Hit a curb (97 Rolla CE)

[Luke2]

Hi
Today i was going from my friends house and I did not see a curb (covered in snow) - Goin at about 25-30Mph - I hit it - I think my front right tire hit first and then the rest-
Now - When I tried to go back - the steering wheel had to be about 180 degrees to the right for the car to go straight - also some kind of yellow thing started leaking out (coolant?)
i was thinking of taking it to Bell Tire - but I just wanted to ask you guys if you can guess roughly the cost - ? and some other things that i should do - I'm 17 years old and my parents will freak out when I tell em
thx for any responses

[twin88cam]

knocked out your alignment out a shit load, liquid might have been pwr steering, its what color mine is, you'd be lucky if you just need an alignment, most likely 100 cdn, or about 40-60 usd

[canadiancelica]

If power steering fluid is leaking, but there is no structural damage, then you probably fuxxored your power rack. That might be costly

[Luke2]

so what u mean by costly - $600-1200 ?

[freakinbox]

also check ball joints, wheel bearings, lower control arms, tie rods, check everything to make sure it's not bent

[Luke2]

lol - well - I'm a real noob, so looks like I'm goin to the Belle Tire and have it checked out by a pro .
I'll post up

[jon_570]

its you lower control arm...SAME exact thing happend to me about a month agoo..cost 50$ for the control arm and 50 for alignment.....the yellow stuff i would presume as coolant or steering fluid..i would have the steering pump and everything checked out

[cheesep]

Sounds like there could be some severe damage but before you take it to Bell Tire you should jack up the whole front end and support it on jack stands. If your steering wheel is that much out of whack you can likely see what's wrong by comparing the good side to the damaged side. Get a friend who knows a little about cars to help you.


Both sides should look identical except they'll be mirror images of each other. Look closely for a bent ball joint where it bolts onto the control arm, a bent tie rod end and do a bunch of measuring relative to the body to see if the control arm is bent or pushed back and if the wheels are toed in or out. You also should be able to easily see where the fluid is leaking from.

While the front wheels are off the ground. CAREFULLY start the car and put it in gear to let the front wheels rotate. See if the wheel on the damaged side is wobbling excessively. You've probably bent the rim.

It's better to check this out ahead of time so that if you have to take it in somewhere at least you may have some chance of understanding what they're telling you rather than just taking their word for it and possibly getting sucked in to replacing more than is necessary. Like you won't need a tune-up or new brake pads . . .

As info I just went through this in the past few months with both of my son's cars. One of them bent a control arm - it was more of frontal impact on the wheel, and the other bent a rim and the base of the ball joint from a hard side impact.

If you want to see what all this front end stuff looks like check out the Vehicle Repair Guides at www.autozone.com

[Flashmn]

Coolant would be most likely red, green or blue, not yellow...(Although it does exist)

Power steering fluid is often red, as its same as ATF.

Yellow fluid would indicate brake fluid. Maybe you ruptured a brakeline.

As for your parents freaking out, naah, mine didnt although I almost totalled my car. My mom just said "I was waiting for this to happen"

[project trueno]

Originally Posted by Luke2

Hi
Today i was going from my friends house and I did not see a curb (covered in snow) - Goin at about 25-30Mph - I hit it - I think my front right tire hit first and then the rest-
Now - When I tried to go back - the steering wheel had to be about 180 degrees to the right for the car to go straight - also some kind of yellow thing started leaking out (coolant?)
i was thinking of taking it to Bell Tire - but I just wanted to ask you guys if you can guess roughly the cost - ? and some other things that i should do - I'm 17 years old and my parents will freak out when I tell em
thx for any responses

First things first, it was an accident and you didn't see a curb. Let your folks know man, maybe they know a better/cheaper place to fix, instead of you wondering how you might be jipped off by another shop.

And from your description of the steering, get it checked out ASAP, before someone else hops into the car. How did you get it home after?

Yellow fluid could be many things, you sure you're not using the RainX yellow washer fluid?

[jon_570]

^^its the control arm...as for the fluid it probally is brake fluid..check your lines..at junkyards control arms are fairly cheap

[canadiancelica]

New control arms are pretty cheap too ~$100.

Even with the control arm bent, if I were you I'd replace the ball joint & tie rod end. That's just safety measure

[Luke2]

okay - well today I actually drove it to the bell Tire - just to get it checked out - estimated the cost etc... _They're going to call me later today - so We'll see what's wrong with it -
Also - I noticed the tires were squeeking when goin over 25MPH
God I was happy that I made it to the shop lol

[Rolla97]

I'd say you'll probably need a new control arm, tie rod, and ball joint if the steering was that out of whack. I tagged a curb once in my old Corolla. Luckily all I needed was a new ball joint, wheel balance and an alignment and all was well.

[Luke2]

okay - so after getting an estimate of "around $500 dollars" i had it repaired at the belle Tire Shop.
it was the front right control arm - and something was replaced in the back - (the receipt said a "cam kit"

I just wanted to thank all the ppl that rsponded in this topic

thx
Luke