Hit a curb going kinda fast, grinding noise on full-left + off-center steering - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

300SD81 · #1 01-24-2007, 06:45 PM

I hit one of those parking blocks going approximately 30mph. The steering wheel of my car is now slightly off-center, but both wheels look properly aligned. It was making a hard right turn when it hit the curb. The left front tire took most of the hit, witht he side of the tire, the left rear hit with the front of the tire and just ran over it. There is also a grinding noise if I turn the wheel all the way to the left while moving. Nothing underneath looks bent, could I have messed up the steering box? How hard would it be to change it?

barry123400 · #2 01-24-2007, 10:01 PM

I doubt if the steering box is damaged. Could be I guess but I doubt it. You might want to take the car in for an alignment check. This might reveal what exactly is bent because from your description something is. Thirty miles per hour is a substantial hit. You could pull the wheel and remove the front wheel bearings first on the bad side and check them. You might have broken a bearing cage. I have to wonder if you drove the lower control arm mount in or bent the lower arm itself. I guess a lot depends on the angle of impact but I am no expert. Others will have better opinions.

justinperkins · #3 01-24-2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry123400

Others will have better opinions.

Does "don't drive 30 miles an hour through a parking lot" count as a better opinion?

300SD81 · #4 01-24-2007, 10:27 PM

Correction - Full right causes the grinding, not left.

JackG · #5 01-24-2007, 10:28 PM

jack the left side up till the wheel is off the groundcut the wheel hard left.
get under the front and listen while someone else spins the tire
I am certain it will reveal itself

JackG · #6 01-24-2007, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 300SD81

Correction - Full right causes the grinding, not left.

ok, still jack left side but turn wheel hard right and spin. you will see or hear where it is coming from

TheDon · #7 01-24-2007, 10:31 PM

Also when the wheel is jacked up push and pull on the tire(make sure the car is securly jacked). If it has any play the ball joint is going to have to be replaced... might want to inspect the bearing as well.. The right side bearing on my spindle was in horrible shape compared to one that was not smacked into a curb.

Your caster is probably off now.. mine was after I hit a curb. How do the wheels look.. do the wheels look like this when looking at them from the front / \ (but not that severe)

300SD81 · #8 02-03-2007, 01:39 PM

The grinding sound is coming from the tire hitting the spring. I still cannot tell whats bent. And I have noticed a chip in the port of my rim where its attached to the tire. Is it possible to get something like that fixed? Mounting a tire on it would seem impossible with that chip there. The caster is off. It looks like this now, | \ or maybe even \ \. There dosen't seem to be much play in the joint. Only a little left and right, I think that might just be the play in the steering I've always had.

TheDon · #9 02-03-2007, 02:03 PM

when looking from the front /___|.. the wheel tilting in is camber... it should be slightly negative.. but not extremely like the VW's I like..

the caster is the way the wheel is pointed .. (adjusted Via tierods and guide rods..IIRC).. the Camber is the exccentric bolts..

Pics would really help..

When I hit the curb I blew a hole in my tire and cracked and pushed in a good chunk of my bundt..

I would remove the wheel, caliper,rotor and inspect the spindle it self if you cannot find anything else amiss..You more than likely also screwed up the bearing. I did and I was moving at 10-15 mph..

300SD81 · #10 02-07-2007, 10:59 PM

I don't really have too much time to work on the car right now. It seems drivable, but theres the occasional times theres a vibration in the steering that feels like its going to shake the car apart. I have to turn the wheel side to side and/or slow down to get it to stop. I think might go with a complete front end rebuild/replacement during spring break. How much work is actually involved in doing it? I'll see if I can get the tire off, broke a ratchet last time I tried. I don't have a proper sized tire iron, and I'm definitely going to strip the bolt with the loose one I used before. I went to a tire place like a month ago, and they used an impact wrench to put the tires on!! Even after I told them to use a torque wrench.

300SD81 · #11 02-10-2007, 03:05 PM

heres some pictures,

needed a big breaker bar to get the bolts out on both sides. Looks like whatever holds the brake rotor is bent, or the plate behind it it bent. I can't find anything else that could be causing the steering to be off center.

Part of my rim is also chipped, whats a good estimate to repair it? Or should I just replace?

TheDon · #12 02-10-2007, 03:11 PM

Like punching holes in the undercarriage? jk jk

I cant tell if anything is bent with the pics.. More than likely your crunched the bearings if its grinding and the alignment is off.. They wont get an exact alignment if all your tie rods and ball joints as well as guide rods are shot(a little play in them means they are shot)..

300SD81 · #13 02-10-2007, 03:15 PM

The grinding sound was the tire hitting the spring. There dosne't seem to be any grinding with normal driving.

Hatterasguy · #14 02-10-2007, 03:17 PM

Have a shop try to align it, they will tell you whats off.

That wheel is shot, so is the tire probably.

#15 02-10-2007, 03:20 PM

I can't tell from the photos either, but if the tire is hitting the spring something is way out of whack. I agree, an alignment shop should be able to tell you what's bent, then you can decide if you want to do it yourself.