well, the new wheels went on. took it out for a drive. thought everything seemed fine. until i looked down and saw the steering wheel is about a 1/2 an inch off. well i guess i bent something. anyone have any thoughts? What did i do? Took a right turn, got sideways. wheel was turned, not 100% sure which way, i was more focused on making the turn on snow. oh and that is when i found the hidden curb in what i thought was the middle of the road. Thoughts? I am guessing this will be a trip to MNTK Subaru this week. oh and i need to fix the car by next friday because i am driving to STL for xmas.
If I had to guess you bent something like the control arm or tie rod. Your steering wheel is off because your alignment is now out of whack. Have that checked out and they'll be able to tell you what's up real fast.
hard to say. could be a control arm, strut, knuckle, tie rod, suspension mounting point, the list goes on...
Curb skippin'=Not ideal. However, all of us have done it. Here's a small piece of advice for everyone. If you know your going to hit a curb, (the OP did not) straighten the wheel and get off the brakes if possible for the actual curb hit. It will GREATLY increase the chances of getting out of the situation damage free. Carl has it right that the list of possibilities is long. To insure proper alignment, long tread life and safe operation, you're doing the right thing taking it to a place that can properly diagnose, repair and realign the car. Don't be surprised if both the front and rear got pranged.
yeah, it was totally hidden by snow. i had no idea it was there until the car stopped quickly. but if i ever see myself sliding into a curb i will do that for sure.
You can't top what I did about two years ago.... We got like 6-8" of snow... was on my way home from pro-kart up in Rodgers. This was late on a sunday night, about 10:00p.m. I go to take the corner that I am not very familiar with, I was pretty sure that it was a single lane in single lane out. As I make the turn I get a little out of shape going bit wide, maybe 3-4 feet farther than I wanted all of the sudden the front grabs and straightens out. The rear follows suit and snaps straight... I'm sitting there going what the hell?? I kept a bit on the gas going straight, but as I steer I'm not going left or right... It then dawns on me... There was a center median, and what I thought was the south bound lane turned out the be the left hand turn lane for the other direction. I ened up straddeling the center median with the outback... So like any ******* I kept trucking along hoping I would get off the thing. About 20 feet later I think it widened and it forced the tires up and over the edge. I thought for sure I screwed something up. Got home jacked up the car and there wasn't even a scratch on the rims, I removed all four wheels and looked for damage. Pretty crazy, glad my wallet came out o.k.... The reason I couldn't see the other lane was being so late and so much snow, no one else had turned down that road before me. Woops, lesson learned.
yeah, that is funny. similar to mine. there was not evidence of a curb at all. oh well, lets hope that insurance covers it all.
Even though the Plumber didnt damage anything on his car, his screw up last winter was the most epic. pics found here http://mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30937
