Saddest Day Of My Life

[nookatee]

So, i'm officially one of those guys on this post who posts about a stupid accident that he got into and then posts about it to see if anyone knows what my have happened. I'm driving to work and it's a little wet (much more slick than I thought!!). I need to take a left into traffic and i see a little opening in front of a mack truck. So, I gun it to get in and i start to spin out and then i spin out some more and then i spin WAY out and end up on this guy's lawn on the right side of the road. I'm pissed cuz i have to fix this guys lawn now.
the important thing though, is that there's a thumping sound coming from my driver's side front wheel. sort of a grind/thump that get's faster with speed. I took a preliminary look, but I don't see anything. That's just what worries me. When you fuck something up and it's not visible, i've had the experience (with my borther's accident in my old audi) that LOTS of shit gets fucked up this way. Anyways, I'm looking for some thoughts/ideas. i dont' think the lower control arm is bent. even if it was, i don't think it would make the grinding sound that comes with the thumping at lower speeds. I don't think the Rim is bent because i'm not sure how that would create a grinding sound either. It doesn't feel as though I'm going over a bump when i get the thumping sound, however, my steering wheel jerks a little to the left (towards the damages wheel well). LEt me know what you think.
Ramy

[thekid]

First of all, sorry to hear about your mishap.

Second, didyou end up all the way in the guys yard? Was the car sliding sideways into the yars? So did your right side hit then left side? If not how exactly did the car end up there? ie. which side hit the curb first.

Could be a few things, however, since it is a grinding sound, with thumping, I would ventrue to say that it is going to have something to do with a part that rotates/turns. Perhaps, the axle or something on the wheel hub. The infor above will help to diagoss the problem.

[nookatee]

well, this is what I'm not sure of. It all happened suprisingly fast. I THINK that my driver's side front wheel got hit from the inside. Let's go with this for now and if more details emerge from the fog, i'll let you know. Thanks for the help bud.
Ramy

[Gator]

Since you probably hit the curb pretty hard before going onto the lawn, you could have damaged (cracked or bent) any of the front suspension components (axle, cv joints, control arms etc.). In addition the wheel and or wheel bearings could be damaged. There's really no way of knowing without putting the car on a lift and doing a complete inspection. It's REALLY important that this be done soon, because if a critical suspension component is cracked, it could fail at any time possibly leading to another of road excursion or worse.

[4evrwyntr]

Yes, get that car in quick - you don't want that wheel to fall off while you're driving! Chances are you're destroying your tire anyway, and disregarding immediate repairs can only lead to worse repairs in the long run.

[nookatee]

I'm planning on taking it in at least to get it checked out this afternoon. I was just wondering what you guys might think it is. What is the grinding sound I'm hearing? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it. Why is it that it isn't always rubbing? I guess it'll all be clear after a stop to the mechanic.

[nookatee]

THERE IS A GOD!!

It's only a bent rim. My mechanic says he might be able to get the rim fixed for me for like $280. Probably better than buying a new rim. Let me know if you have any thoughts on that.

Also, I didn't pass inspection. He didn't really tell me WHY i failed, other than I didn't pass emissions. I have like 3X as many parts per million HydroCarbons and like 3X the percentage of Carbon Monoxyde, too. He also said that the idle wasn't very steady, which I think is just my ICV asking for help.

I'm wondering though, if anyone has used BG 44K and QuickClean in their cars and if you have, do you think it'll get me to pass inspection. Otherwise, I'm going to have to call the mechanic. All he said was it needs a tune up or something. :-/

[nukeduster]

Originally posted by nookatee@Jul 1 2005, 01:30 PM
THERE IS A GOD!!

It's only a bent rim. My mechanic says he might be able to get the rim fixed for me for like $280. Probably better than buying a new rim. Let me know if you have any thoughts on that.

Also, I didn't pass inspection. He didn't really tell me WHY i failed, other than I didn't pass emissions. I have like 3X as many parts per million HydroCarbons and like 3X the percentage of Carbon Monoxyde, too. He also said that the idle wasn't very steady, which I think is just my ICV asking for help.

I'm wondering though, if anyone has used BG 44K and QuickClean in their cars and if you have, do you think it'll get me to pass inspection. Otherwise, I'm going to have to call the mechanic. All he said was it needs a tune up or something. :-/

[snapback]358923[/snapback]

youre running too rich.. check for fouled spark plugs. improperly gapped sparks/fouled sparks and old spark wires will up your HC's and CO in emissions, among other things..

next check your air pump, make sure shes working..

check those first. if those are good, the o2 sensor is most likely in need of replacement, or your cat is clogged/burned out.

[nookatee]

at the risk of sounding like a total n00b...what and where is my air pump?

[nookatee]

Ok...there's a new sound coming from my car. I've replaced the wheel that was bent with my full sized spare. Now I'm hearing a similar sound, only it's more of a sweeping sound than a grinding and more frequent than the bent rim sound (which, by the way, was rubbing against my tie-rod) but it's also much less audible. I have the sinking suspicion that it's my wheel bearing. I'll have to take it back to the mechanic to take a look. Let me know what you guys think.
Ramy