yetiwarrior82

ok i have a 2002 impala. the front passanger side tire is slanted. the top pushed in the bottom pushed out. enough where the top inside of the tire is hitting the shock. i jacked it up and wiggled the tire 12 and 6 and there really isn't any play in it. what could this be? i need to fix soon before i lose my job. please help

cleveland63b

did this just happen out of no where? has it been wrecked? the only thing that would really cause a camber issue is if the control arm or bushings and damage/bad or if someone had the strut loose and was way off when they put it together but I don't think it would cause it to lean that far.

tech2

bent spindle is one possibility. hit any curbs?

Has someone ground/elongated the holes in the knuckle; where the strut bolts to the knuckle? You will have to remove the bolts to tell.

oldchevy

You have to do it quick before you ruin the tire. You are going to have to remove the tire and do a visual inspection. All we can do is guess.

yetiwarrior82

well i don't drive it like this. i replaced the power steering rack in it and noticed it after i put the tires back on. it does look like the pervious owner hit a curb. i got this car for free so i'm just trying to get it going so i don't lose my job. first off i've never heard of a spindle. can you explain more please. and second i've never replaced a control arm. is that an easy job or no? and at first i thought it might be the steering knuckle is bent? is that possible?

tech2

Inspect the strut as the strut rod is most easily bent from hitting a curb.
if you can't see visual evidence of a bent component an alignment is the only way to diagnose for the damaged part.

With SAI, camber and Included angle measurements you can determine what is bent.

why was a new rack was put on?

yetiwarrior82

how do i figure out the SAI, camber and angle measurements? and it was put in because that tie rod was bent a little. so i have no doubt that he must have hit something like a curb or something. how much does it cost to fix something like this. i don't have the tools to take out the strut

tech2

you will need to get an alignment to obtain these measurements and determine what is bent.
$100 for alignment plus parts and labour for the bent component.