Front Swaybar

By Chuck On March 4, 2010 Under International Truck Parts

Front Swaybar
driving a KIA Sophia last night. i hit a curb hard enough to rip holes in the sidewall & mess up steering.?

I was driving on a local road with divider in the middle, road narrowed, other driver came into me . i yanked car hard left & and crunched the crap out of the tire and front wheel on a nonbeveled concrete curb . Estimated speed 30 mph Changed tire and drove the 6 miles home, steering wheel currently sits 30 degrees left of center. car drives like i broke a tie rod. Tire in question bounces uncontollably to the point where it impacts the inside of the fender well and part of the strut. . Tire got literally chewed up by something to the point where it looks like it went through an asphalt removall machine.. on visual inspection no cv joint leaks. no strut leaks , spring on strut looks intact, though swaybar looks bent.- got car up on jack stands and grabbed rotor in both hands and gave it the angry dog shake - feels solid. however tire is not even close to vertical- top leans towards engine at a 20 degree angle or so. Anyone got any ideas what i did and can i repair it ? thanks

By a-arm, I am assuming they meant the control arm. I have been an ASE Certified Mechanic in Front Ends for over 8 years now, and have not heard of an a-arm. Heard lots about the control arms, tho. And they are a pain to replace. Before jumping to conclusions tho, do some self-checks first. Get the wheel in question off the ground. Grab the tire by the top and bottom (obviously, one hand on each) and try to push and pull the tire in a manner that looks like you are trying to push the top half of the tire into the wheel well, while pulling the bottom half out. Reverse the process. Do this several times. If it moves more than about 1mm (basically, if it moves at all), you have ruined the ball joint. You will need to replace the ball joint, which also is a pain. If no movement, inspect the MacPherson Strut assemply. It is hard to do, but you may have bent the strut arm, or possibly the steering knuckle itself. But this is very difficult to do, and I don't think you could have from a 30mph impact. The ball joint is more likely. Usually won't cause a bouncing, but anything is possible. Also, check the outer tie rod, and the tie rod end (where it meets the steering knuckle). Typically, if bad, this will cause the vehicle to wander, not bounce, but again, anything is possible. Grab the tie rod end and try to twist, push and pull it. Some movement is OK (like a couple of degrees), but anything more than that is abnormal and needs replacing. No doubt you threw the alignment off, but that's an easy fix, and it will not cause bouncing. If that doesn't seem to be the problem, email me: mike_so_shore from this wonderful site. I'll see if I can help you further. Try those suggestions first tho.

How to make a front sway bar for the Slash

Suspension Techniques 52155 Front and Rear Anti-Swaybar Set

$298.64

(Set if Equipped with front bar) Built for the (88-91) Honda Civic... Want to add sway bars to your package at any time? These Suspension Techniques Sway Bars do just the trick! Expect better turn in and steering response! A must buy for any enthusiast....

Suspension Techniques 52085 Front and Rear Anti-Swaybar Set

$298.75

(Set) Built for the (89-94) Nissan 240SX... Want to add sway bars to your package at any time? These Suspension Techniques Sway Bars do just the trick! Expect better turn in and steering response! A must buy for any enthusiast....