I was leaving work in a heavy rain storm and loss traction on a right turn, and I slid into a planter that was in the middle of the parking lot. The driver's side rear wheel was the only thing that hit the curb. The curb was not very tall, so thankfully the rim did not impact the curb, but the tire did, and I instantly got a flat tire. I put the spare on, did a few accelerating/braking/turning tests in the parking lot, then drove home.

Would anything be bent on the vehicle? Would the bent parts (if any) require immediate replacement? Will the tire be able to be reseated onto the rim, or will I need to buy a new tire?

I know I did a stupid, so please keep those comments to yourself. Thank you.

 

Get the tire inspected at a tire shop that has the ability to do an alignment. There is a chance you bent a control arm, or some other steering part, but a laser alignment will be the best tool to determine if anything got buggered up.

 

when you have the tire mounted and balanced that will tell you how the rim held up, most likely the rim would take the brunt, but if the tire is the only thing that took the hit I think it unlikely that anything else was damaged, if the wheel was bent then I would look at the wheel studs, check your rear axle seals and see if they are leaking. A four wheel or thrust angle alignment might show any issues...

 

Welcome to the forum.

I doubt you bent anything since you didn't hit the wheel. The tire took the brunt on the impact and the bead seal broke, deflating the tire. Definitely get the tire checked. If it's been awhile since your last alignment, I'd get it checked.

 

you hit the back... leaf springs...no adjustments anyway... if it drives in a strait line... your fine... don't waste the $80.00... that rear end is way stronger than a car...

wait, what year tahoe? GMT900 or older?

 

Guess I didn't read closely. I just assumed that sliding into a curb meant a front wheel impact. With it being the rear, you would really have to hit hard to do any damage there.

Get your tire mounted and balanced and you should be good.

 

Alright. I will get the tire and rim inspected tomorrow/today.

It is a 2000 5.3L V8 Tahoe LS (the newer 2000 body style). I think it would be a GMT800.

The steering wheel needs to be turned slightly left (ccw) to keep straight, but to my knowledge, that could be due to two things:

1) Slightly smaller spare wheel
2) Misaligned wheels

I had a shop change the oil in it a couple weeks ago, and they aligned the wheels for me.

 

you have leaf springs in the back, it would take a hell of a WHACK to knock those out.

Once you have all 4 wheels back to normal, if it doesn't drive strait look into it further... else it's a truck and designed to take some curbs / rocks...

 

Did the steering wheel require CCW to go straight after the alignment or after the curb incident?

 

After the curb incident.

I was not able to get the wheel checked out today, but I will try to take care of that tomorrow (12-24-10).

I visually inspected the rim and found no cracks or curb rash, but I did find a tiny flat spot (< 1" long) on the lip of the rim where it met the ground after the tire became unseated. It did not seem to be severe enough to prevent the tire bead from being seated.

I will post results tomorrow when I return from the shop. Thanks for all of the help so far guys. I really appreciate it.