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In Reply to: Front end problems (long but I need some advice) posted by paul on June 25, 2000 at 21:18:43:
: In Feb. 2000, I was following a truck pulling a trailer with scrap wood on it. Several pieces of 2x4's fell out with one hitting the hood, one hitting the front left roof pillar and a couple going under the car. Driver was uninsured, of course, but my car was driveable with some minor dents and scraps. This was on Saturday evening and so I planned on taking it to the dealer on Monday to get an insurance estimate and begin any needed repairs. On Sunday I noticed that the front right wheel was wobbling or so it felt, I looked under the car but could see no apparent damage. I called the insurance company on Saturday and told them I would be taking the car into the dealer's.
: I took the car to the dealer on Monday and they said there was no suspension damage, did an estimate for the hood etc., and recommended I replace two tires which I did. They said the front end was out of alignment and I must admit the wobble was gone when I got the car back. Unfortunately about this time I began traveling quite a bit and so only drove the car briefly on the weekend. In June 2000 I was home for a week and noticed that there was a front end vibration at about 45 mph. Took the car in to have it checked and the dealer re-aligned the front end. I picked the car up and while driving home got up to about 70 mph and noticed a very significant vibration. Took the car back the next day, complained etc. and the following day received a $1300 estimate for replacing two front tires, two front wheels, etc. to fix problem. Since I had driven car less than 2000 miles since Feb. accident I asked if that could be the problem. Dealer said maybe. I called insurance company, explained problem, they agreed to reimburse me for problem since it sounded that it could be result of accident but disagreed with replacing wheels and recommended wheel specialist shop to check/fix rims. This particular dealer had a major problem with wheel shop and I had to act as middle man between all three parties to get rims checked and fixed. Once rims were fixed then dealer re-mounted and re-aligned front end.
: I went for a short trip this weekend after getting car last Thursday and after 300 miles vibration was back. I am really getting fed up with this. I will be back at the dealer's tomorrow but I wanted to ask a few questions first.
: This car is a 540iA with Stage II Dinan suspension. I never had any alignment issues prior to the accident. What could be other possible reasons for this problem? I keep thinking that the front end might have been damaged and that the problem lies with the actual front end and not the tires/wheels. The car has been aligned three times now, with new tires and repaired rims. I originally was going to buy new rims but I let the insurance company and the wheel shop convince me that the repair was just as good. I can hardly believe that running over a couple of 2x4s would damage the rims that much. I know tomorrow the dealer is going to say that repairing the rims was a mistake and I should put new rims on the car. That is fine if I have no more problems but I still have the feeling that maybe something more serious is wrong and they are just treating the symptoms and not fixing the problem. I drive this car really fast and have always appreciated its stability and control and I would like to get all of that back. Any hints and/or suggestions from more knowledgable people would be greatly appreciated.
: Thanks,
: Paul
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