1993 Camry accident damage left front wheel topside pushed in

[retiredat44]

1993 Camry LE 2.2L accident damage left front wheel topside pushed in . Daughter was T-Boned, a mini-van hit the left front fender (drivers side) and pretty much destroyed the fender (and front bumper), but also the top of the left front wheel is pushed in about 2 or maybe more inches...

I drove it a while and the wheels feel good but it defintely feels like it looks, with the camber, top part in a couple inches riding on the inner tread only.. also the steering wheel pulls slightly to the right.

I have not taken it apart yet to see the damage. I suspect something is bent, hopefully the strut is the only thing bent. But, I really don't know. Anyone else care to give me advice on what it might be?


thanx..

[Mister_Perkins]

What you should do is take a lot of pictures of the damage.. with the tire on and off. Pull the tire off, take pictures of the control arms, Struts, etc..

Pictures will help determine whats going on.

Sorry I couldn't be much more help right away

[BMR]

^Ditto what Perkins said.

If the wreck hit hard enough to bend the strut, chances are pretty good it also bent the frame where the lower control arm attaches, especially at the front attach point. I'd look for wrinkled paint in that area.

[retiredat44]

I took off the wheel, and the tie rod is bent... so going to get a new inner and outer tie rod....

I will also first need to loosen the bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle. Straighten out the wheel, then put the new tie rod on... I am going to borrow the tie rod tools from AutoZone.

Last tie rod I had replaced was on our corolla and that was about $260 with labor and parts..

the inner and outer tie rod is about $60.00. The Tools are free loaner....

I just need to count the threads on the old one, and put the new threads at the same thread count on the new one..

[retiredat44]

Anyone have pictures of a 1993 Camry Left front wheel (drivers side) well area with the wheel off...

After the accident there is a bunch of plastic parts hanging there,,, and it would be very helpful to see what they are, and how they bolt up in the proper places...

Update: those parts seem to be located closer to the bumper around and under the palstic inner fender, between the bumper and the wheel...
the plastic/rubber inner fender protector liner got mangled and thes eparts were just lef thanging on twisted brackets...

I am going to check the other side, but I think each side has different things attached in the wheel well area behind, and around the wheel...

1993 Camry LE 2.2L Automatic 4 door.

when the accident happened in mangled the left front fender, the rubber in fender liner, al the plastic stuff, the bumper next to the wheel was completely trashed too... with stuff hanging and broken everywhere... the headlight is still there but the grill is out of alignment.. (tweaked..).


please, again, I need some pictures of the 'front left wheel well' (drivers side) with the front wheel removed... to see everythingin it's proper place,, descriptions too if possible of these mystery parts...

I will see about posting some pictures soon...

Thank you..
Thanx..

[ghettosled]

i dont know if this helps (i had this photo on hand). there is one plastic covering that covers the entire wheel well. behind that there is a black plastic baffle as part of the air intake. you can see it in this photo behind the front bumper. dont recall too many other plastic pieces in that vicinity.

[retiredat44]

that picture helps.. I don't know what that black plastic tank thing is, some kind of air intake tank you say??.... I haven't looked to see what the hell that plastic container is that is bolted in there... mine is twisted and right now is tied down so it doesn't move while the car was moved around..
also, I stil have to replace the strut, it was bent in, already replaced the tie rod,, I am also going to replace the cv axle, the outside boot is bad...

[retiredat44]

I replaced the tie-rod and strut on the drivers side. The drivers side (left front wheel) has a slightly negative camber (wheel goes in slightly). I need to take it to the auto repair for alignment. My question is since camber is not adjustable, which type of after market parts are best to adjust the camber. I am unable to determine which part is throwing the camber off.

Anyone have any info or ideas? Will a place like Pepboys (don't laugh,, please..) be able to move the camber, I cannot say how much it needs to move, but I compared it with a leveler to the other wheel and it is one inch pushed in at the top of the tire towards the center of the car.

Thanx..

bte, I went to look at aftermarket parts for camber adjustment for camrys just to see what people use to move camber, (I guess they use the kits for race tracks..)

[retiredat44]

Ok, it turns out the left side spindle knuckle is bent, making the camber 4 degrees off (negative). Going back to junk yard for a knuckle...

[ghettosled]

ah, i was about to type that. at least its not a difficult or expensive part to replace.