I was going 25 round the neighborhood early in the morning (it was dark), when I hit the curb. I didn't just hit the curb, I managed to hit a part of a storm drain which had broken away, so my tire hit concrete more or less head on.

After it happened the main thing that worried me (besides the tire and wheel being screwed) was that the wheel which it was abnormally close to the top of the car (the coil spring was very condensed), and that front side of my car was almost touching the ground.

I had it towed back to my house, and now have the wheel off.

The thing that the wheel bolts onto is not level, and when the spare is attached it is quite visibly tilting into the body of the car (the top of the wheel is pointing in). The strut/shock (the thing running down the middle of the coil spring) looks bent. Also, the coil spring is still condensed. When changing the other tire the spring would come all the way down.

If I'm not making any sense tell me and I'll get some pictures up, but I'm not sure how much will show up.

Any advice/knowledge on what might have gone and what will probably need to be done to get it fixed would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

here's a list of things that probably /may need replaced:
-control arm
-wheel hub/steering knuckle
- strut
-tie rod (outter and inner)
-possibly your half shaft

i may be missing something. but it sounds like your gonna be spendin some money to get it fixed

my friend did the same thing (but on his rear wheel) and he needed to replace a bunch of ****

 

The strut is definitely bent, so that will need to be replaced, but nothing else stood out when I looked around.

I also managed to un-coil the spring, I put the wheel back on, lodged some wood in it, and hit down really hard

The wheel is still on a tilt, but not nearly as bad. So I'm hoping it may just be the strut.

If other things were off, do you know if it would be obvious? Also, has anyone replaced a strut before? I'm thinking of having a go at it myself, it seems pretty straight forward in the service manuals.

Thanks

 

Oh, also, it looks drivable with the spare - would it be a bad idea to drive it with a bent strut (and maybe more damage)?

 

Don't drive on it, it is throwing off your alignment on all angles. If you need a new hub assembly I have a passenger side hub assembly from an 01 eclipse GT. Dunno if that would fit or not, *should*, but I'll let others confirm that. Your tie rod ends are going to need replaced, that's one of the things that will cause the wheel to tilt, and you have to check your lower ball joints on the control arms to see if you snapped them. Struts require a strut compressor which you could pick up from sears for a cheap price, but I have never done it before so again, somebody else will have to fill you in on it. after it is all over with, you WILL need to get a complete alignment done. Trust me, I destroyed 9 front lug studs, both tie rod ends, and drivers side lower ball joint, I replaced 1 lug stud myself, both tie rod ends, and the lower ball joint had to be pressed out and a new one press in by a shop, but I took the control arm off and bought the ball joint and took it in to the shop to just press in and out for me to save money. It cost me about 40 bucks to have that ball joint dealt with.

 

strut is really not hard to install. ive done a couple before front and rear. rear is a piece of cake. front is still pretty easy but u have to worry about alignment alot more. its probably 6 to 8 bolts. i forget.3 on top, maybe 2 or 1 on in inner wheel. i havent done it in a while. like wingo said you HAVE to use a spring compressor. make sure when u put the strut back together the spring is straight and the top is on right. lol. bad experience on that.

 

 

**** you sebba

Thanks for the help guys, I've got it all fixed now. Needed to replace the strut and inner tie rod end, as well as the wheel and tire. It took a while but I managed it all myself, which really cut down on the costs. I appreciate the the offer for the hub assembly Wingo, it looks alright though.

 

No thanks, I don't swing that way.

Appreciate the offer though.