Damage, advice...

[yellowplum]

Was coming home last night and managed to hit a spot of black ice, wheel is knackered - had a look tyre seems ok which is strange considering the damage on the wheel.

Ordered another wheel today however the space saver is currently on but I am getting some noises when you break and also a tapping noise when you drive along.

I am sure something will be bent/damaged that requires replacement - I have been advised that it is best to wait for the new alloy and place the wheel on to perform alignment and see what is wrong when you are underneath the car.

What I wanted to know was what to look out for that may be damaged?

[RW1]

Hmmm, that was bad luck. Least you are in one piece.

Depending how hard the wheel hit.........

Some, you won't be able to see the distortions, like the control arm and how far out of position that is. That needs wheel alignment tools to understand its position to the car chassis.

The track rod may be bowed. A steel rule or similar can show it up.

Noises suggest you shouldn't really drive it. Only to the garage to get fixed.

Alignment check is the only sure way.

Had one once and the bump knocked the left wheel backwards 2mm relative to the front right, tracking was OK but the control arm was distorted a little. Wasn't visible. Never repaired it and the car ran another 4 years in my ownership with no tyre wear or steering problems. (Hit a kerb with the wheel square on at 30 mph, hence the backwards movement. Steel wheel was dented and tyre OK to roll. Replaced both as a precaution though. )

C.

[Trickytree1984]

Bad luck chap. Looks like it could have been much worse.

Probably tracking among other things.

Whe are you based btw? I didn't think it had been cold enough yet for black ice? Could it not have been oil? If so had the police been notified? If they had and attended, they are liable

[yellowplum]

It was on the way back from Stoke to Portsmouth, it was in Wiltshire somewhere on a mini round about, must have hit is at around 30MPH to be honest, I can't think exactly where it was it was pitch black. It definitely wasn't oil, I slipped quite a way...

They did mention the track rod to me, I have ordered another wheel but that won't come for another week, which means I can't do the wheel alignment until that arrives. The noise seems to have dissipated somewhat.

[Cuprabob]

Sorry to hear about your plight and hope there is not too much damage.

There has been plenty of black ice around here over the last couple of days although I'm a fair bit up north.

[Cuprabob]

Bad luck chap. Looks like it could have been much worse.

Probably tracking among other things.

Whe are you based btw? I didn't think it had been cold enough yet for black ice? Could it not have been oil? If so had the police been notified? If they had and attended, they are liable

Why would the Police be liable?

You are responsible for driving your car in a manner that suits the road conditions and if the temp. drops below 4 degrees C you should be aware there is a risk of black ice. The car even warns you of this risk.

[yellowplum]

It wouldn't be the police that are liable, however in this instance I would have to say that labially would be difficult to prove and that is not my intention. I just really want to find out if anyone else has experienced this before and what to keep my eyes open for.

[Cuprabob]

I've experienced it many times before, black ice is very common up here. First of all the temperature is the first trigger to look out for it and sometimes you do get a glistening off the road if you're lucky. But sadly, most of the time you are just aware of it by the reduced grip

[Trickytree1984]

Bad luck chap. Looks like it could have been much worse.

Probably tracking among other things.

Whe are you based btw? I didn't think it had been cold enough yet for black ice? Could it not have been oil? If so had the police been notified? If they had and attended, they are liable

Why would the Police be liable?

You are responsible for driving your car in a manner that suits the road conditions and if the temp. drops below 4 degrees C you should be aware there is a risk of black ice. The car even warns you of this risk.

If it were oil and had been attended but they failed to deal with it. I know of cases where the police have been held liable. In this case it appears not to be oil though

[RW1]

The noise seems to have dissipated somewhat.

Was there nothing obvious when you change wheels for this? Concern being what ever was a miss has now worn and therefore could be thinner and have less strength. Steering is a bit vital, even at 30 mph.

Believe me, I once had an over tighten bearing burst out through the hub cap out at 30mph and the best I could do was brake as hard as possible with a hell of load on the steering wheel taking me rapidly to the left and a 30 foot drop. A wheel doing its own thing isn't exactly controllable.

C.

[yellowplum]

Nope, I haven't driven it, the noise is mostly when you brake not when you are moving. Also the noise when moving is fairly hard to hear. When the wheel came off there was nothing noticeable that had been damaged, other than someone previously hadn't put the wear sensor back correctly and it seems it has been chewed by the tyre at some point.

[yellowplum]

Just been to somewhere I know and had it up on the ramp doesn't look like anything has been bent - so we will have to wait and see when the new wheel arrives so I can have the alignment done.

[yellowplum]

Ok new wheel arrived and was put on, digital alignment was also performed. Still get a squeak when you brake and a faint one when you drive. The only thing to come out of the alignment was that the camber was also out, but they said they couldn't correct this and only a main dealer could do that (which I find a little hard to believe).

Attached is the before and after printout of the alignment.

Any suggestions as to the noise? Nothing seems to be bent or damaged on the underside. Going in to the main dealer on Wednesday anyway because the glovebox rattle is back, again!