Hit a small median/curb - alignment messed up?

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deathcabforchristina

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so here is what happened, I went over a curb the other night in a parking lot (dont ask, it jumped out at me!) I am sure it sounded worse that it really was, I heard the bottom scraped, I made sure no fluid was leaking from underneath and it seems all good there, It drove fine after that however, I do have a slight pulling to either side (which i noticed before this happened anyway, its just a little worse now). So I went and had an alignment check at firestone done this morning and it read:

LF CAMBER: -0.6
LF CASTER: 4.7
LF TOE: -0.23

RF CAMBER: -0.1
RF CASTER: 4.5
RF TOE: .30

FRONT TOTAL TOE .07
STEER AHEAD: -.027

LR CAMBER: -0.4
LR TOE: 0.07

RR CAMBER: -0.8
RR TOE: -.11

REAR TOTAL TOE: -.04
THRUST ANGLE: 0.09

I am assuming since the front wheels are what hit, that's why its mostly my front toe that seems out of alignment? If I go get an alignment, I should be good?
 
They went through all the effort of placing your car on the alignment rack and checking the readings for free? Not clear on what you mean by you should be good? As far as those toe readings causing wandering, yes, you are toed out on the right side front and left side rear. As for anything else didnt they tell you whether anything was damaged underneath the car?
 
I had a coupon so yes it was free. They didn't mention anything out of the ordinary, just told me it really needed an alignment. Steering feels looser.
 
Hopefully they will check tire rod ends and ball joints before doing the alignment. You did tell them you hit a curb?
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So, I feel like my steering is really loose, its responsive but feels a lot looser than i thought it was before. is there anything else I should be concerned about? He said he didnt see anything wrong when he did the alignment.
 
Hard to second guess what you would hope is a skilled professional. You did ask him specifically if he checked tie rod ends and ball joints? Another possiblity is if you dont stay on top of your tire pressure and let it go down and then they correctly inflate it, the steering will feel looser. Did you tell them the steering didnt feel the same?
 
i know he said the tie rods looked fine, fairly sure he also said he looked at the ball joints and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. he said everything seemed to look fine. i mentioned the loose steering when i dropped it off. maybe its me? i just worry cause in about 2 weeks im driving 200 miles to chicago to catch a flight.
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You could try checking your tire pressure to make sure they are not overinflated. The tire pressure should be listed on a sticker that you can see when you open the drivers side door and look at the post down the middle of the car. Check it in the morning when they are cold and use a digital gauge, they are about $10-$12.
 
I had a flat repair done 2 days before my alignment (and just a few hours later is when i went up and over that curb! MY LUCK!), and my tire pressure was checked then. I constantly feel like somethings going to happen :P If it helps, i checked to see if there was play in it when the car was off and it was in park, and there wasn't much, It only seems to be when im driving. Another question. I only have one original key, can I go into a regular hardware store to get one made? its a 99 SE.
 
To check play with the vehicle stationary, the engine has to be running. Your car has a system called Passlock 1. The hardware store has to have the ability to cut that type of key. If they dont try a dealer or locksmith.
 
ok so in november or so (about when it started getting really cold, it was below zero the day i noticed it) i noticed that i could really start to feel the bumps, i was going over in my front drivers side tire. i kind of let it go, chalked it up to the tire being kind of low, i had a slow leak in it. i fixed that tire last week, and the noise has sort of continued... got better got a bit... today i noticed it much more... it doesnt make the sounds if youre on perfectly flat pavement, but you get on a road full of crack and little bumps then its like popcorn popping! what could this me? i emailed my mechanic, he said try going to simonize and getting a car wash to see if that helped (what?) what could this be?
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i had the shop who aligned drive it this morning, he said its bad strut mount and its more annoying than anything and I could wait if I need to.
 
Typically you would do an alignment since you are disassembling the front suspension.
 
do you think this could be why steering feels so funky?
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It might cause a abnormal feeling in the steering since the strut pivots in the mount when you turn the wheel.
 
the feeling i am getting is like its very loose and that I have to turn it farther just to make a complete turn. However, its still very sensitive like when on the highway when changing lanes, i barely have to move the wheel to get it to go to the other lane, but say im trying to back out of a parking spot I feel like i have to turn the wheel almost all the way. its hard to explain.
 
did you check your cold tire pressure and compare it to the sticker on you drivers door post.?
 
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