Car question -- what the heck is this?

Figgy

I was changing my oil today and noticed something on my front left wheel that is.. no longer connected.

Here is a picture:



The pic on the left is when I push the piece back into place, and the pic on the right is how I found it. As you can see, there are supposed to be four little nubby things on the piece but they flaked right off when I touched them.

If it's related, I have recently been hearing a knocking sound from that wheel when turning left and especially when turning left over slight bumps. Googling led me to believe it is my CV joint, but I have yet to take it to my mechanic because of lack of funds.

I also slid into a guard rail the other day (oh boy!), hitting that same side. Since then, the car is extremely shaky and unstable feeling when going over 90km per hour. I am assuming that is just an alignment problem now because of the accident, but perhaps it is related to this broken piece.

I am hoping it is something I can buy and replace myself, and hoping even further that this will fix both of my problems... but I doubt that very much.

wmelon

That would be called a Sway bar end link. The CV joint would be underneath that rubber boot on the left of both pictures. It's something that is user serviceable, but it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. I would suspect your alignment is off as a loose sway bar end should not cause any major issues with your steering.

Metalbourne

I don't know what it is.

But it looks like something that gauges how far your wheel is turned left or right. For what reason, I don't know. Judging by just that, I don't think it will fix your problems.

However, you should tell us the year, make and model of your vehicle.

Dman

it looks like a part of your shock/suspension not a cv joint.

Metalbourne

Huh. a little research indicates that a broken sway bar end link will cause a knocking noise.

Ruckus

Sway bar links connect to the sway bar, which runs across between the wheel assemblies and tries to keep them on approximately the same plane. This is typically to prevent rolling of the frame, where it leans too far to one side either because of an uneven road surface, centrifugal force (the outward force when cornering), or even torque from the engine and/or driveshaft in rear-wheel drive vehicles.

There may be some knocking sound if the suspension allows the broken sections to collide with each other.

By far the most noticable symptom would most likely be a rolling or swaying type motion after crossing an uneven section or road or perhaps immediately after a diagnal rail crossing.

Typically the cost to repair it is about $40 per link (I recommend doing both at once) and a few hundred for labour and a front end alignment (usually you have to remove the wheels and possibly the brake assemblies to properly access the swaybar links).

[edit] Also disregard my signature, it's not applicable in this circumstance.

JebusUD

yeah, get that fixed or you will mess up the joints and other stuff in the suspension eventually. which would cost more and suck. It doesn't look all that hard to replace fortunately. Just a couple bolts. You might be able to do it yourself, or get someone mechanically inclined to do it.

Figgy

Ruckus wrote: »

Typically the cost to repair it is about $40 per link (I recommend doing both at once) and a few hundred for labour and a front end alignment (usually you have to remove the wheels and possibly the brake assemblies to properly access the swaybar links).

[edit] Also disregard my signature, it's not applicable in this circumstance.

I took that picture with the car jacked up from the front end. It looks fairly accessible while under the car, so would I be able to repair that myself?

I would rather replace both of the sway bars and then just take it somewhere for an alignment, if possible. I have no problem performing general mechanical work, and I have all of the standard tools I would likely need.

Are sway bar end links also sold on their own, or do you need to get the whole bar kit?

b0bd0d

I've replaced em on a few cars. It can be a pain in the ass, because when you try and turn the nut, the whole thing turns. I just use a vise grips to hold the bolt/ball joint and turn the nut. Penetrating oil is your friend, as always. If you got a torch, you can just cut em out. Or a nut splitter. Get the nut off and just bang it out with a hammer. Similar to changing tie-rod ends.

When you replace the parts, the nut for the new links is actually not a true circle internally. It's an elliptical shaped hole that deforms when you put it on the joint. I assume that this is to lock the nut on the threads. So, basically, don't think you're going to be able to easily take it apart if you make a mistake.

I believe they're sold individually. Since you're going to be under there, you could try and replace the sway bar bushings with something a little more stiffer. Those are the little pieces of rubber that hold the sway bar to the frame. You'll notice a difference in handling when you're done. If you want, spend the extra money and get the fancy sway bar links too.

I don't think it messes with your alignment. It's more of a handling part than a steering part. You'll notice the front end is going to seem more tied together when driving. I've broken a few on the front and took a turn so hard, it broke one in the back. I...I drive hard.

I don't know too much about CV joints, RWD FTW, but when you're under there, try and freely spin the wheel. See if you can hear the bearings making noise from the CV joint. Maybe you're lucky and it's just that lose piece bouncing around hitting things.

Good luck Fox.

SkyCaptain

Just take it to a mechanic and ask for a quote on how much it'll cost for them to do the work. Compare that to roughly how much time and money and educating yourself that you're going to spend on this project and see which ones worth it to you. Also, taking it to the mechanic will let you know exactly what's wrong with it.

Ruckus

Figgy wrote: »

Ruckus wrote: »

Typically the cost to repair it is about $40 per link (I recommend doing both at once) and a few hundred for labour and a front end alignment (usually you have to remove the wheels and possibly the brake assemblies to properly access the swaybar links).

[edit] Also disregard my signature, it's not applicable in this circumstance.

I took that picture with the car jacked up from the front end. It looks fairly accessible while under the car, so would I be able to repair that myself?

I would rather replace both of the sway bars and then just take it somewhere for an alignment, if possible. I have no problem performing general mechanical work, and I have all of the standard tools I would likely need.

Are sway bar end links also sold on their own, or do you need to get the whole bar kit?

It looks like all you need is the Links. Just go to a parts store and ask them the price for a pair of Sway Bar Links for the Front End of your (year) (make) (model).

You also often need to replace all the fasteners that came off the old one, so you'll like need at least new nuts for each end of the Links.

That's why I prefer to let my Mechanic do it, because keeps a supply of common nuts, bolts, and washers where as I have to make sure I've got everything ahead of time or I end up making one or more trips to the parts store in a borrowed vehicle.

SkyCaptain

The downside to not taking it to a mechanic, is that if you break it and can't fix it, you'll have to have it towed to the mechanic.