i recently banged up my car a bit, and now it handles like crap. it doesn't corner at all like it used to. as far as i can tell the only damage is cosmetic (with the exception of a bent rim that just makes it a little bumpy on the one side)

what could be causing the handleing to suffer? it's like my tires just dont grip like they did last week. or like i don't have a strut tower bar.

 

bump

 

probably damaged your suspension.
blown shocks, bent suspension parts etc...

 

hmmm- i'll have a look see at the underside here soon. i took off the bumper the other day and tried to re adjust the headlights only to realize that the reason they were off and all was because the whole crossmember's bent funny. the drivers side lamp is probly just under an inch shorter than the passenger side... not lookin good.

thanks for the tip. i will have a look at the underside here when i can.

i might be lookin for a frame puller or a van-a big, old work van so i can haul my stuff to and from school more easily and fit the surfboard. but hopefully i'll be keeping my poor little civic.

 

Unless you really slammed into something, you won't be able to see any damage to the suspension without a good long stare and a tape measure. It would really help if you can get it on a lift or take it to a shop and have them check the alignment. It's easier to narrow down the damage if you know what's out of whack.

-Andy

 

so far all i've noticed is that there's a little hole plug thing on one strut tower that isn't on the other but i'm pretty sure that's all that is, a hole plug. will take to a shop-that's a good plan. esp. since i'll be driving to florida in about three weeks.

 

Yea, take the car to an alignment shop and have them measure it. Sounds like you've got some more issues than just a bent rim.

 

well i took off the bumber cover and discovered why my headlight were misalligned i'm sure the fact the the crossmember is bent and at probably 10 degrees off of horizontal- which in turn explained the damage to the fender and the hood not latching right.

is there any way to bend the frame back without having it put on a frame table? i'm gonna try to have a mechanic look at it soon, but is there any diy typr thing i could do to get it at least close to where it should be?

 

i ahvent done this on a honda, but i had a full size truck that had a bent frame type piece, we used a cargo van with a tow rope, and used that to pull the bend in the frame out. not precise at all, but good enough vor a cull size chevy at least...

 

how and where was your frame piece bent? i might be able to do this with my bosses worktruck if it'll fix the problem (at least mostly)

the problem is that the front end, i'm calling it the front crossmember but could be wrong, the fairly flat piece to which the bumber cover, headlight assemblies, and hood latch are attatched, this piece is rotated about 10 degrees. it doesn't seem to be damaged it's self but the fenders are bent (one towards the ground the other towards the hood). this is making the bumper cover a really tight fit the crash actually popped my corner lens off. i have it held in place by one of the original posts (put through a hole in the fender like it's supposed to) and duct tape holding it directly to the headlight.

it looks like if i could get enough force on it i could pull the high side down or whatever by supporting the other three corners of the car on jack stands and pulling the high part down with some kind of a ratcheting tie strap or something but that would require all corners being securely held down on the ground and really strong ratcheting mechanism. of course i've never seen a frame table so i may have just desribed one but could this be done with normal stuff you'd find around the house/shop/garage/bosses worktrucks? i'm guessing the most complicated part would be securing the corners to the ground/jackstands.

i hope that makes sense i wish i could draw a little diagram or something but no can do on the computer. (i knew i should have gotten autocad from that kid at school)