriu$black View Post
Thanks chris_flies ! If I will be really careful as to not mess with the Tie Rod end, will I be good without an alignment after? I plan to mark the position of the three nuts for the strut up top in the engine bay and reinstall it as is to get as close to pre-install camber as possible (note the alignment specs on first post). Things of note, I do have camber plates (Dinan) in there. Thanks for the help again.
I would recommend an alignment, but it's not a particularly hard thing to do in the home garage. I made a DIY around here somewhere...

EDIT: Found it...
https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1503027
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