Mom hit a curb, now camber seems to be off

[PandaBear]

95 Corolla with MacPherson strut type suspension. Used to have some camber problem because my dad always park too close to the curb and probably have bent something. Had camber kit installed and new struts about 45k miles ago. The tire shop said they couldn't get the alignment perfect (already maxed out) and it is still off by a little out of spec.

The outside of the tire on the front always wear out faster than the inside by a little, and it wasn't too bad until this week. My mom started driving (pass the exam at the age of 60) and accidentally hit the curb when getting into the gas station. The hub cab is about 1/6 destroyed along the cir, and the tire is a little piece of the tire sidewall scratched away.

I tested the car out and the steering seems off. Took a look at the ball joints, the tie rod end links, wiggle and tested the wheel for play, and everything seems fine.

I've heard that strut mount bracket can bent when you hit a curb, is that true? If this is what happen, how can I fix it? New struts? camber kit? shim? This car has no front sway bar and the bushings are integrated with the lower control arms, and you have to replace the control arm to replace the bushing.

 

[bdcardinal]

check the struts for being bent, check to see if the lower control arm is bent. look to see if the knuckle is bent.

 

[PandaBear]

How much of a bent does it take to get alignment out of adjustable range?

 

[Gary Allan]

You're talking very few degrees of range. I don't know how to articulate that in how much of a hit is required to take you beyond it ..but if you can see it, it's well beyond it.

For excessive camber wear (not a recommended procedure, normally) you can loosen the lower control arm bushing on that side while it's on the rack. Cycle the suspension and preload that side until the reading is in range, then tighten the nut for the bushing. On a bigger car this will prematurely wear the bushing.

Let me explain further. I had a 1979 Fiesta. It needed control arm bushings. I knew the guy who did it and when I picked it up I asked, "Did you put it on the ground first and cycle the suspension before you tightened them down?". I get a deer in the headlight look. Anyway, with the suspension hanging down, tightening the bushing preloaded them to "lift" the car up. I then went ...months later ..to get an alignment (toe was the only setting) and asked them to loosen the bushings ..cycle the suspension ..and tighten them up. There too I got the deer in the headlight look. I finally pointed out to the guy that I had equal camber wear and that I don't think the thing lost weight (you can get equal camber wear on some cars if they're loaded frequently).

There's no reason you can't do this for one side ..or so I reason. While on a heavier car (older style heavy front ends) it will wear the bushings permaturely, it's not such with a light weight, at least not nearly the amount you pay for endlessly wearing out tires a bit earlier.

 

[mechtech2]

Something is bent, for sure. Fixing the bent parts is obvious.
However:
The slot in the strut [upper] where it bolts to the knuckle can be elongated with a rat tail file, dremel tool, or even a drill bit forced sideways.
This will give you more room to get your camber right. 'Crash' bolts or camber kits use skinnier bolts, and this method allows either them or nice big stock ones.
I'd check them and set them equal to the one with the most NEG camber. Then the toe MUST be set. Zero works well.
BTW, FWD cars wear front tires at the outside edge even with perfect alignment.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
BTW, FWD cars wear front tires at the outside edge even with perfect alignment.


mechtech2,

Thanks for the trick, I'll give that a try. The camber is not off "visually" on the side of the car, but the pull is a bit obvious on the highway. It needs about 3-5 degree on the steering wheel to keep it running straight, and it is not because of central rest position of the steering wheel is off.

Gary,

I don't think I will touch the bushing as they are 180k miles old (original). I think the ride is loose enough that if I were to do any major work (i.e. break out the ball joint of tie rod end), I will do the control arm with bushing at the same time. Will a worn bushing cause excessive camber wear? How do you check it?

 

[Drew99GT]

If you're doing this in your garage, I'd take the entire suspension apart and check everything. I recently hit a curb in my 94 Corolla and it bent the inner tire rod and the strut.

 

[Papa Bear]

Make your mother fix it .... then take her new license away !!

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Make your mother fix it .... then take her new license away !!

Panda mom would then bite Papa Bear's head off.