Troubleshooting necessary repairs while changing struts/shocks

steveeoaktree · Nov 13, 2014

Hey fellas, I was just going to throw on a drivers side ball joint when changing the struts and shocks, but y'all know these suspensions much better to know what may need to be considered. Before I bought my '98, it had been in a mild drivers side fender/door impact. The door had already been changed, but not the fender or turn sig housing. The fender was dang near "flat". I pulled it out enough to open the door (so as to not further damage the new door forcing the door open). It appears to me that the top of the tire on the drivers' side is tilted inward compared to the passenger side, which is straight. Tire barn had started to allign it when I put the new tires on, and stated they couldn't get the passenger side correct without drilling the rivet out of the tower...? I just told them to hold off until I got the front end fixed, and the struts on. My first thought is ball joint, but y'all may know what else to check out. The sway bar appears bent, but it may be bent from the factory...? I can surely see abrasive damage to the wheel from the impact, just slightly on the lip of the wheel. If y'all have any tips or tricks to find out what I need to replace it'd surely be appreciated. Thanks fellas.

CC'S95GT · Nov 14, 2014

depending on the hit, the frame might be tweeked.
Is the car lowered at all and how much?

nitroram33 · Nov 14, 2014

Frame could be tweaked, strut could be bent, tie rod could be bent, etc. Should be fairly obvious when you pull it apart. This is what the tie rod on the right side looked like on the parts car we picked up to do the manual swap in my friend's '95

:

Obviously that's an extreme example, but you should notice what it is pretty quickly. If nothing obvious shows up with any of the suspension components, start looking the front frame rails over closely...