Slid into curb..lower control arm or/and alignment (Rustbelt Control Arm TSB??)

[CornbreadXD]

Well, I was doing well this winter and then this morning BLAM!! A combination of black ice and an unplowed intersection led mt car into a curb at probably 10mph. I initially looked it over and didn't see any damage (it was 4am, on my way to work) but once I started to drive I knew the alignment was out because the steering was out of whack.

When I got home at 2pm in daylight and after the ice/snow was melted and everything I saw the damage in my driveway...i'm not even going to talk about the fact that the wheel hit was on the passenger side but the bumper is cracked on the driverside (new front bumper or plastic weld and paint) ....the wheel is pushed back a decent amount but I got under the car and the lower control arm doesn't seem bent, it might be slightly but I don't know. I have lifetime alignments at firestone so I can get one done BUT!!!!!

The thing is I never took my car in for the rusty control arm thing so would it be possible to (play dumb?) take it to the dealer and have them inspect the arms and replace them if they are rusty/ have them inspect them and tell me why the car is out of alignment for free? Is that possible??? But I don't know if the impact just pushed the ksports out of alignment and that would be all I need...any suggestions?

[hammondfra]

well, I will tell you this...the lower arm is fuxored...read my thead here about my same ordeal...good to see your ok and it wasn't anything worse.

as for the tsb, I would play dumb also and see if you can fault them if it's rusted out...

[CornbreadXD]

yeah normally I'd just buy the lca and tie rods and do it myself but with no heated garage and snow all over i might have to pass on this one, hope the dealer can fix for free and the subframe isn't shifted

[hammondfra]

Yeah, hopefully they will...the lca isn't cheap.

I also had to replace my bearing and steering knuckle too...I ended up putting on new rods on both sides of the car as well ...good luck with this man.

[only1db]

the lca is 300...just as much as the whole subframe! haha that does suck though.

and btw if they were rusted to the point of failure...they would have snapped like a twig when you hit the curb. the rust spot is usually right at thte lower ball joint. and it just siimply snaps off.

[CornbreadXD]

ok only1db I priced the whole assembly @ rockauto for $93 shipped for the passenger LCA w/ bushing and ball-joint assembled, 1 stabilizer link & 1 tie rod, is that all I need? I know your supposed to replace everything but I got underneath the car and did see a visible bend (dip) in the lower control arm but i'm not sure if it was there before and just not severe because remember after my accident the shop had to straighten the body on that side and I'm not sure if the old lca was heated and bent to get things close or not. Nothing else underneath looks to have any damage but Im just worried that once I get everything off it may not line up correctly.

[only1db]

that should should do it...unless one of the coils is bent, but you wont know that till its up on the alignment rack

[CornbreadXD]

aight everthing is on its way, how long should this take without the use of an impact(compressor broken ). So just hand tools ,breaker bar, 10deg temps, snow, etc.

[slyderdai]

I did the same thing 2 weeks ago. I caused a little over $700 dollars in damage cosmetically. I get to drop it off tomorrow to the alignment shop to see if the sub frame or anything is all out of whack. I swapped my summer wheels and took it around the block and it limps up and down like crazy. I mean it goes up in the air a good 3-4 inches and back down.

[only1db]

lets see...you have two 19mm bolts (which you have to be real careful when you take them out because the nuts are welded on the "INSIDE" of the subframe and if they come off and the bolt just startes spinning....your gonna need a subframe) the lower ball joint...2 17mm (iirc) for the cover and one more 19 mm. if all goes well maybe a half hour? its no real complicated, but crap happens.

[CornbreadXD]

alright 30min everything perfect = 3 hours real life, so thats good, I saw a helpful DIY on this so I think its straight forward like you said but what about this ball joint removal tool? where do I get one and do I really need it? Thanks for your help only1db

[only1db]

you just need to use a small sledge and hit the knuckle (turn the wheel so its fully exposed) it should just pop and then you can pull it down. you just have to put some *** into it.

no prob...thats what i'm here for.

[Cypher]

You don't really need to worry about the bolts in the subframe wringing off unless you use an impact gun. Impact guns are a no-no when taking those type of bolts out.

[CornbreadXD]

I finally got some days off of work to do this and now im stuck, (thread revival) The last 22mm bolt on the old control arm is just turning and it won't come out. Any idea on what to do about this? I'm thinking I may have to take the car to a garage somehow and have them cut it off but I've got everything this far and if I end up having to tow the car and everything it would've been a waste of time.

[CornbreadXD]

Alright this has become a hassle and i'm right at the end and the last barrier is holding me up. I had to cut the bolt and lca because it wouldn't come out and now I see why but I still cant remove it.
(bolt is for reference the threaded part is the stuck piece)
This is the 22mm bolt that goes into the subframe with the welded nut on top of it, I had to cut the lca free because the bolt just kept turning and wouldn't come out, there isn't enough room to pound it out from above and the best I could do is get the claw of a hammer in there and smack it but it won't go through. Tried smacking it underneath with another bolt to use as a punch and it still won't budge. I can turn it with vise grips but it won't come out so WTF!!?

Now I was thinking that my last ditch effort would be to cut the welded nut at its base and that would probably remove the part of the bolt that is causing the problem and because I need to get another 22mm bolt to replace the cut one, use a lock washer and a nut to secure the control arm in place. Now I'm not sure if thats a good idea but I was thinking it could be a temp fix so I could get the car back on the road to have the new nut welded to the subframe..would that work?

Old and New control arm

[only1db]

you can try that...but i have a feeling that your going to be needing a new subframe.

[CornbreadXD]

well I got that bish out by cutting at it with the sawzall and air cut off tool. I founf out that the thing isn't welded in place, its just a cap that goes over the square nut. I'm thinking the P/O had some work done at some point and the bolt probably got fired up in there with an impact because I think the only way this would come free would be on a bench vice. The dealer wants $14.90 plus tax for this bolt so i'm gonna check fastenall tomorrow because $15 is kinda crazy.

[only1db]

there ya go...

yeah but the dealership is going to be the correct grade...i'm not sure you can get a 10+ grade bolt anywhere else.

[CornbreadXD]

fastenal sells 10.9 grade bolts for like $3 but i think i'll have to order online and ship to store i gotta do it quik because i've been riding to work and its supposed to snow again

[JoeytheClown]

Sat night I was headed to the Blackhawks game. I exited the expressway via the offramp. As I got to the intersection I went to make a left turn a heard a tremendous BOOM. My car screeched to a halt and I thought I somehow hit a pothole and completely blew out the tire.....I could also smell "burnt rubber". I got out of the car and walked to the passenger side to check out the damage. The drivers side tire was turned as if I were making a left turn. The passenger tire was pointed as if I were going right and was completely against the top ,of the wheel well. Also the entire passenger quarterpanel was completely "F-ed" up, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the road that would have caused this. Of course most of you know where this is going..... the entire LCA snapped....it was all rusted and half attached to the tire, the rest was still attached to the vehicle. I had the car towed to the dealearship and I am awaiting their response. When I last checked the service mgr said the LCA was broken (DUH!!) and the axle was too....he was waiting for a call from Hyundai to see what was going to be done and they were looking to see what else was wrecked/damaged when this happened. The best part is my car is always serviced at the dealer where the car was purchased AND they did my recall repair. The car only has 68k mi. All I know is I'm glad it didn't happen about 5 minutes earlier when I was cruising at about 70 mph. Take a look at the photos and let me know what you think.IMAG0008.jpgIMAG0009.jpg