Suspension refresh, anything missing?

[kashtyaatsi]

Last ice storm my wife smacked a curb hard enough to bend the driver side front control arm. Since I was already planning on doing a suspension refresh over the summer I figured I might as well go ahead and just do everything all at once. Car has about 125K miles so it's getting up to that time anyways. It's a 2011 golf and so far I have a list of:

Front control arms with ball joints
End links
B4 bilstein shocks and struts
Strut mount and bearing (not sure which yet)

Upgrade sway bar on the rear with bushings
End links

Is there anything else I should be looking at while I'm under there? I'm assuming my stock springs are going to be fine to reuse assuming they're not rusted or broken. Do I need adjustable end links in the rear with the new sway bar or are the non-adjustable fine? Thanks for any help!

 

[TurboABA]

You need to inspect things closely to see what components took the impact.....
Did both front and rear wheels smack? Did he just front end plow into the curb with the wheel cranked?
Things could've shifted, subframe\mounts could be bent, etc.
What about steering? Tie rods? Lots of bits in there to look at.

 

[TurboABA]

What about your wheel and bearing? Those usually don't like that hard of a side impact.

 

[TurboABA]

Look at all the expensive stuff that could be damaged....


I'd look closely at the wheel bearing, tie rod, track rod, driveshaft and subframe if you say the control arm got bent..... seems like she gave it a good smack.

 

[kashtyaatsi]

It was a right hand turn so my assumption is the wheel was cranked fully to the right and then hit the curb essentially straight on. The tire did get pushed back into the quarter panel and I assume that's what helped stop some of the impact. I didn't check the wheel bearings before I took the tires off but I will check those. I was thinking about tie rods too as they wouldn't hurt to replace anyways. As far as the subframe there is no obvious damage or shifting however it may become more obvious once I start driving it again. I'm not exactly sure how I would check that fully.

 

[kashtyaatsi]

This is really the first car I've ever owned, previously all trucks and still currently own trucks. So bending an LCA on a truck seems near impossible but these ones on the golf seem pretty wimpy.

 

[TurboABA]

The factory manuals\documentation have a lot of information on how to properly check a lot of stuff.
If you want to do this yourself (and properly), get your hands on this info. There's a lot of things to inspect after an impact of that magnitude.
If you ant to blame the wimpy engineering instead, get your wife a vehicle more suitable of smashing into curbs with the wheel at full lock.

1.1 Evaluating Suspension of Vehicles Involved
in Accidents
When servicing supporting or wheel carrying components on vehicles
involved in accident, damage on the suspension may remain
undetected. These undiscovered damages may lead to
heavy damages in continued vehicle operation. Therefore, on accident
vehicles, the listed components must be checked in the
described manner and sequence, independent of performing a
vehicle alignment. If no deviations from specified values were determined
during vehicle alignment, no deformations of the suspension
are present.
Visual and Function Check of Steering System
Visual check for deformations and cracks.
Check for play in tie rod joints and steering gear.
Visual inspection for faulty bellows and grease boots.
Check electric and hydraulic lines and hoses for chafe marks,
cuts and kinks.
Check hydraulic lines, bolted connections and steering gear
for leaks.
Check steering gear and lines for proper seating.
Check proper function through entire steering angle by turning
steering wheel from stop to stop. Steering wheel must be rotary
without hitching at equal force.
Visual and Function Check of Suspension
• Observe the sequence of the following test steps!
Check all components shown in assembly overviews for deformation,
cracks and other damages.
Replace damaged components.
Perform vehicle alignment on wheel alignment stand approved
by VOLKSWAGEN AG.
Visual and Function Check for Wheels and Tires
Run-out and balance, checking. Refer to ⇒ Wheel and Tire
Guide; Rep. Gr. 44 ; General Information .
Tires, checking for cuts and impact damage on tread and
flanks. Refer to ⇒ Wheel and Tire Guide; Rep. Gr. 44 ; General
Information .
Check tire inflation pressure; inflation pressure see inflation
pressure plate in tank flap.
For damage on disc wheel and/or tire, tire must be replaced. This
also applies when the course of the accident and damage on the
vehicle points to possible non-visible damages.

 

[kashtyaatsi]

Hitting a curb at 7 mph doesn't seem like much magnitude to me, but seeing as modern cars are designed to crumple maybe it is. I think you may be thinking this is worse than it is. I tried to upload a picture of the damage but couldn't figure out how to do it on my phone. Control arm is bent downward at the existing bend maybe 1 inch or so. As far as that list it's pretty obvious stuff, I got that covered. I'm really just looking for vw specific suspension components that wear over time. Like how the rear bushings and such hold up. Other hidden damage from the hit would become more obvious when it gets put back together.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Here is an idea, take it somewhere that will give a free estimate, and then never go back.

 

[TurboABA]

Post pics. There's a how to in the help section. If your wheel was pushed into the bodywork, it doesn't make sense that you only have one component that's damaged..... But maybe you got lucky.

