suspension damage help
#22
Was the impact to the suspension directly from the side (perpendicular to the wheel)? If so, a hit hard enough to bend the control arm probably damaged the engine cradle or the unit body cradle mounting points. I recently had the engine cradle out and, while the cradle seems relatively robust, the mounting points on the body are not. They are basically just sheet metal raised bosses with a nut welded inside them.
Here is a picture of the cradle showing the suspension parts attached:
Here is a picture of the cradle without the engine:
Note that the rear control arm bushing is actually mounted to the cradle mounting point on the unit body, the cradle is actually sandwiched between the control arm bushing and the body mount.
If the cradle or unit body is bent a small amount, it may not be noticeable to the eye but you might end up chasing wheel alignment issues for a long time (uneven tire wear, etc.). The only way to tell for sure is to have a body shop put it on a unit body alignment jig and compare certain points to factory specs.
When you say the axle bent, do you mean the CV joint on the axle bent? Or did you really bend the solid steel shaft part of the axle? The bent axle is particularly concerning, as you may have transferred some big forces to the transmission, which isn't particularly rugged when it comes to a "blow".
Steve
Here is a picture of the cradle showing the suspension parts attached:
Here is a picture of the cradle without the engine:
Note that the rear control arm bushing is actually mounted to the cradle mounting point on the unit body, the cradle is actually sandwiched between the control arm bushing and the body mount.
If the cradle or unit body is bent a small amount, it may not be noticeable to the eye but you might end up chasing wheel alignment issues for a long time (uneven tire wear, etc.). The only way to tell for sure is to have a body shop put it on a unit body alignment jig and compare certain points to factory specs.
When you say the axle bent, do you mean the CV joint on the axle bent? Or did you really bend the solid steel shaft part of the axle? The bent axle is particularly concerning, as you may have transferred some big forces to the transmission, which isn't particularly rugged when it comes to a "blow".
Steve
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