NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

Well, I thought everything was ok, but it's not.

Monday morning I was travelling on business down a local highway going about 60 mph. There was a car about 4 cars in front of me and and several cars in the left lane next to me and behind me. To my right was a concrete retaining wall.
So out of nowhere the car in front of me darts into the left lane....and a freakin wheel stop (those little curbs in parking spaces) was lying in the road. I didn't have anywhere to go...left and right were blocked...so I nailed the brakes. I was able to slow down to about 30-35 mph before I ran over it with the right front tire, rim, and k-member.
I pulled over expecting to find catastrophic damage, but the only things evident were a bent rim, dented k-member, and the alignment was shot...there was major toe-out.
I took it to an alignment shop and figured that if they could get it aligned, then everything (except the rim) was probably ok. The shop was able to get it aligned back to performance specs, but now as I'm driving 55 mph or faster, there is a very rapid vibration travelling through the steering wheel. It feels different from an out of balance wheel/tire. Kind of like driving over those divets in the emergency lane, only a lot less violent. Any ideas as to what it could be?

VIP1

Are you sure its not the rim that you feel? While its possible that something else is broken/bent, I'd rule out the wheel first. Put some other wheels on there and see how it feels.

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

Ouch - that sucks. I agree with VIP - first step is to eliminate the damaged wheel/tire.

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

I'll get the wheel checked on Friday and inspect all the suspension components while it is off. I'm thinking it may be the wheel hub.

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

That's possible. Do you have access to a known good wheel/tire anywhere that you can swap out?

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

Unfortunately, I don't. I have a local shop here that does the road force balance, though. I can take them the rim/tire and have them balance it. The machine tells you if the rim is out of round or if it has a wobble to it.

psykoTA

iTrader: (4)

You could: swap a rear wheel up front, and see if it moves the vibration to the rear. Vibration in the steering wheel is the front wheels/suspension, Vibration in the seat of your pants, rear. Or take it off completely, move one rear up front, and put the donut on the rear.

CAT3

iTrader: (9)

Could be worse, my K member was dented in the center, both SFC scraped, lower a arms and rear lower control arms, both pass weld pro star rims and racing tires when my old roomates wife decided to go joy riding my car when I was gone for a month. I got $ out of them, but not like I wanted. The rims were bent at the hub & front rim was dented as well. Didnt know about the bends until I had them checked, and man, those buggers were tweaked. Good luck, hope its just the rims.

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

Well,
I noticed today that the wheels are turning at different rates in the front. If I center the steering wheel, one wheel is cocked out about 1/2", if I straighten the opposite wheel, the other rim sticks out about 1/2".
If I turn all the way to the right, there is an odd vibration and the car "hops" as it turns.
Neither of the tie rods or ends looks damaged, so I think the rack & pinion may be trashed. Does that sound right?

VIP1

Have you had the alignment checked?
If not, it could be major toe out (and different on both sides).
The tie rods dont need to be damaged for this to happen. Its possible that the collar jumped some teeth (they screw in/out). Actually, come to think of it, look at the teeth for damage. (I said "teeth" for lack of a better word.)

BoonesZ

probably the r&p is bent..

LS1TechRulez

iTrader: (1)

same thing happened to me except I ran over a speaker box in the middle of the street.
you rack in pioion sounds like its dead...look real close at it and inspect it for cracks. my r+p got cracked when this happened to me. whatever you do, dont take it to the dealership to have them fix it.
I ordered a remanufactured r+p from rockauto.com. it is an easy install. you will need an alighnment after that too. good luck

D Rock

iTrader: (7)

Ok, I don't have much help to add but why the heck was that thing in the road?

NOBR8KSS

iTrader: (12)

Don't know why it was in the road...I can only guess that either it fell of the back of a construction vehicle or some kids put it there as a joke.

I had it aligned the day after it happened and when the steering wheel is positioned straight, the wheels look ok. When you start to turn in either direction, they turn at different rates.
With the amount of toe-out that was present immediately after it happened, the r&p collar must have jumped several teeth.
Going to another alignment shop today. This guy is supposed to be "old-fashioned". Supposedly he knows suspension geometry like the back of his hand. Maybe I need someone who learned how to do more than read a computer screen. Hopefully he can tell me what is wrong and get it repaired. I would just do it myself, but since my employer is paying for the damage, I might as well keep my hands clean.

APeteSS

Not to hijack the thread, but:

Does anyone know of a good way check for a bent rack and pinion on the car? I have similar "skipping" when reversing with the wheel turned to full lock. I hit a curb in the past and bent an LCA, replaced it but the car hasn't been the same since and my alignment guy had trouble aligning my car saying that the slots were maxed out already on one side (the side I hit). I only replaced the wheel, LCA, and the endlinks. I want to figure out whether my rack or my k-member is bent.

Midnight F-117A

What we have in the F-bodies are 'ackerman' steering. The outside wheel turns at a angle less than the inside wheel since the outside wheel is traveling longer and faster.
Now when you back up, you're reversing the 'ackerman' steering which means the inside wheel is trying to push the side of the front more while the ouside wheel is trying to keep it on track so hence that skipping feel in reverse.
It's easily felt with performance alignment.
Notice it happens more often with less treads on the tires than new tires?

APeteSS

Hmmm. Well I'm not as worried about the reversing thing, but I still think something's bent becuase the alignment guy had to use very different positions in the slots to get the fronts aligned. Anyone know of a good check for a bent K-member or R and P without too much disassembly? When I've got time I'll try swapping in a R and P I know isn't best.

Midnight F-117A

A bodyshop with a frame machine should have the alignment spec's on the f-body which shows points measurements should be taken to see if it's within tolerances or not. It's in a big long book showing the points to measure and the spec's.

Very different positions in the slots to get the fronts aligned? what the hell.