[s-cars] Tire wear/suspension help needed

[Peter]

Jack the one tire off the pavement with the wheels pointed straight forward,
shake the tire manually with yours hands back and forth to see if there is
"slop" in the tie rod. Then move the steering wheel a little each way and
try it again.  It should be covered as a supplement to your insurance claim.
/Peter

On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 9:11 AM, Steve Marinello <smarinello at entouch.net>wrote:

>  Okay, Peter, now you're scaring me with bigger $$$.  What is the easiest
> way to check the rack?
>
> Steve
>
>
> On 7/30/2011 9:24 AM, Peter wrote:
>
> 1. Tie rod end.
> 2. Broken rack.  (from holding tight onto the steering wheel when he was
> hit and chipping/breaking a gear tooth/teeth and allowing the tie rod to
> have "slop".)  /Peter
>
>  On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 7:32 AM, Steve Marinello <smarinello at entouch.net>wrote:
>
>> The subject car is the kids' '04 A4q Ultrasport.  You may remember that I
>> mentioned he was in an accident while at college.  The car was hit pretty
>> hard at the passenger side rear door and rear bulkhead as he made a left
>> turn and was hit by someone rushing in a new Accord to make the light.  Bad
>> decision/speed estimation or whatever.  The car was hit hard enough to spin
>> him and the original estimate of $4k blossomed to $8.5 k as they worked on
>> it.  Still it came out okay, it seemed, with a new door RR door, fender and
>> suspension pieces there.  As the tire was shot, I shipped him out a couple
>> of barely used spares and we drove it out from San Diego to Houston at the
>> end of May.  Since then, he also did a round trip to/from Alabama to visit
>> my father-in-law this summer.  I was in the car with him and heard what
>> sounded like feathering/cupping was going on in the right front.  Checked it
>> out...very localized and significant wear, down to the belt over about three
>> inches on the inside with focused wear extending another couple of inches
>> per side.  This is on one of the tires sent out, not one that was in the
>> accident.  My mechanic did not see anything more than me, which is the
>> engine mount on that side is shot; completely collapsed and split.  So, two
>> engine mounts and the tranny mount will be replaced, but my question is, to
>> our resident experts, is that kind of wear possible without something else
>> bent or messed up in the front suspension?
>>
>> I'll deal with the tire today, and order either 034 mounts or RS4 mounts
>> from ECS Monday, but what do you guys think?
>>
>> TIA,
>>
>> Steve
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>
>
>