what did i break now?!?!

[1PhatCX]

ok, i'm starting to HATE snow now, yesterday i was coming outta a parking lot with 10 - 12 inches of snow in it and the whole roadway too (it was in a national park area where we were takin pics for school) so yea, ne ways, i'm comin out and goto turn and the car slides and keeps goin forward (i'm only doin like 25 km/h 35 max, in 3rd gear to get traction, anyway the car lands ontop of a curb and gets hung up, now the driver side wheel looks like its pushed back towards the wheel well more, what did i break?? would it be the lower control arm??

lemme know asap so i can fix my baby

[vesper]

yeah lower control arm. possibly a few other things too. check you shock fork and upper control arm too.
i hit a curb so bad one my rim shattered into three.
my axel cracked in half. stablizer bar riped right off the bolts. the control arm looked like a u. everything was fucked. our cars arent too curb friendly. good luck i feel you pain.

[1PhatCX]

yea i dont think i broke anything else. just bent the control arm a bit, nothings hanging off and the cars still driveable, i found a lower control arm at the wreckers for 50 bux canadian so i'm prolly gonna go get that saturday

[BullShifter]

It's hard to say without seeing it. We just repaired a civic with a similar issue - Replaced a lower control arm, tie rod, brake rotor, wheel, & front beam(that takes talent) After all the parts were installed, an alignment was need. I wanna say his bill was around $1500. Now yours could be worse, highly unlikely if it's driveable or less damage.

Check if the wheel is bent- remove & roll it or have it balanced
Also check:
Lower control arm
Upper control arm
Radius rod
Ball Joints
Axle
Tie rods
Steering rack
Hub
Knuckle

Basically the whole front suspension on the corner where the hit occured. Also lift the front or corner that was hit, grab the tire top/bottom and shake - do the same thing holding the tire rear/front. If you hear any noises or feel play, further inspection is needed & parts will need to be replaced.

If you don't feel capable of inspecting it properly, take it to the dealer or other shop for a 0.5hr suspension inspection. Once they come back with an estimate, decline the repairs and do it yourself if you want.

[91civicDXdude]

on the front, the piece that controls front to back movement is the radius arm...check for a bent front crossmember, or check to see that the radius arm didnt come loose from the crossmember.. you can easily tighten it back if it did, but i doubt thats the problem

[1PhatCX]

alright, thanx for the replies, i can get the inspection done at work for free cuz the mechanics like helpin me out anyways, i think i'll try and get it in again tonight earlier so they can clean the underside and then look it over and do the shake down test

[1PhatCX]

well i've been busy and havent had time to take the car in, i was just gonna say screw it and replace the control arm anyway this week
what all is involved in replacing the arm? and roughly how long should it take?? anything i should be aware of??

[BullShifter]

Lower control arm is simple to replace if not bolts are seized. For disconnecting the ball joint, back the nut down until it's flush with the head & hit nut with hammer.

[1PhatCX]

so it shouldnt take ne more then what an hour??
and will i need a spring compressor??

[dr_latino999]

I nailed a curb back in October and check your rear crossmember. Mine was trashed on impact.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by 1PhatCX

so it shouldnt take ne more then what an hour??
and will i need a spring compressor??

It shouldn't take more than an hour if no bolts are seized - soak all lower control arm bolt in penatrating oil for 24hrs to make your life easier. When I put my front lower tie on the two inner LCA bolts(1 per side) were a bitch to remove & I have access to almost any type of tool. We ended up cutting both sides off, including the nut welded to the frame & replaced it with a bolt & un-welded nut. I also had to replace the inner LCA bushings because the bolt was seized in. Workin' on older cars can be a huge pain in your ass.

No spring compressor is needed, the strut assy. stays in/on the car.

[1PhatCX]

alright, thanx guys
hopefully nothing else is broken and that nothing is siezed hehe

[1PhatCX]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

When I put my front lower tie on the two inner LCA bolts(1 per side) were a bitch to remove & I have access to almost any type of tool. We ended up cutting both sides off, including the nut welded to the frame & replaced it with a bolt & un-welded nut.

i had that problem too when i did my car, my dad ended up cutting or drilling the thing out, i wasnt there when he did it tho cuz i had 2 work

its all back together now with the new LCA and its still fucked, i wanna try to adjust the radius rod like 91civicDXdude suggested