[s-cars] Pothole swallowed my car

[Ray Tomlinson]

Boston streets suck.  I'm really good about avoiding potholes, but with the
recent heavy snow and rain, it seems that the City is not to quick about
replacing the 4 FOOT GAPING HOLES IN THE HIGHWAY ripped out by our
inexperienced plow drivers.  This morning, on Rte 16 in Cambridge, a pothole
swallowed my LF wheel (easily 3' in diameter, about 1' deep).  Instead of
watching the road in front of me, I was trying to be nice and let someone in
in front of me who was too impatient to wait in line like everyone else.
Next time, I won't be so nice.  The pothole was so deep I bottomed out on
the subframe.  Rim doesn't appear bent (surprisingly), but that must be
because the subframe/knuckle/control arm BENT instead, setting the LF wheel
back about 2" in the wheelwell.  My poor steering wheel - I must have
punched it 10 times.

Little known Mass fact - the city is liable to you for highway defects
causing damage to your vehicle.  I'll see how far this little statute gets
me.  My guess is a lot of headache, but this looks like an expensive repair,
and may be worth the headache.

Aside from the likely bent control arm, is it possible that the subframe
"shifted" back on one side?  Is there enough "play" in the subframe mounts
to allow such movement.  LF driveshaft binds up a bit when cranked in
reverse, too.


Ray