Flew up onto an island, now clunks.. please help.

[rivet0r]

To make a long story short, a lady cut me off on an onramp to the I-163, and I was forced to run into an island, and i was top centered, and a tow truck had to pull me out. Besides for the undercarrage of my car being all jacked up (oil pan, tranny, downpipe, etc) I can now feel bumps pretty bad. I feel the bumps in my clutch pedal if that makes any sense, it's like a clunk when i hit a little bump, and it never did it before. What could I have messed up that I should check out?

I guess it's sort of hard to explain, it's like, I can feel the bumps as always, but it's a lot harder, and it's a clunk more than just a size in the suspension from a bump. This happens even with a very small bump, and I can also feel it in my clutch pedal and even if I have my foot on the foot rest.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm stressed about the situation and would like to figure out what's going on.

-rivet0r

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by rivet0r

...

and a tow truck had to pull me out. Besides for the undercarrage of my car being all jacked up (oil pan, tranny, downpipe, etc) I can now feel bumps pretty bad. I feel the bumps in my clutch pedal if that makes any sense, it's like a clunk when i hit a little bump, and it never did it before. What could I have messed up that I should check out?
...
I'm stressed about the situation and would like to figure out what's going on.

That's the absolute pits. Did the tow driver pull you or lift you off? Might have done additional damage if he just pulled.

Off the top it sounds like one of the struts is bent or/and the shock shaft is binding or bent too. You can go around to each corner and push down on a fender to see how it recovers. You can also pull up and then let it fall down to see if one is binding.

The clutch is concerning me, don't know what to make of it except a broken engine mount. But that doesn't make sense for it's hydraulic. Now if the T/O bearing fork is bent that might have some influence, trust me I'm fishing for ideas.

You can take a string and check diagonal to see if the frame/ tires have the same measurment. These strut suspensions are ok as long as you keep them on the road, you start banging curbs they just don't hold up. As an aside, I see some of the new cars have gone back to a wishbone/A-arm though I've not read the whys.

Clunks could be damaged axle or CV joint, could be engine mount, or bent exhaust banging against body.

You are just have to put it up on stands and crawl under there. Look for frame wrinkles at crush points, check hood alignment, check radiator supports. Is steering wheel where it use to be centered.

Did you get her liecnse plate number?

Cheers,
GTM

 

[rivet0r]

Originally posted by GTM
That's the absolute pits. Did the tow driver pull you or lift you off? Might have done additional damage if he just pulled.

Off the top it sounds like one of the struts is bent or/and the shock shaft is binding or bent too. You can go around to each corner and push down on a fender to see how it recovers. You can also pull up and then let it fall down to see if one is binding.

The clutch is concerning me, don't know what to make of it except a broken engine mount. But that doesn't make sense for it's hydraulic. Now if the T/O bearing fork is bent that might have some influence, trust me I'm fishing for ideas.

You can take a string and check diagonal to see if the frame/ tires have the same measurment. These strut suspensions are ok as long as you keep them on the road, you start banging curbs they just don't hold up. As an aside, I see some of the new cars have gone back to a wishbone/A-arm though I've not read the whys.

Clunks could be damaged axle or CV joint, could be engine mount, or bent exhaust banging against body.

You are just have to put it up on stands and crawl under there. Look for frame wrinkles at crush points, check hood alignment, check radiator supports. Is steering wheel where it use to be centered.

Did you get her liecnse plate number?

Cheers,
GTM

Unfortunetly, he did pull me off as I angled my tires towards the curb. I really don't think it has anything to do with the clutch, as I can feel it if my foot is just on the foot rest as well. This is a major bumper, I don't know very much about suspension and it's going to be difficult finding out exactly what is damaged.

My alignment is a bit off now, but to be honest, the underside of my car isn't as damaged as I thought it would be. My exhaust is bent up, and so is my oil pan. The rest is just scrapes which just look bad, but doesn't really effect anything.

The clunking doesn't occur consistantly with the wheel rotation, it happens with bumps on the road, bumps I shouldn't feel like I am feeling.

I'll have to get under there and see if I can see anything to the obvious and hope for the best.

Thanks,
rivet0r

 

[rivet0r]

I just went outside to push on the fender and it all seems just fine to me. I also lifted on it and it settled back down like it should. I'm so boggled at what it could be, and it's sort of hard to explain. Let's just say that the normal bumps you feel on the road, feel like a clunk and I can feel it on the inside of the cab, especially with my feet no matter where it is, clutch, foot rest, etc.


-rivet0r

 

[lowavenger96]

Well it could be a lower control arm , strut being bent, ball joint , tie rod end , or even a bent rim. In any case unless you have good experance with suspensions take it in to have it checked out and get an aligment. The problem is probly on the side that impacted first.

 

[rivet0r]

Originally posted by lowavenger96
Well it could be a lower control arm , strut being bent, ball joint , tie rod end , or even a bent rim. In any case unless you have good experance with suspensions take it in to have it checked out and get an aligment. The problem is probly on the side that impacted first.

