A Little Story About My First Car...Minty (involves a crash, bet you'll read now!)

[911_Carrera]

So I know I keep claiming to return every once in a while but it never seems to stick: Girlfriend; College Work; Shifts in Halfords; Nan on a long-term hospital stay kind of taking up all my time at the moment. I felt like giving everyone (well, whoever's still here!) a little update of my car situation.

I passed my test back in July, just before jetting off to Antigua for 3 weeks, technically my 'first car' was a rubbish Nissan Sentra Auto that I got to drive around the island for the last week of our stay, not exactly the romantic idea of a first motor. Things were a bit dry for a while then, my next driving experience was a stupid idea after a few too many drinks watching the England v South Africa RWC final...my mate gave me a turn in his Clio and we got pulled by the police, I blew 32 on the breathlyzer (35 is the limit) even though I'd stopped drinking at least an hour before. Got warned for driving with no insurance but luckily they didn't follow it through.

Finally, for my birthday (November 2nd) I got Minty. He's a MANLY metallic pink VW Polo 1.0, P Reg 1997. Great drive, surprisingly nippy at times (apart from when Evan's in the car, fat bastard!) and a hit with everyone who needs lifts...or at least he was.

My main present for Christmas was a box full of everything I needed to service him, so December 30th came about and me and my dad spent the day outside doing the spark plugs, oil + filter, air filter, cabin filter, distributor cap + rotor arm and some general cleaning and tidying. It got rid of the hesitation it'd been feeling in 2nd gear and it generally felt quicker and more responsive. It was brilliant! The evening came about and I shoved 4 of the guys in the car and set off for football (soccer) with Bob Marley blasting through the speakers. Coming off the M4 at Felindre (Junction 46) and about halfway up I started coming on the brakes, then everything went a bit ****ing scary!

Either the tyre blew (it looked a bit odd afterwards, but not like a blowout) or the brake disc shattered - it ended up in three pieces and looked to have some corrosion on it - but either way we crashed. It went like this:

1. "BANG" from driver's side wheel area, car dips to right and starts to skid
2. Signpost looms, I manage to control it just enough to avoid hitting it but smash into the curb, driver's side wheel first
3. We go airbourne, come down and smash driver's side back wheel into the curb
4. Roll straight across roundabout (nothing coming luckily) and up onto roundabout, get out and inspect damage

Called the RAC out, who then called Civic Rescue (2.5 hours altogether) and finally got it home. Bent driveshaft, bent wishbone, obliterated brake disc, 3 wheels mashed and some surprisingly (considering the impact) light cosmetic damage. A month later and we've bought all the parts and put everything on, but there's still a problem with the camber on the driver's side that needs sorting, so we're sort of debating whether to take it in somewhere or try and attempt adjusting it ourselves (me and my dad).

So yeah, missed me GTP?

 

[Dave A]

Ouch, though I wouldn't have read it if I didn't know there was a crash involved.

That's a bit unlucky, there's not much you can do to avoid something like that if something on the car suddenly breaks. At least you were both okay, could have been veyr nasty if the roads were busy or even if there was just one other car in the wrong place.

Everyone seems to be having crashes at the moment, I don't know what it is but a few people at work have recently had one. Some git hit my Focus on Thurdsay, a woman crashd into my mates parked car the week before. Seems to be road accident season or something.

With regards to your camber, you can sort it yourself but a garage would be the safe bet. They'll balance the wheels and make sure they're alligned right, otherwise it might even feel pretty right but you could find your tyre wearing faster than it should or in places it shouldn't.

I guess asking how life is isn't the best question at the moment, would expensive be a correct assumption?

 

[911_Carrera]

Everyone seems to be having crashes at the moment, I don't know what it is but a few people at work have recently had one. Some git hit my Focus on Thurdsay, a woman crashd into my mates parked car the week before. Seems to be road accident season or something.

Yeah, I was pretty much the last one out of my group of mates who hadn't had any sort of crash. One drove his mum's car through a rough area and ended up getting it smacked with baseball bats, one has had about 3 bumps in his Corsa, one got caught doing 84 in a 50 then the day after hit two cars and drove off, one pulled straight into the side of a car with no lights on at a roundabout, and Evan (EXIGEEVAN) reversed his Almera straight into the side of 'mate with Corsa' in McDonald's car park.

My Auntie (who's heavily pregnant and due in 2 weeks) had just had everything sorted out on her new Skoda when someone ploughed into the driver's side at a junction on Friday, luckily she's fine but that could have been a lot worse!

With regards to your camber, you can sort it yourself but a garage would be the safe bet. They'll balance the wheels and make sure they're alligned right, otherwise it might even feel pretty right but you could find your tyre wearing faster than it should or in places it shouldn't.

I was thinking that, there are a few places that seem to only charge about £15 to adjust the tracking and whatnot, so it seems silly not to take that option.

I guess asking how life is isn't the best question at the moment, would expensive be a correct assumption?

Life's pretty good actually, frustrating because of the lack of cash and relying on everyone for transport, but I'm staying upbeat! It hasn't cost all that much either, bought everything from buypartsby.com and for 2 wishbones, 2 discs, full set of pads, driveshaft and 3 wheels with tyres it's come to £150.

 

[Dave A]

That's a pretty good price for all that, and yeah I'd definitely get that wheel done properly, especially for £15. I didn't know Evan had a crash too, it is bloody crash season . I had a bump that was my fault (well 2) in my first year, it was a learning curve for me. Last year Charlotte hit a double decker bus, which is understandable, I mean they're hard to spot arn't they.

 

[peeweegary]

ooooo dayumm...Well at least your alright...Poor car though. And i suggest getting a professional to fix your camber...

