Smacked a curb at 40-45

[mazdalifestyle]

Alright guys, a little embarrassing but Thursday I wasn't paying attention to how close I was to the left side and ended up smacking a curb causing the rim to bend/tear so much that it stopped the wheel's movement, sending me skidding to a halt into the merge lane. After reviewing what damage I may have done, I didn't really see anything major. When I had the wheel off all I noticed to my eye was the spindle got pushed into the strut just a tiny bit but couldn't really look well because I was pretty much in the middle of the road. Obviously my rim is destroyed, so I swapped that out for the spare and attempted to regain movement; and to my luck it did just fine. So I followed my friend home, where I noticed the familiar wheel bearing roar from when it was bad the first time. Not sure if that's the culprit but it sure sounded so. Other than the ancient donut, and an off-centered steering wheel (now about 5 degrees to the left) the car drove like normal. I had an hour drive home and not once did it give me a shutter, bang, any sign of major damage (and this was at 60+mph). Any advice/thoughts? I dropped it off at the shop and they should get to look at it tomorrow.

 

[concept]

I would've taken it to an alignment shop that does front-enf repairs. That way, they can align the front end, immediately after repairing the damage, if any.
Many years ago, my 68 Corvette's carpet got stuck under the gas peday and I jumped a curb. A few parts had to be replaced and the alignment shop did a great job aligning everything.

 

[mazdalifestyle]

The shop just called and informed me I bent the strut, and obviously the rim and tire need replacing. I don't know if they aknowledged the roaring "bearing" type noise, so I made sure to ask them to double check. But the technicians couldn't see anything that I had actually broken. He said once they can get it to a shape where they can try an alignment, then they'll know if it's anything more serious like the subframe. I have a feeling it'll be alright.

 

[concept]

That looks logical to me.

Good luck.

 

[lolwut]

Accidents happen man. glad that no one is hurt, hopefully you get it back on the road soon

 

[tweety2300]

Could have also broke and jammed a caliper. Happened on my old Pontiac when I hit a pot hole that was deep enough to also crack the oil pan. It also made made a humming like sound when the pads heated up

But spare tires aren't always quite so it could have just been making a lot of road noise.

 

[kevintyler]

mine was making wheel being noise and i got an alignment and rotated my tires andd its fine now!

 

[mazdalifestyle]

Update: Took it to the shop and they diagnosed a bent strut which I could've easily told them. So they replaced a tire, strut, and I bought a new wheel. Aligned the wheels (thankfully the subframe is fine!) however, there's still a rotational noise they can't pinpoint. It almost sounds like a wheel bearing, a roaring rotational noise which increases with speed after 20+mph. Sadly, the same noise could also be the output shaft bearing which is a whole transmission job. Everything drives okay after I test drove it. Although, there's a bit of a clunking noise from the same wheel after the repairs. So I'm having them look into that because that was not at the fault of my stupidity. I was also a little pissed that they didn't engage my parking break when I got in, just left it in reverse. -___- But nevertheless, if it is the output bearing, the shop isn't qualified for transmission work and I'd have to take it somewhere else. Any ideas?

 

[tweety2300]

Do they mean input shaft? It's quite common on Hondas my brother has replaced his multiple times it's not bad,

 

[Maxx Mazda]

You could have easily pooched the wheel bearing with an impact that hard. They're pretty fragile. Bearings fail all of a sudden too, and will leave you stranded. Replace it.

 

[mazdalifestyle]

Oh trust me, even if I suspect something is wrong with my car I get it changed or fixed asap. Unlike my sisters who run the poor thing until it becomes a huge problem. Tried rotating the tires on my sister's 05 Mazda3 and she neglected it for so long that the tires and wheels were seized to the frame. I wasn't going to bother trying to release them with force because she'd blame me for breaking it. Regardless, I'm not driving my car until I know everything I need to replace. They wanted me to pay for the repairs they made and then just take it, I think not. Just a bit of background on my car, the bearing that is suspected to be bad was replaced a month before. Also, the transmission and clutch were replaced in November of 2010. Got a tranny with 40k, probably 60k now, and the clutch probably has 20k on it. None of the repairs are ever at the fault of the car itself, it's always me doing something stupid haha.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Just because the bearing was replaced earlier, you hit a curb. It's probably pooched. Change it again.

 

[mazdalifestyle]

Got her back today Like I thought all along, it was the bearing that needed replacement.