My friend rear ended someone and had to have his bumper\fender\hood replaced and had to have his radiator support straightened out. We put it back together and replaced the skunk2's which got cracked and his hatch feels really weird in the turns. It does not handle nearly as well as it used to and I was wondering what else do you guys think needs to be replaced or is the car totaled and will always handle like doodoo.

 

Did it get realigned or straightened and squared when the new parts went on?

 

ya, fresh alignment done

 

probably bent some suspension components, maybe the control arms

 

how does it feel "different"? could you be more descriptive? Its hard when we're not there.

 

Did you fix it yourself? It sounds like you just threw new panels on and didn't fix the unibody when it's probably been tweaked out of spec..

 

"ya, fresh alignment done"

Did you the frame looked at, the frame itself might be bent and need to be pulled straight, also check all front suspension components, and check wheels COULD be bent as well. Did you have it looked at professionally or just throw new parts on and get a front end wheel alignment?

Go to reputable body shop and get an estimate and have that frame looked at, even if you dont decide to have them fix it, at least you will know exactly what needs to be done and then decide if you want to do it or not KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

 

The car was fixed by a legit body shop. The car was aligned and everything was straightened out there and body panels fitted. When I say it does not feel right, and I understand this is hard to explain, the car does not handle as well and it has a shake in it over 60 mph. The shake is not extreme but it is enough that the car does not feel very sturdy. The wheels on it are different then the ones then when it was wrecked. I'm thinking it's one of the suspension componets but before my friend spends thousands of dollars replacing each component one by one, I'm trying to help troubleshoot the issue. If there is anything I can check or test let meknow. Thanks

 

Most of the time, the car won't be the same after major accidents that caused frame damage.

 

sounds like a bent steering knuckle they bend very easy in front end collisions, it is very hard to just look at it to see a bend in it, with out comparing to a new one. you will need a new one and wheel bearing. gl

 

That is a weird question. Sometimes, cars will have a different personality after a good front end collision. Even with the new technology to straighten them up, they will never be the same.

If this would be a concern for me, i would invest a couple of hundered and have the car back on the rack and looked at by a bodyshop. Then, i wold look at individual components.

fs

 

You said new wheels, does this include different tires? That could esaily make a difference in handling performance. Also if the new wheels weren't balanced correctly, that'd cause the shake over 60 mph

 

yeah, most likely its a suspension component. When people say your car will never be the same, its because lots of components get effected when youre in a crash. Without replacing pretty much everything, it will be different. However you can find the main culprits, and i guarantee, the car will handle the same as it did

 

Yeah, off balanced tires could be a potential problem. Were they new rims/tires freshly mounted or used? Walmart charges $7.50/ea for lifetime balancing just fyi

 

oh yeah, and you'll need to go back every year because of the crappy balance job it will be from Walmart. heck, i had tires plus rebalance mine and it was a waste. they did a terrible job and here, less than a year later, i need a balance job again. Heck, they didnt even really balance them well in the first place.

 

It looks like we are going to take your guys advice and have another shop realign the car. Does anybody have any shops they like in the DC metro area? Let me know

 

anybody??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mustninty &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anybody??</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would take it back and make them fix it.
They cant do a half *** job and tell you its all fixed.
Shops get in hurrys, **** gets forgoten or looked over,
even the best shop isnt perfect on busy days. Go
explain your problem to them and see what they say.

 

We took the car back to the original shop they double checked it and we had a shop out here check it both said it was fine. So now moving on to the next possible problem, I know its probably a suspension componet like said earlier, but which should I start with? I heard somebody say steering knuckles(dont know how spelt). Where is this part located and also is it worth while to replace the whole rack and pinion? I think I have one sitting in my garage. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks

 

If you have a new rack, go ahead and swap it. Can't hurt.

 

thats what I was thinking but while I have the rack off are there any other parts I can change at that time, like for instance steering knuckles.