broken control arm and what else? curb 1, Malibu 0

I made a left turn in my 1999 Malibu today on a snow-and-ice covered
street at around 5-10mph. This was a little too fast as I slid into the
curb with my right front wheel. I probably should have turned into the
curb, and went up on it, maybe I would have been fine. Instead, my wheel
hit parallel to the curb and broke almost completely off.

Here are some pictures.
Image sizes range from 52 KB to 114 KB.
Your comments on exactly what I damaged would be appreciated.


Inside of the wheel. Brake rotor at bottom of screen. Fractured metal
in foreground. This is the point of failure.
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160368.jpg
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160365.jpg

broken MacPherson strut? Notice bottom rim (back) underneath the spring.
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160369.jpg
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160370.jpg

top view
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160371.jpg

looking down into wheel well
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160366.jpg
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160364.jpg

mangled CV boot. What is this green gel/grease/liquid?
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160373.jpg
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...0P1160374b.jpg

front view
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/joe...00P1160375.jpg

You may find damage throughout the steering linkages.

This seems like more damage than 5MPH to 10MPH impact would have done.

Joe Blow wrote:

> I made a left turn in my 1999 Malibu today on a snow-and-ice covered
> street at around 5-10mph. This was a little too fast as I slid into
> the curb with my right front wheel. I probably should have turned
> into the curb, and went up on it, maybe I would have been fine.
> Instead, my wheel hit parallel to the curb and broke almost
> completely off.

Looks like pretty typical damage that I see in our shop
when a Malibu gets "curbed". The aluminum spindles just
snap in half. Should be good for a fair bit of money.

Ian

Being a 99 its time anway to have both front Struts, Springs, Strut
Bearings, Strut Mounts replaced, Replace the busted Control Arm ( I
think Ian called it a spindle in his post), check the CV Boot & Axle
assembly ( if needed, replace it ). There is where your green grease is
coming from.

Inspect tire for sidewall damage. Check rim for being straight. Front
end alignment required when replacing struts.

The 5-10 mph impact isn't what did the damage, it was 3,050 pounds of
steel & the force of hitting unmovable concrete that did the damage.

Good Luck.

=========
Harryface
=========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE
3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey
_~_~_~297,626 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~
89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible
78 Holiday 88 coupe
68 LeSabre convertible
73 Impala sedan

Thanks. Yeah it was the unmovable curb that did it. The fact that it was
an old straight stone curb helped. If it had been a newer, rounded/sloped
curb, the wheel may have climbed it successfully.

harryface@webtv.net (Harry Face) wrote in news:15091-41EAFC9A-100
> Being a 99 its time anway to have both front Struts, Springs, Strut
> Bearings, Strut Mounts replaced, Replace the busted Control Arm ( I
> think Ian called it a spindle in his post), check the CV Boot & Axle
> assembly ( if needed, replace it ). There is where your green grease is
> coming from.
>
> Inspect tire for sidewall damage. Check rim for being straight. Front
> end alignment required when replacing struts.
>
> The 5-10 mph impact isn't what did the damage, it was 3,050 pounds of
> steel & the force of hitting unmovable concrete that did the damage.
>
> Good Luck.
>
> =========
> Harryface
> =========
>

In article <Xns95E0AD5E025ADnullexampleorg@65.24.7.50>, null@example.org
says...
>
>I made a left turn in my 1999 Malibu today on a snow-and-ice covered
>street at around 5-10mph. This was a little too fast as I slid into the
>curb with my right front wheel. I probably should have turned into the
>curb, and went up on it, maybe I would have been fine. Instead, my wheel
>hit parallel to the curb and broke almost completely off.

Wow. I wacked a curb at about 30 MPH in my 84 T/A about 5 years ago. Only
thing it did was chew up the rim, pop the center cap of, tweak the A-arm or
strut and throw the front out of alignment. The strut is slotted for
adjustment so I moved the strut until the wheel was strait up and down,
adjusted the tie rod on that side and everything has been fine since. No
worse than it was before wacking the curb.

They sure make cars cheap these days .......


--
__________________________________________________ _______________
Dennis Smith

-1971 Trans Am - 455 H.O. - M21 4speed - Cameo white/blue stripe-
< http://ps2page.tripod.com/my71ta/tapage.html >
-1973 Trans Am - 455 - TH400 auto - Buccaneer red-
-1984 Trans Am - 5.0 L - TH700R4 auto - Royal blue/silver aero-
__________________________________________________ _______________

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:45:30 -0600, harryface@webtv.net (Harry Face)
wrote:

>Inspect tire for sidewall damage. Check rim for being straight. Front
>end alignment required when replacing struts.
>
Harry, I'd bet he's going to need an alignment wherther he replaces
the struts or not <grin> Looks like that brake hose went through a
rough ride too.

Happened to me a few years back. Got off lucky, just bent a tie rod
end. That was before GM started using aluminum castings for steering
knuckles.

Regards, Al.