revelator1969

Im gutted. The other morning on the way to my work in the snow, my car skidded as i went round a bend, i now know i should have been going slower but its too late now. I smacked my front right wheel off of the kerb, i thought it would be mangled but it just seems to be just the rim that is badly scuffed. I have a 5th alloy for a spare so i can always swap it over. My steering wheel is sitting at 11 o'clock going straight, it also feels very stiff. I know i need to get the 4 wheel alignment done but is there anything i should check, will alignment be suffice or is there a chance something could be damaged?

jlbell

Maybe a bent tie rod end? I wouldn't advise driving the car until you have it check, last thing you want is to be moving at a high speed and a tie rod fail. The suspension components aren't had to see. Put the car in jack mode and turn the wheel all the way to the left or right and inspect.

richard-tx

Take it to a good shop and they will tell you what is wrong. At this point, it could be anything but I would not drive it except to the repair shop.

revelator1969

Many thanks for your reply. That sounds like and easy enough check given the bad weather. Ill see what it looks like and report back.

richard-tx

Take it to a good shop and they will tell you what is wrong. Something is bent else the alignment would not be off. At this point, it could be anything but I would not drive it except to the repair shop.

revelator1969

Thanks for your reply. I will take a look and see if there is anything obvious. If it does need something replaced i will need to consider what kind of a place to take it to.

uberwgn

Bent tie rod. Not the end of the world, Revelator.

Jack88

+1, this has been repeated because it is the most likely problem!

revelator1969

Many thanks guys for all the replies. Today i check the run-out of the wheel rim and despite the great whack it must have got the rim is not running out which is good news, its just badly scuffed. I took the wheel off and i cant see anything wrong, the suspension arms all look strong enough and the tie rod looks fine. I put the wheel back on and i have booked a 4 wheel alignment for tomorrow with a place that uses the Hunter machine. I will ask the chap to have a look at my suspension anyway but i could not see anything wrong.

My steering is very very stiff and im assuming that is because the alignment is way out, does that sound feasible?

Jack88

No, stiff steering isn't going to be because of an alignment issue. Something was damaged, if not a tie rod, something else. Sometimes parts can look okay on the surface, until you compare it to a known good part.