sturoc

Going back to an accident few months ago where I spun out and broad sided squarely the Pass. frnt tire /rim against a high curb.
Rim and tire of course were done.
Seems the enitre frnt diff has shifted to drivers side about 2 inches or so. Enough that one can see if they eye ball it from the front.

What may be bent enough to do this?
Hard to tell by looking at the individual components ( still attached)
Car drifts a little bit steering wise, but drives pretty good.
probably looks weird going down the road alittle cocked !
Unable to post a pic right now

Any thoughts?

ol"blue

It could be just a bent trac bar or mounting bracket, or it could be more extensive.

sturoc

Will try to post a photo (hi res) It is really hard to tell ,
the 2 contorl arms that attach at the frame behind the diff look like they have been pushed to one side of their frame mounting bracket -maybe the bushings took the brunt of it and got smooshed. the coil spring bumpers are also to one side of coil springs not centered as they should be. That was the giveaway that the diff had shifted slightly.
The thinking is to put new control arms/ bushings on then see if it shifts back and go for an alignment.
It is just hard to tell if anything is really bent, even slightly.

more suggestions welcome...

ol"blue

The trac-bar is what centers it side-to-side under the vehicle. If you replace anything else and don't resolve any issues with the trac-bar I doubt it will help. And I'm almost positive the trac-bar had to take the brunt of the impact. JMO Look it over carefully before you spend your money replacing parts.
Dan

sturoc

ol'blue, Thanks for the heads up!
I was never clear on what the track bar did, always thought it was a steering element.
Will replace that first but also have alot of knocking going on when hitting road bumps etc, prior to the hit.
ball joints are tight, So I think the control arm bushings need to be replace anyway along with shocks too.
The 97 GC is at 200 k miles.

ol"blue

My '97 is over 176,500 miles now. You need to check all the bushings and replace as needed. The trac-bar, if damaged, obviously has to be replaced, but check it's frame mount for warpage if no damage is evident to trac-bar because as stated it took the brunt of the hit. Shocks wear out too.
Check the front brake pads. Sometimes they get loose on the slides if the anti-rattle clips are missing, or they are worn down, they rattle when you hit bumps. You can check this by applying light brake pressure when hitting bumps. If the rattle stops it's usually the pads.
Dan

sturoc

The bushings & shocks most likely the culprit as my mechanic spied those a few months ago as worn. Disc pads are new.
Hopefully the trac bar frame mount is not tweaked. If it is, hope it can bent/straightened back into place.
Thanks for all the info.

ol"blue

No problem. Keep us posted.
Dan