So I took my eyes off the road 2 seconds and landed in this nasty pothole on my rear passenger side and now it looks like I'm running some serious negative camber. I don't know too much about suspensions but I gave it a shot. Took off the wheel and nothing looked too out of the ordinary to me. The LCA seems okay, not sure if its supposed to have that much of a curvature, and the UCA?? bushings look really cracked and worn but I can't tell if it has sustained any damage. The hub itself looks like it's sitting slightly crooked. The sub frame looks okay so what else could it be?

 

I swerved my last car into a ditch (VW Golf) to avoid an idiot pulling out in front of me and bent the anti-roll bar mounting bolts, track rod ends and the steering rack. Any number of things sorry. My friend had a 325i drift car and he hit a kerb doing donuts in a carpark (idiot) and bent the entire rear axle/suspension geometry about an inch out of line to one side! When I'm getting at is that even a minor knock while the car is doing any sort of speed (and has weight on it) can upset various things without even realising! Start with having a look at the rear upper control arm!

 

if you say that there's added negative camber, then the uca should be at fault. from your photo it looks fine tho :/

 

Maybe I blew out the UCA bushings? I'm thinking I might take it off for a closer inspection and/or compare it to the other one. Something's not right

 

Does it rattle now when you drive it? Bushings would knock on bumpy roads!

 

this would be a good idea. you'll probably need a breaker bar to help you get those bolts loose if it's been a long time since you last undid them.

if everything's fine i'd still suggest you get a set of replacement bushings. old cracked bushings throw off wheel alignments and end up in uneven tire wear and even reduced mpgs.

 

It doesn't make a consistent knocking sound or anything but driving home after the incident, heard it a handful of times the 8 miles home. Just one loud KNOCK

 

Use some PB blaster on the bolts if they dont budge. It does sound like the bushings. If you replace them, get an alingment as well! Did the tire hold air? Rim bent?

 

OEM rear LCA's aren't bent like that. Compare it to your other side.

 

Oem rear lca can and most ones I've seen have that little bend. So that in itself is normal.

But it doesn't mean it didn't bend.

And you could just need a simple alignment ti be driving straight.

With more information like real camber numbers we can better help give you advice.

 

i too have hit a serious pot hole on the freeway. the only thing i had damage to was the wheels themselves. the suspension was ok. the suspension is supposed to be able to take on the road and the car's weight.

to check if it is the wheel, raise that side of the car , unless you can borrow a lift which will lift it all at once, and have the brakes off and the transmission in neutral. take your hands and spin that wheel. if it wobbles in the air then you have a "bent" wheel. if not, go to the next. mine was bend on the one i didnt think it was.
on the ground they all look fine. so dont be surprised if its the wheel you didnt expect it to be.

mine was bent mostly because i was on very low profile, 35 series tires. there is no cusioning on those tires.

so check that out first.

 

Tire is holding air fine and as far as I can tell, the wheel is straight. I'll put it back on and give it a spin. I'm uploading a photo to show how bad my bushing looks. May not be the culprit but I'll be replacing them nonetheless.

 

Had the time to take off both UCAs and compare them. The passenger side is definitely damaged, pretty noticeable bend in it. I'm ordering a replacement now and hoping this was the only thing affecting it. Could anyone direct me towards a bushings kit for the full suspension? Found this: but am I really looking at spending that much for it?

 

eBay has full suspension kits for our cars energy suspension makes it and they cost about 150. ill link in a second. its the same brand you get from autozone.

don't have quite everything but while your at it, it would be a good time for camber kits and any suspension work you might have planned as a good alignment would be a very good idea.

there is black or red for the bushing kit.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/ENERGY-SUSPE...0a34d8&vxp=mtr

 

Energy bushing kits wear out after two to three years and you don't need adjustable camber kits.

If you are wanting to replace the suspension bushings, I would highly recommend a kit from hardrace. Same material as oem bushings just a bit stiffer. They last 10+ years before they wear out.

 

wait... you took a screen shot of your iPhone?

I hit a curb once... bent the front spindle. I used an angle grinder as my ball joint removal tool. It turned a 20 minute job into a 3 day job.

 

I'm assuming you meant 3 day job into 20 minute job? Angle grinders are a requirement for working on cars, that's how I got the anti-roll bar out of my mk4 Golf, otherwise I woulda had to drop the subframe and remove engine mount!

 

honestly, that looks normal, for its age.

the rest of your bushings probably look similar.

why is the metal red?

 

I have an iPhone 4 and it was dark so I used the light in video mode to see where I needed to snap the pic lol.

UPDATE: I installed the new UCA and it took away pretty much all of the negative camber. The wheel still looks a little wonky when mounted, as if it wants to roll away from my car. It's just a slight angle, nothing serious, so I'm thinking of taking it to get aligned.

New problem is the opposite side. When taking off the other UCA to compare the two, one of the mounting holes in the chassis might have stripped? I've tried both bolts, which look absolutely fine, and even tried tightening it without the UCA on, thinking it wasn't aligned properly. I'm getting maybe a quarter of an inch gap on that one side, which I assume wouldn't be safe to drive with. Would a few washers do the trick? Btw, I've been using an impact and the thing is stubborn and won't budge

EDIT: The bracket lines up and is flush with the chassis so the washers would go between the bracket and bolt head.

 

Take the bolt out, chase the threads with the proper tap. Look up the thread in the shop manual, free online. Prob m8x1.25, not 100% on the m8.

I dunno why that bolt easily strips.

You better hope that works, or you're screwed.

 

Can anyone verify this? I've done quite a bit of searching but came up empty. Checked a manual or two, diagrams, and my trusty Haynes. What's the thread size of the rear uca mounting bolts?

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=crx+shop+manual

 

A Haynes manual is virtually worthless next to a Helm manual.

If you ever need to check unknown thread pitches you can always go to a hardware store and use their thread pitch display/checker (not sure what to call it) to compare to your bolt (use one in good condition though).

If I were you I would avoid using air tools for tightening that bolt.

 

lol Thanks, googled just about everything regarding UCA, bolt size/thread, etc. but not shop manual. I'm an idiot. It was 10x1.25mm, assuming CRX is the same as my STD hb, and I'll be picking up the tap and new bolts. It really needs to be rethreaded, was looking really stripped with thread peeling off and just laying in there.

 

Finally got it on a lift to check everything out, and it turns out my lca is also bent, along with the inner pivot area where the lca bolts in. Can I smack it back into place with a hammer or is there a safer way to do this? I'll order a new lca, that's no biggie.