One owner car damaged in a highway slide-off @65MPH into the median during an ice storm. Missed the guard rail and rock outcrops, but plowed into some small trees. Mostly sheet metal damage and some suspension damage. When the car was repaired and returned to me, the body shop said their alignment contractor "couldn't align to specs" and the car had serious "wander"issues. Here's the alignment specs...toe is toe-tally out of whack.
specs from the body shop alignment:
FRONT TOE TOTAL LEFT RIGHT
minimum +0.03”
maximum +0.12”
before -0.15” -0.06” -0.08”
after -0.39” -0.20” -0.19”
FRONT CAMBER
LEFT RIGHT
minimum -1.50 deg -1.50 deg
maximum +0.50 deg +0.50 deg
before -1.10 deg +0.10 deg
after -2.00 deg -0.70 deg
Took it to a few alignment shops and local mechanics, but as soon as the words "it was in an accident" came out of my mouth, they shook their heads and said "bent frame". I didn't believe it, because I didn't hit anything really hard, but finally took the car off the road and put it inside in my heated garage in 1999, because it failed safety inspections.
Fast forward to 2014. My girlfriend's been giving me grief for years about when I'm going to work on the car and I finally decide to tear down the suspension, steering and cross member to look for unrepaired damage. No obvious damage to TCAs, struts, sway bar, power steering rack or cross member. No apparent frame damage, but I still need to do some measuring to make sure.
Here's the likely culprit. Look at that crusty driver's side tie rod. Adjusting nut was frozen and has been broken loose in the pic.
The passenger side by comparison. It had been replaced by the body shop.
Pile o' suspension parts. All original equipment w/136K miles. Plan to replace TCAs, struts, springs and bushings.
Crusty oil pan is next for R&R
Front view. I'm better at wood fabrication than metal. chains wrap around motor mounts
Fortunately, it fell gently and I was able to call on a neighbor to help me get it off the roof with minimal damage.
