ugh. Bent a rim. Got it replaced, but now my car vibrates. Wheel Balance?

[driving90]

I was driving home one night and I ran into a pothole and it took out my front left tire. The impact of it was so much that I lost both of the left hubcaps and I have no idea if my rear left wheel took any hit. From what I can tell, the rear left wheel looks fine and is holding air.

After taking it into the shop, they told me that the front left rim couldn't be straightened, so I ended up getting a new steel rim. They messed up the order and gave me one for a camry instead, so I will be going back to them to get it swapped.

At first I didn't notice it, but after a few days, I realized that the car has a weak vibration in the steering wheel and the floor of the car, even on smooth, repaved highways. It's not really that noticeable at low speeds, but once you hit highway speeds (I'd say 45/50mph and up) the steering wheel feels like a weak playstation controller.

I am thinking about asking them to do a re-balance on the wheels when I'm back at the shop. Do you think a wheel re-balance can help or is it more serious? I noticed the wheel weight on the rear left wheel was still clipped on, but could the pothole accident cause the wheel to get out of balance, resulting in the need for a heavier or lighter weight? Since the pothole only involved the left side of my car, should I just have my left side rebalanced or have all 4 wheels looked at?

Also, since I am running on a camry rim right now on that 1 side and running the regular corolla rims on the other 3 sides, could that be causing the vibration?

The alignment looks fine from what I can tell. The car doesn't drift left or right when I'm on a level road. I'm hoping that it's not something suspension or driveshaft related...

[invader]

They'll have to balance the front left wheel again when they replace your Camry rim. So you got a new front left tire that is like the others? Wear difference between both front tires makes the differential work harder which can lead to failure in extreme cases at highway speeds.

Assuming you have a new front left tire, vibration is likely caused by a damaged left rear tire and/or rim.

How well did your left struts survive the impact, and how are all your other suspension components like your control arm rear bushing, ball joint, wheel bearing and tie-rod ends? What's your mileage?

[driving90]

Originally Posted by invader

So you got a new front left tire that is like the others?...

...Assuming you have a new front left tire, vibration is likely caused by a damaged left rear tire and/or rim.

How well did your left struts survive the impact, and how are all your other suspension components like your control arm rear bushing, ball joint, wheel bearing and tie-rod ends? What's your mileage?

They said I only needed a new left wheel, the tire was the old stock one. I'll have them look at that tire again when they swap out the Camry wheel, no to mention having them look at the rear left tire/wheel and suspension parts. For the damage you're talking about (struts, control arm, bushings), they should be able to tell by just taking the wheel off and looking at it, right?

[invader]

The front left tire is likely deformed, possibly from seperated/broken belts since the hit was hard enough to wreck the rim beyond repair.
Suspension components can be checked for excess free play, jacked up with wheel still on. Control arm rear bushing can be inspected with wheel off. You can check if any strut is leaking by lifting the dust boot up a bit with car on the ground. A broken strut or other problems can also be felt while driving... Your steering wheel aim hasn't changed? It's probably just your front left tire that's shot. Both front tires should be matched and have close to the same wear.

[driving90]

thanks for the feedback, invader. i tried to look at the strut today, but the sun was going down so I couldn't see any leakage. i'll try again tomorrow.

when i'm at the shop next week, i'll have them see if that tire is out of round. if it is and they find a broken belt, i'll get a new pair. if it's not too severe, i'll hold off on it for a month or two...the tires i'm running on are the stock ones that came with the car when I bought it in december 2007. all 4 are going to have to be replaced soon (they're almost level with the wear bars...probably 1/8th left before they're worn out), so I'd rather have all 4 switched out at the same time since they're so close.

[invader]

A distorted tire from seperated and or broken belts can vibrate more at higher speeds, but is easier to isolate at low speeds, and off the car but on the rim and inflated while rolled by on the floor.