hit a guard rail

[lowolds1]

last night we got a big snow storm and was doing 40 and slid off the road and hit a guard rail. there is no pysical damage but now my wheel is on a 45 degree angle to the left. i hit on the passanger side, i havent had a chance to get under it yet but does anyone know what i should expect? it doesnt pull hard at all.

[lowolds1]

my wheel as in steering wheel

[cavaliers60]

why were you doing 40 in snow?

[kwhauck]

yeah, you should have been doing 55 or 65 with the rest of the traffic......

[JLw7123]

in some states in the northeast lower the speedlimits when the weather was bad like today they lowered the speed limit from 65 to 45 on the highway that i was driving on.

[lowolds1]

i was following a mac truck because he was making wide tracks we were on the highway i was keeping up with traffic but anyway does anyone know maybe a idea of what it could be i notice by looking at it my car has toe out

[cavaliers60]

lol when it snowed here, everyone on the highways were doing 20-30 MPH. Idk...to me, 40 just seemed a little to fast for snow driving...


I'd get it checked out by a mech. Could have done some good internal damage. :(

[$hawn]

Sounds like the wheel alignment is off, due to something being bent. Take it to a shop have them check it out.

[Ttop191]

if it's toed i would say you bent a tie rod...

[Lucalare]

lol when it snowed here, everyone on the highways were doing 20-30 MPH. Idk...to me, 40 just seemed a little to fast for snow driving...


I'd get it checked out by a mech. Could have done some good internal damage. :(

That's sad, up here people might go from 75 down to 60 when it's snowing, and we really have little trouble with people going in ditches.

[kwhauck]

same here.....sucks when you are passing an out of stater in a little econobox FWD and they are in a 4wd big truck driving 30 in the fast lane....

[robalero]

you guys must not have real bad storms lol. when its a terrible storm out I have been slowed down to 30km/h in an 80km/h zone ( idiots infront of me of course id rather be doing 50k/h )

[Alerojester]

i usually do about 50 -55 on the interstates in snow storms but then again I'm usually in the other halfs escape:p idk if i'll ever drive my alero in the snow again i did right after i got it and i left it at my work in the shop and drove my plow truck home till spring cause mine sucked in the snow but i also had shitty tires

[spc2125]

am i the only one thinking "pics or it didnt happen"

[JLw7123]

am i the only one thinking "pics or it didnt happen"
who cares about pictures at least he did not get hurt during the crash that is more important than pictures.

[Alerojester]

^ x2

[Lucalare]

you guys must not have real bad storms lol. when its a terrible storm out I have been slowed down to 30km/h in an 80km/h zone ( idiots infront of me of course id rather be doing 50k/h )

We definitely get bad storms, I drove home from a concert an hour away once in about 200 foot visibility, so I slowed down to 55. I almost hit a snowy owl too. The next morning we had about 8 inches of snow on the ground.

BTW I did this in my Alero.

[lowolds1]

and plus pictures are useless sence idk if i said it before but there was no real cosmetic damage just a scrape or so and fender jared out of alighnment...sorry im a horrible speller

[tw0123]

I would say you probably bent a tie rod like mentioned above, and possibly a wheel bearing as well...
I know your pain, snow storms have left me in the ditch a couple times in the past with less than idea cars to drive in the snow... mostly due to lack of funds for decent tires...

[lowolds1]

thank you all for the help i will check it out asap

[jackal2000]

I would say you probably bent a tie rod like mentioned above, and possibly a wheel bearing as well...
I know your pain, snow storms have left me in the ditch a couple times in the past with less than idea cars to drive in the snow... mostly due to lack of funds for decent tires...

if it was a wheel bearing i think there would be some shudder/vibration when he drives. best case is it just needs re-aligned and all is well. worst case would be bent tie rod or control arm.

here's a generic pic of the suspension parts for reference.
http://accurate-alignment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Front-Wheel-Drive-Suspension-Diagram.jpg

[tw0123]

^ I was in an accident just before Christmas and the lady hit my driver's wheel... It bent my tie rod almost to a 45 degree angle and my mechanic said that if this happens that 9 out of 10 bearings go as well... That's why I said it possibly affected the bearing as well...