My FD got hit on the passenger side the other day, and now, I hear a grinding sound coming from the right front wheel. When I first start driving the car it's sounds really bad, but once I get moving, it goes away. When I looked under the car, it appeared that the part connecting the front stabalizer bar, to the lower control arm was loose or damaged. My alignment is off now and my steering wheel is upside down, and I get some wheel play.

Does anyone know what part connects the front stabalizer bar to the lower conrol arm? and can I repair it myself, or (about)how much it would cost to repair? Also, does anyone know what's wrong with the steering wheel? While doing a search, I read that someone had to replace the steering rack...is this my problem?
Thanks

 

Wow. Take it to a shop that does suspension work and have them look at it. If you broke a stabilizer bar link AND you steering wheel is upside down when going straight, that hit did some serious damage to your front suspsension.

I'm not positive about the FD, but on all the car's I've worked on, the stabilizer bar is bolted to the control arm with a very long bolt and a series of spacers and bushings. Even if the link were broken, your alignment should not be messed up. The stabilizer bar does nothing for alignment.

Also, you might get more responses if you titled your thread something a little more descriptive than 'Question'. I usually don't click on stuff like that, but I just happened to this time.

Good luck.

 

Ok thanks paw140. I wasn't sure exactly how the stabilizer bar connected to the control arm without getting fully under the car. Also, the wheel is very..."loose" and requires a good bit of play to keep the car straight. I was wondering what mechanism was damaged that would cause this. I've been looking in the manual for a while now. My alignment may not be messed up like you said, but because a link may be broken, is it possible the wheel could be angled improperly or something? I'll be taking it to a shop soon to see what they say, but I have to find someone I can trust so they don't say more is wrong than what actually is. I'll keep in mind the topic suggestions.

Does anyone have any pics of the front suspension from under the FD? Thanks

 

You could have a bent tie rod. But there could be any number of things that would cause your problem.

 

My suggestion:

If you look down there and don't know if anything is broken or how it should look fixed, take it to someone who does know....

 

Mahjik, I'm more than aware of the fact that it needs to be taken to someone who knows, but this is also a chance for me to learn something more about the car's suspension. Also too, the info. that paw140 has given, may keep me away from some of the BS mechanics try to throw you for the purpose of making more money...and I have seen a dealt with those types of schemes. For my own purposes, I'm still interested in pics anyone may have.

 

Suspension work, even on an FD, is not "rotary specific". Any shop that does suspension work can look at it for you.

What I'm suggesting is that you get a professional opinion. That doesn't mean that they perform the work, but you need to have a professional look at it especially after a wreck/crash.

 

Yeah, I'm looking at some performance car specific shops though, as I really wan't to have a good job done. I understand where your coming from. This weekend, I will have the car checked out, and try to get an estimate on how much/what exactly needs to be done. I just wanted to go in their with a ball park idea, so that I could ask the right questions and such. This entire situation with the FD has been annoying, but I have learned a good bit already.

 

It's almost impossible for us to figure out what is wrong with your suspension without actually looking at it. There are several things that could have been damaged by the impact. If the hit was hard enough to actually break your sway bar link, many things are probably bent. You could have damaged the wheel bearing, the wheel, control arms, ball joints, tie rods, tie rod ends.