Steering wheel turned left after wreck

bikerbob · 10-21-2009, 06:03 PM

I got into a slow(less than 15 miles per hour) fender bender last weekend. Almost all the damage is body panels and lights.

The weird part is that now my steering wheel is turned left to about 11 o'clock when I am driving straight. the truck drives straight and has no vibrations. The wheels and steering components didn't even make contact with the other car, as far as I know.

So my question is how did the wheel get turned?
And here is a pic so there are no complaints about no pics

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desertcamper67 · 10-21-2009, 10:39 PM

If all the damage is on the right side then the right tire got pushed out and you have to compensate with the steering wheel to go straight. An alignment will fix you right up.

Look at the passenger side tie rod adjusting sleeve. Can you see any tie rod threads showing that look like they probably weren't before. Or your right side steering arm could be bent. You can check the gap between the rim of the wheel and the steering arm (part the outer tie rod goes through). The gap should be the same left and right.

If you do go in for an alignment, let the mechanic know what happened so he will look closer for anything damaged. Is it going in to a body shop? A lot of those type of crashes automatically get an alignment ordered by the body shop.

bikerbob · 10-22-2009, 05:26 AM

I have not decided if i am going to take it to a body shop yet. I can find most of the parts locally for cheap, so i am going to do the work. I am afraid that if I make a claim and pay the deductible they will total it. Don't worry I reported it to insurance. I just choose not to get it fixed yet.
Last month I bought life time alignment, so I will go get one done.

nosfanatic2006 · 10-22-2009, 06:26 AM

I kinda did the same thing mudding last year, but the full force was directed on the left wheel (cruisin in a rutt and it decided to make a big 90* turn that I didn't see. Going from 10-15 miles per hour to a complete stop without any warning sure wakes you up haha). My steering wheel was off by more than a full turn though. Toyota quoted $1700 to fix it, but that's bearings, bushings, ball joints, etc; which I'm guessing were already going out. I just took the steering wheel off and repositioned it and drove it for many miles like that. I lost over a complete wheel crank to the right, but I can turn way sharper left now

desertcamper67 · 10-23-2009, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nosfanatic2006

I kinda did the same thing mudding last year, but the full force was directed on the left wheel (cruisin in a rutt and it decided to make a big 90* turn that I didn't see. Going from 10-15 miles per hour to a complete stop without any warning sure wakes you up haha). My steering wheel was off by more than a full turn though. Toyota quoted $1700 to fix it, but that's bearings, bushings, ball joints, etc; which I'm guessing were already going out. I just took the steering wheel off and repositioned it and drove it for many miles like that. I lost over a complete wheel crank to the right, but I can turn way sharper left now

Be careful driving it like that. Seriously.

10-22-2009, 05:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
bikerbob Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bellingham WA Posts: 138	I have not decided if i am going to take it to a body shop yet. I can find most of the parts locally for cheap, so i am going to do the work. I am afraid that if I make a claim and pay the deductible they will total it. Don't worry I reported it to insurance. I just choose not to get it fixed yet. Last month I bought life time alignment, so I will go get one done. __________________ 87 4Runner, 22re, 33MT's,4.88's and locked rear

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