Husband hit a snow bank---Alighment, tire balancing or Tie Rod?I have a '99 Nissan Altima that was running well until my husband slipped on ice into a snow bank at about 25 MPH on Friday. It drives fine, and looks o.k. (a hubcap looks cracked but I don't know if it was like that before). When I hit a speed over 50 MPH the whole car shakes like it's going to fall... | |
Without looking at the car I would not be able to tell whether the tie-rod is damaged, however you can. Put the front of the car up on jack stands (not just the jack - it's not that safe), stick your head under and check out the tie rod (it connects the front wheel hub asseblies and runs from one side to the other. Grab onto it and try to move it - if you feel any looseness it is a problem.
What is more likely is a bent wheel, or your alignment is screwed, or some wheel weights got knocked off, or all 3.
I would have the garage take off the wheel on the side that hit the snow bank, check it to see if it is bent and if the tire is OK, and if it appears to be good then have it balanced and put back on the car and test-driven. If there is still a problem have an alignment (if the tie-rod is damaged they will find that out in the process.)
The checking the wheel & tire & re-balancing should not cost more than $15 . If you need a new wheel the cost will depend on what type of rims you have - the basic steel rim should be around $60.
Alignment costs depend a lot on where you have it done and how many parts need to be replaced - can cost $100 or more depending...
Wheel might be bent.
With a '99 I'm assuming you have bought replacement tires, take it back to that tire shop and they may check and fix wheel balance for free, or might be able to see if the wheel's bent. A new steel wheel can be had for cheap (~$50).
If you think you had a cracked tie rod, that's something to get checked and replaced ASAP if needed!
Everything should be cheap (balance, new wheel under $100, alignment may be $100ish depending on where you have it done)....except the new tie rods. I bought some tie rods for an Avalon and they were a couple hundred bucks (not installed) from the dealer - might want to try an independent mechanic on that one as per the other answerer's suggestion.
Sounds like it's probably tire balance. I'd get the tire balanced anyway, and see if that fixes it, since that's like $15. It all depends on why you thought you already had a cracked tie rod - if it was obviously cracked, it could easily have broken. Those suckers are pretty tough though.
Could be any and/or all of the components you noted.
Best to take it in to an independent tire and alignment shop to get an estimate. Tire re-balance would be cheapest. Then alignment, then tie-rod, as tie-rod replacement would involve a realignment.
Sounds like a bent wheel.
first make sure there is no snow or ice on inner side of rim
