Another "I ran over XXXXX" thread

[iNeon]

It was a huge chunk of an 18-wheeler tire.

Pulled the exhaust off, threw the front-end out-of-whack and even lost a hubcap!!

So what parts are usually included in a front-end rebuild? It has 154k and I'm fairly certain needs a complete overhaul. The tie-rods were new about 6 months ago, hopefully those are still good!

Ball joints, shock absorbers, steering shock, engine shocks(do 240's have them?) tie rods are a maybe at this point. what else has to be replaced/rebushed/repaired?

Should I do wheel bearings at the same time? rear suspension?

I've never done a project this big before... on the VW it's just been engine and body/interior disassembly and cleaning-- nothing like rebuilding a front suspension!!

Can your average 26 year-old art historian in training do such a job if he's done engine mounts, rear shocks, a complete fuel system cleaning and tie-rods?

[PanzerSD]

well, if you're unsure, or this post doesn't get many hints, alot of shops can do a "pre-alignment" inspection. then tell you what they need to be replaced or repaired in order to do a good alignment. a reputable shop will more often than not, tell you about it.

if the hit was hard enough to damage exhaust system parts, then I'll bet you're also going to be looking for bent idler arm(s) and steering dampener.
glance over at the oilpans while you're under there.. and check the floor pans to see if any have been pushed up...

[TheDon]

yep... go to the dealer and have them look it over... im going on the 23 to see whats messed up in my front end..

[iNeon]

The exhaust did not fall completely off-- just fell off at the rear and was making a nice shower of sparks behind me

I've stopped twice, but the hubcap is nowhere to be found!!

It wasn't the full tire, but it was a tread sitting up on end and it made a very large noise and the car can't go over 55mph because it has a wicked shimmy/bobble.

It had a bit of one before, but it is undrivable at this point. A friend and his father have said they can look at it this weekend, they're volvo people, but it can't be too different!

What the plan is to this point is to just repair all the front-end bits and then take it to Mercedes and have it alligned/checked.

[vstech]

what color was she? I have a set of the yellow hub caps if you need it.

[invol]

Originally Posted by iNeon

It was a huge chunk of an 18-wheeler tire.

Pulled the exhaust off, threw the front-end out-of-whack and even lost a hubcap!!

I'm sorry to hear that about your 240. Those bits of tires are slangly called "alligators" because when you run over them, they snap around and bite at you. Unfortunately, the one you hit seems to have bit you hard.

Originally Posted by iNeon

The exhaust did not fall completely off-- just fell off at the rear and was making a nice shower of sparks behind me

WOW! A shower of sparks and some good ol' 240D smokescreen... That's just asking for a video capture! Shopforum's Amazingest Home Videos!

[2.5Turbo]

Yeah, my dad did that last April in a rental Dodge Caravan in North Carolina. We were getting off the freeway at night when a truck ahead of us must have lost a tread, as it was right in the middle of the off ramp. My dad was paying attention to the intersection ahead, and didn't see the tire tread. I yelled "LOOK OUT!," but it was too late and we hit it. Big ka-whump and a bounce. No apparent damage done, and the rental car agency didn't charge us with any damages

I'm afraid if they had the car we actually rented in stock (a midsize sedan), we wouldn't have been as lucky.

[iNeon]

**He** is classic white (no. 757, I believe) and I'm fixing to mosey on over to pull a part's website to see if they have one of these 12 dollar hubcaps in stock. If that falls through, I shall PM you!

We'll see how good I am at masking, won't we?!? Here's hoping they have a white car!!!

[pawoSD]

Wow....I've swerved to avoid a truck tire piece before.....but the last *big* thing I hit was a deer corpse right in the middle of the freeway. Went clear over it with my passenger side front and rear wheels, it "thwumped" the underside of the car too, and got blood and guts all over the side of the car. The car did not swerve, nor bounce much, and that thing must have been over a foot high! Thankfully my car's shocks aren't doing much anymore, so my wheels just *bounce* over things! Aside from the guts/blood on the car there was no damage to the car.

Sorry to hear that about your 240....around here the huge thing to avoid is potholes about 1 FOOT deep....they'll do a job on your suspension for sure if you hit one. Good o'l Michigan roads...

[BobK]

-Upper control arm bushings or maybe whole arms, depending on age.
-Lower control arm bushings and ball joints. There is a section in the manual on checking for straighness of the arm (guess they bend sometimes).
-guide rod mounts and the guide rod bushings at the lower control arm.
-steering shock
-drag link
-tie rods
-idler arm bushings
-check how well steering box is mounted to frame.
-check coil spring for broken coils (usually bottom half turn or so).
-how old are your shocks? get the proper Bilstein replacements.
Not cheap, but if done all at once, not too bad. Big deal is pulling the spring (safely). Once it is out, rest is easier (ball joint will still make somebody cuss).
put it all back together and get a good alignment. Car should drive a bit nicer. Now, did it damage any tires? Probably want to rebalance them.
How's your rear suspension? Maybe this is a good time to redo all the rear suspension rubber? (you did win the lottery, didn't you?).