Yes, the problem is actually on the side that took the initial hit, the rest was pretty much just scraping on the underside of my car. The rim is scratched up, but it's not bent from what i can tell.. And even so, with a bent rim, I would constantly feel it with the movement of the wheel, wouldn't I?

Is there any way to tell if my strut is bent just by looking at it?

Thanks for the help,
-rivet0r

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by rivet0r

...
I'm so boggled at what it could be, and it's sort of hard to explain. Let's just say that the normal bumps you feel on the road, feel like a clunk and I can feel it on the inside of the cab, especially with my feet no matter where it is, clutch, foot rest, etc.

Understood, this sounds so much like a broken engine mount or something is touching that shouldn't. You have not reported any steering problems or differences so I'm inclined to think nothing major has happened. One quick check that might help is to put you fingers, fist , hand between the tire sidewall and the suspension springs while the wheel is straight ahead. If you think you have a difference then measure, this of course means you have to have a matched set of tires. You can also use a tape measure on the front most edge (same groove) of the tire and the rear most where you can get a clear shot without bodywork in the way. This is just a quick check for toe-in / toe-out.

Camber can be checked with a string and a blumbob (any weight can be used just so long as it doesn't touch the tire or ground.) From TDC of the tire and across both sidewalls. Again you are just looking for a difference from one side to the other.

Do check the shock tower rubber mounts, I've heard of them tearing so bad they will dent the hood. Take a measurment across to the other side and compare to another car.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by rivet0r
...
Is there any way to tell if my strut is bent just by looking at it?

Yes, the quickie hand measurment mentioned in the previous post or use a tape between the sidewall and the spring. If the coils are a problem then a short ruler or bar that can be placed across to coils to establish a straight plane. The plumbob only works on a flat level ground.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[rivet0r]

Well I checked my drivers side top motor mount and it's torn very badly, but I knew mine were all pretty much done for before this happened. I just don't know what kind of condition it was in before it happened to compare it to how it is now.

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by rivet0r
Well I checked my drivers side top motor mount and it's torn very badly,
...

"Oh ye of little faith", swap out that mount and consider yourself lucky.

Hopefully you have nothing more except a bit of bruised pride and some underbody scratches. Buy an aerosol can of undercoat and spray the scratches.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[mitsutuner]

If you watch the motor vibrating at idle with the hood up while your helper sits in the drivers seat, foot on the brakes & handbrake on, slightly engage the clutch, not letting the car move--alternate between 1st & reverse gears--while watching the motor vibrate. You might be able to do this by yourself if you can make visual contact with the motor from the drivers seat, either looking under the bottom edge of the hood when it's up or position a mirror. This will tell you what your motor mounts are doing. The motor should,t move around too much in the engine bay--I'm sure you know what's normal for your car because you've watched it running with the hood up countless times right?
To crude check the drive shafts, Put the car in gear, handbrake on, engine off & lay on your back on the ground beside your car & with your arm reach under the car & grab the center of the driveshaft. If you need some more ground clearance to do this, jack up the car some, but leave the tire in firm contact with the ground. The shaft won't rotate in gear, but move slightly from left to right,(in & out of the tranny) & maight make a slight clunking sound at the end of it's motion in both directions----THIS IS NORMAL.
What is NOT NORMAL is if you can move the shaft in concentric circles, sorta like the motion a guitar string quickly vibrates when it's plucked. Listen for grinding & clunking as you do this.
If you get this far, and still have no clues, go ahead & put the car on jackstands. Note, that as you're jacking up the car, the strut is going thru it's motion so listen for clunks & watch for smooth strut action.
After the car is on stands, grab every suspension component & shake it to make sure it's mounted solidly & visual check for bent parts etc.
Spin each tire by hand, slow & east at first as you feel for rough spots or binding anywhere in the rotation. watch & listen to the drive shafts. look for wheel wobble, (dsm factory wheels deform easily, be sure to watch the rim as you spin the tire). Check for wheel bearing play by seeing if you can wiggle it at any point in its rotation
Assuming your motor mounts are solid, the easy method to diagnose the suspension is to take the car to a tire center that does alignments-but not auto repair per se. Tell them what happened, they'll check out the suspension, & find the problem & make sure they show you on the car what's wrong & how. If there is a problem, no point in getting the alignment until it get's fixed, so promise you will return for the alignment after the repair work is done.
if possible, Try to not loose visual contact with your car while it's in the shop, one of the most common causes of car malfunction is collateral damage---while they are fixing this, they are breaking that.
I had another 1 today, muustang GT 5.0, 1994, just didn't run right & seemed a little hot, quickly found the problem--the staff at goofey lube
had replaced the air filter, but not secured 1 of the clamps that goes on the end of the air tube between the throttle body & MAS--it was so loose that the tube flopped around on the MAS mounting flange. This of course allows air into the throttle that was not measured by the MAS & making the car run lean. Collateral damage

 

[Eclipse90GSX]

so what was the problem? i found this old thread with the same symptoms as i have.