 

[TurboABA]

How to upload photos in Xenforo and use them in your posts

This is a temporary place holder for a proper FAQ on how to upload photos to the new system: To upload images to the image server: Go to the "Media" section. The link is found in the top bar. click on "Add Media" found near the top right corner. You will get a popup on where you want to...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[kashtyaatsi]

Here is an idea, take it somewhere that will give a free estimate, and then never go back.

That was my first plan but getting an estimate at a body shop here is impossible. No joke you'll be waiting a month or two. I could take it to a suspension place, but then I'd have to load it up on a trailer and tow it over.

 

[Wilkins]

My cat suffered a similar incident some years ago. It’s only recently I got it completely fixed. I would be almost positive your subframe was shifted. You will need a cooperative alignment shop to get that back in place along with all new fasteners, I had three shops claim that was impossible- I did it myself, wasn’t hard to centre. You might also have damaged your steering knuckle, they have been known to crack in track use.

 

[kashtyaatsi]

Good to know, I will also check out the knuckle closely. Hard to get a decent picture especially cause I already unbolted it.

 

[TurboABA]

Wow.... You will more then likely need to replace the following at the very minimum:
- control arm
- control arm bracket
- ball joint
- tie rod
- wheel bearing
- wheel & tire
I'd be surprised if you don't have any steering rack\cv shaft\track rod\abs sensor damage.
Then, assuming that you closely inspect everything else and you can't find any other carnage, attempt to get a proper alignment.

Time to get your wife some snow tires and teach her to always hit a curb (if\when needed) with the wheels straightened out and off the brakes (don't ask how I learned that one)

 

[kashtyaatsi]

Yep already had that which was necessary down. I'm not going to devolve this thread into an argument on what should have or should not have been done. Fact is you know absolutely zero about the situation, road conditions, or other road hazards. No need for this monday morning quarterbacking here, especially cause I can't even tell you exactly the way it happened.

 

[TurboABA]

Check your calendar bud.... it's Wed.... even in your timezone!

 

[RoundHouse]

My cat suffered a similar incident some years ago. It’s only recently I got it completely fixed. I would be almost positive your subframe was shifted. You will need a cooperative alignment shop to get that back in place along with all new fasteners, I had three shops claim that was impossible- I did it myself, wasn’t hard to centre. You might also have damaged your steering knuckle, they have been known to crack in track use.

@Wilkins
I have some questions about how you repaired and aligned the subframe

our beetle recently killed a curb , head on , drivers side wheel bent , control
Arm looks ok but the front of the K member where the control arm bushing are , is dented around the bushings where it hit the curb .

and it appears the rear Mount where the K member bolts to the unibody is bent a little.

I measured and the center of the big Rear bolt is 1/2 inch further back than on the passenger side.

but not sure how much adjustment there is in the bushings .
Not sure if I want to fix it or just scrap the car.

thanks

 

[kashtyaatsi]

I ended up doing basically everything.
Shocks & Struts
All Mounts & Bearings
Control Arms & Ball Joints
RSB
End Links F&R
Tire Rods

Knuckle and wheel bearings were fine. I took it to a VW/Audi specific shop to have the subframe realigned and then finish up the rest of the alignment. They said they do these all the time during the winter. Subframe didn't seems to be bent or damaged at all. It's driven perfectly for the last 700 miles now. You may be better off replacing the subframe completely.

 

[Wilkins]

@Wilkins
I have some questions about how you repaired and aligned the subframe

our beetle recently killed a curb , head on , drivers side wheel bent , control
Arm looks ok but the front of the K member where the control arm bushing are , is dented around the bushings where it hit the curb .

and it appears the rear Mount where the K member bolts to the unibody is bent a little.

I measured and the center of the big Rear bolt is 1/2 inch further back than on the passenger side.

but not sure how much adjustment there is in the bushings .
Not sure if I want to fix it or just scrap the car.

thanks

The big bolt is moved relative to what? The bolt goes into the frame rail, if that is moved the car is done IMHO, but I doubt you could do that without first shearing the bolt. Come to think of it I wonder if the bolt is seriously bent and you might just be measuring how much.
No adjustment in the bushings, the holes in the subframe are oversized allowing at least an eighth movement off centre in any direction. I sleeved the bolts with 1/2 copper pipe to take up most of the space and give me a starting point. Then it was just tap tap tap with the bolts finger tight. I removed the sleeves before torquing.

 

[RoundHouse]

The big bolt is moved relative to what? The bolt goes into the frame rail, if that is moved the car is done IMHO, but I doubt you could do that without first shearing the bolt. Come to think of it I wonder if the bolt is seriously bent and you might just be measuring how much.
No adjustment in the bushings, the holes in the subframe are oversized allowing at least an eighth movement off centre in any direction. I sleeved the bolts with 1/2 copper pipe to take up most of the space and give me a starting point. Then it was just tap tap tap with the bolts finger tight. I removed the sleeves before torquing.

The bolt looked like it was at an angle
I removed it and it wasn’t bent

so either the frame rail mount is moved , which doesn’t look like it , cause that would usually knock off the undercoating .

hard to imagine the mount in the frame getting pushed back without the lower control arm bending .

bent the wheel though .
I don’t have a lift , just a floor jack
And a bunch of stands .