 

[Venari]

Camber on a Polo (or any McPherson strut car) will be determined by the components - there shouldn't be any adjustment... and thus if it doesn't look right, it's highly likely something is bent. You won't be able to fix this on the driveway without a fair bit of experience and some heavy duty equipment... but it's not all bad.

First go stick your hand, flat and horizontal, behind the passenger side front wheel. How many fingers between the tyre and the arch? Three? Now try the other side. If you can only fit two, you've more than likely bent the chassis leg.

Check the following in order. If it's positive camber you've got, I'd suspect 1 or 3. If you have too much negative, then maybe 2 or 3. 4 means you made a hell of an impact. But do check them all.

1.) Chassis leg bent in/back/up. (Visual check from underneath on ramp, cross measure from:
A) passenger sill reference point to drivers lower wishbone rear mount,
B) passenger sill reference point to drivers lower wishbone front mount
C) driver sill reference point to passenger lower wishbone rear mount
D) driver sill reference point to passenger lower wishbone front mount.

A should equal C, and B should equal D, to within about 5mm. If A < C and/or B < D by more than 5mm, it's probable you have pushed the chassis leg in or back. If the numbers do add up, do a visual check to see if the legs are bent up or down. Any serious bend in the leg in any direction will be accompanied by a kink or dimple in the metal, and probably flaking paint.)

2.) Strut top mount deformed. (Less likely, but a careful examination from underbonnet should be enough to spot it. use the other side as a reference.)

3.) Strut mashed. (You should probably buy/fit a pair of new struts if you didn't already.)

4.) Hub carrier damaged (where it clamp mounts to the strut.) Scrap it, get another.

If you find 1 to be true, all is not lost. A bodyshop will put it on 'the dozer' (a rack for your car) and stretch it out. Usually they come out with an almighty 'pop!' My Nova did. Twice. If you're lucky, you'll get charged a couple of hours labour and that might even include an alignment to set the toe.

If you find your top mount is damaged, that's trickier. Leave to bodyshop, ask for advice direct, do not pass go, do not collect £200.

If you find a bent strut, buy new struts. Take out bad struts. Fit good struts. To be honest, the strut is going to be fubarred if you really hit the kerb hard, it's probably best to just buy some new ones. Dampers are much overlooked, new ones will transform a cars handling. VW OEM (or factor replacements) will be fairly cheap, but you could splurge and replace all four corners with a lowering kit from somewhere like Demon Tweeks.

And if you've bent a hub carrier, kudos to you... and you lucky b'stard. But it's an easy swap. Might as well get a new bearing in it while it's out.

Hope this helps. You'll probably tell me that it was none of the above, but hey.

 

[911_Carrera]

Wow, thanks a lot for taking the time to type that, even if it's none of that it'll definitely help for determining what it IS! Really appreciate it, I'll print it off and give it to my dad, he's more likely to spot something than me.

It's too much negative camber on the driver's side, it's noticeable so I suppose that should have been a giveaway that something else is damaged. However my dad did do some playing around to get the wishbones in and he also fiddled with the steering rods, is it possible that he didn't reverse everything properly or would it not be either of these having an effect?

 

[High-Test]

Glad to hear that you're fine, and that the car is okay too.


Ffs, where have you been!?

 

[Venari]

Wow, thanks a lot for taking the time to type that, even if it's none of that it'll definitely help for determining what it IS! Really appreciate it, I'll print it off and give it to my dad, he's more likely to spot something than me.

No probs. Been there, done that, uncle was a panel beater. We pulled my Nova out in the yard. Once after I bought it because the guy who sold it tried to rebuild it himself and didn't realise it was bent, and second time when I ran into the back of a Jaguar. That was a loooong time ago.

It's too much negative camber on the driver's side, it's noticeable so I suppose that should have been a giveaway that something else is damaged.

I'd say have a close look at the strut first then. Try giving the suspension a bit of a bounce. Is it a smooth action? Is it damped properly? Put it on an axle stand and take the drivers front wheel off. Examine the strut rod, you might need to push back a plastic concertina dirt cover under/behind the spring. Try running the steering from full lock one way to the other - mind your fingers! Do you see any obvious damage? Is there fluid leaking out? Does the chrome strut rod appear bent? Check the hub carrier where the (usually two) bolt(s) go through the bottom of the strut through the carrier. Do they look okay? Is there any scraping, witness marks that something has moved? Do the flanges that the bolts pass through that are welded to the main tube of the strut look okay? Any damage - bends, kinks, missing paint?

However my dad did do some playing around to get the wishbones in and he also fiddled with the steering rods, is it possible that he didn't reverse everything properly or would it not be either of these having an effect?

Nah, doubt it, the tierods only adjust toe.

HTH. But ultimately, if you're not sure, take it (uh, trailer it, I guess) to an accident repair shop. They'll spot the chassis/body damage before you replace any more parts and will advise you on the best course of action. Although if you call them, they might come out and do a visual for you.

Good luck!

Oh, um, in case you doubt my professional credentials... I'm a manufacturing engineer at Aston Martin. I'm responsible for the non-contact laser wheel aligner that we set all our current production cars on. I've seen a suspension component or two in my time...

 

[TheBigMan045]

How about looking at the drive knuckle, it fixed my camber problem (10deg positive caused by a combnation of wet road and going too fast into a sharp corner and smacking a curb) $870 later it goes good now

 

[Scooby_Snack]

Whats wrong with my first car?(that i bought)

pic tomorrow




ok i wont do it again

 

[daan]

Whats wrong with my first car?(that i bought)

pic tomorrow

What does the lack of pictures for your first car have to do with the topic of this thread?

If you have a story about your own car, post it in your own thread. If you just want to post a picture of your car, post it in the post a pic of your real car thread.