Big pothole = bad news
 

So I mentioned briefly in another post that I hit a pot hole in my 93 S-10 4x4 and now I have a serious pull to the left hand side. I thought it was going to be a quick and easy fix because I had bent something simple, as did my mechanic.

Well, I have my truck back and the shop couldn't see anything that is causing the pull. I saw it up on the hoist and the passenger side tire is at a bad angle right now. I looked at it myself and I couldn't see anything that stood out as to why it's like that. The only guess they had is maybe the spindle. Now I have to take it to an alignment shop and get a better look at it. The steering wheel is sitting about 25° CCW from the centre it's so bad.

Any thoughts as to what could be causing the tire to sit at such a bad angle?

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

Only things I would think that a pothole would bend would be the lower/upper control arms or possibly the steering knuckle, but that would have to be ONE HELL of a pothole to do that... Being a 4x4, you don't have a spindle per-say, but a bolt on wheel bearing that splines onto the half shaft. All of the above would make your steering wheel sit to the side, but a control arm would do it more as it would change the distance from steering knuckle.

The upper control arm shouldn't bend because it doesn't have any form of motion control on it (aka torsion bar or shock) and is free to move. I would compare the lower control arms side to side with a straight edge and ruler. Go from the frame to the ball joint (I think it is a straight shot between the two), then measure up to the control arm in various places.

Also, if you bent the steering knuckle, you'd have brake issues as well. Not to mention that cast iron normally doesn't bend, it breaks. I could see a bent control arm LONG before I would ever think that the steering knuckle would bend/break.

Good luck and keep us posted!

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

I agree, to bend something, that would be one heck of a pot hole! There is quite a bit of camber adjustment in the upper control arm. If your lucky, it'll simply adjust out. I've seen the lower control arms bend when hitting a curb hard enough, but generally your wheel would be back more so then in at the top.

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

I also think there's something rubbing because when I come off the highway exits at a high speed, I can hear something that sort of sounds like the tires squealing, but I think it's something rubbing...HOPEFULLY it's not something major.

Getting a second opinion next week will hopefully figure it out. I'm also going to print this thread and bring it with me when I go.

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

If your tire is at as much of an angle as you describe, I wouldn't wait that extra week for a second opinion. You can blow a tire in nothing flat (hey, really, no pun intended) with that kind of pressure on it.

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

Well, I have to since it's the weekend now and nothing's open, unfortunately. I'm going to NOT drive it as much as possible until then.

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

Did they happen to spin the tire while it was off the ground, or better yet, put it on a tire balancer to see if you bent the rim.

10-1 you bent the rim, only way to tell for sure. Get it "Road Force Balanced". A Road Force Balance and test rim run out. It will let you know if it is within spec. Find a good tire center that also does alignments. Get a free front end inspection, and you will have to pop for the Road Force Balance. We charge $15 per tire. Cost varies by store, call first.

Road Force Balance is a specific type of balance and cannot be performed on any tire balancing machine. It takes a special machine. read throught the pages, it covers all the common problems and how the mahcine fixes them.
Balancer

Use this link to find the nearest machines to where you live.
Locator

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

Thanks Tim.

One thing we did notice was that the upper control arms were bolted differently. I'll take some pics if I get a chance and show you what I mean. We thought that it MAY have something to do with it. I'm bringing it into my father-in-law's friend's alignment shop this week.

Something ODD that happened over the weekend when I drove it:

My bro-in-law owns a bar and we parked beside it. In order to get into the parking space by the bar, you have to go over a curb. We backed in, and of course there was a little bump as we went over the curb. After we left the bar to drive home (I was sober, don't worry!), the steering seemed to be normal. I let go of the wheel and it drove straight! As I drove a little more, it eventually went back to the hard pull to the left.

[sm=dontgetit.gif]

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

That locator you linked only shows the States :( I don't think I'll drive to NY just to get an alignment ;)

RE: Big pothole = bad news
 

So from the sounds of it, something is moving in the suspension... That's not good! Hopefully you'll get it looked at ASAP!

Tim, I can't see a bent rim causing it to pull. It would vibrate like a bastid, but it would pretty much have to be bent all the way around (not really possible) to make it pull like m00n is describing.