alignment question - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tchoke · 08-14-2005, 09:24 AM

HI guys need a little help here
3 days ago i had to do an emergency merge and i accidant hit a curb on the driver side
now today i drove the car and i notice its pulling to the right... the steering wheel is
like pulsating to the right.
what could be the cause of this.. air pressure on both front tires is same
ive never had alignment issues on any of my cars and dont exactly know how much it would cost.

REAPER STRAIN · 08-14-2005, 05:11 PM

several things. your tire could have a bubble from a hitting the curb. I think this is caused when the steel radial breaks on the inside. it can be on the side or on the tire thread. Run your hand over the tire to see. You will know it when you feel it.
Also you could have knocked it out of alignment. They say its easier than we think. Curbs and potholes are the number 1 culprits. If this is the case then you need a new alignment. FIRESTONE has the alignment for life special for $99 ($30 more than a regular alignment). Trust me it is worth it. I get my car aligned every 6 months and/or when ever I do suspension work on my car. It paid for itself several times over.

tchoke · 08-14-2005, 07:15 PM

yea it feels like i can feel every revolution the tire makes..
weird thing is it was on the driver side tire that i hit a curb yet it pulls to the right..

Dark-LE · 08-14-2005, 08:31 PM

When i curbed my camry, it was more than the allignment. I destroyed the bearing. Costed a pretty penny to fix.

Well i was going around 60mph around a turn with semi slick roads... (ya it was my first real accident, but i learned my lesson... terrified of curbs!) when i lost traction and slammed into a curb....

But still id say at LEAST get it checked out professionally

nodrogkam · 08-14-2005, 08:37 PM

i'd get a mechanic to take a look at it. dont drive on it too much as it could make things worse and costlier for you.

my camry met with a mound of dirt and woodchips along with a hillside not too long ago. forced debris inside my tires and scratching my alloys giving me a flat but later fixed once all the debris inside the tire was removed. but my allignment was thrown off for sure. luckily there wasnt much damage....

tchoke · 08-15-2005, 07:53 AM

looked at it this morning and found the tire that i hit a curb with has a major swollen part
u can actually see it without running your hands on the tire... its about 5mm swollen,
ill have the tire replaced problem is my spare is leaking air

so ill prolly get a used tire on it.

REAPER STRAIN · 08-15-2005, 10:02 PM

Yeah, that sux but honestly if you get a good used tire this turns out to be the best case senario. A good used tire should run anywhere from $25 to $50. A hell of a lot cheaper than the other stuff stuff that could have gone wrong. Good thing too is that you dont have to change it right away. Other than the shakes the tire shouldnt go flat. Glad we can help.

skewe · 08-15-2005, 10:06 PM

alignments are toyota dealers are $69 - $79.

check ur local toyo dealer for coupon.
i.e.
http://www.fredhaastoyota.com/PartsA...fredhaastoyota