Rear Wheel Bent

[sharpsh0t22]

I have a 2002 Taurus.

My car was stuck in the mud and I had some buddies try tugging it out with their truck with a rope. This caused something underneath my vehicle to bend and the left rear wheel now is bent inwards.

I looked under the car and there is a 2 bars going to the wheel - one of those are bent. This is where it was attached.

Couple questions -

What is this part called?

Approx. how much to replace?

Where should I take it?

Is the part obtainable at an auto-wrecker?

Thanks!

-Pete

[tripletdaddy]

Ouch. That's too bad they tied the rope to that. It is called a rear control arm or the rear lower control arm. I definitely would try local and online used parts dealers. Have you fully examined the extent of the damage? The other arm, arms to spindle and arm to body connections and mounts, top and bottom strut connections, tension strut? If you don't mind pulling your own parts at an autoyard, you probably will not have to pay much, and they might even let you take the pair of arms for the cost of one, which may be a good thing as a closer look may reveal the other arm got bent at the spindle. If you have damage that extends into the spindle and strut, you should see what kind of deal you can get for the whole suspension as a unit on that side. I have no idea on cost on those things. But I will suggest some things that you should consider.

You will want it realligned. It might make sense to first show or describe to your alignment shop what happened. Then they can work with you on needed parts, who fixes what, them doing the final work, and you not getting billed for multiple visits on one project. Then you can hunt down or at least know where to get what you may need as the repair occurrs and then buy things as necessary rather than get things ahead of time you can't return unless you don't mind to have them on hand afterwards. You could do the repairs yourself, but the alignment shop will know immediately if one or both arms need replacing, and if anything else needs replacing. But, I would do it myself even if it meant two trips to the align shop to get it all done. The connecting hardware, nuts and bolts, definitely should be replaced on the bent arm, due to the excessive forces involved and simply it's a recommended practice when taking that stuff apart.

Besides getting you a manual on safe towing attachment points, I guess I can't think of anything else. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But, good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[shorod]

Those lower control arms (a front one and a rear one, you probably need the rear) are not bad to replace if the car hasn't spent all of its life in the rust belt and you have the facilities and tools to do the work. I don't think the part itself is all that expensive new either. Besides, doing the work yourself may cause you to doublecheck where your friends attach the tow rope in the future.

If this works correctly, you'll be able to find a diagram here that should show you which part you're looking for.

I agree that you will certainly want to have an alignment performed when the new part is installed. If you go the route of installing the arm yourself, you can use a piece string across the front and rear wheels on each side to get the toe set close enough to drive to the alignment shop.

-Rod

[sharpsh0t22]

I got an estimate done and they came back saying I have to replace the following:

left-rear front suspension
front and rear control arm
left rear struct rod
alignment

Over $500 for parts and labor.

-Pete

[Willyum]

Any blacksmith shops around there? Take the parts off and let a Smithy straighten and strengthen them. Put them back and do an alignment.

[tripletdaddy]

That's got an awful lot of padding in it. Just how bad is this thing damaged? Did they explain and show the damaged parts to you? Seems to me they are using the alignment issue as an excuse to assume that they need to replace EVERY SINGLE PART in the suspension. Will those chisellers do less than the estimate if they find so, or the parts listed are a definite? If so, get out of there and find a recommended shop if you're not going to do it. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.