Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Rear driver's side wheel ran off the hub. The wheel came off the hub almost completely, wedging itself at an angle in such a way that the wheel was supporting the weight of the vehicle. The car now sits about a half inch lower on the rear passenger side and the drive'rs side rear cannot be aligned to spec.

It's evident that the wheel is significantly cambered, negatively (towards the vehicle), than he driver's side.

Is it possible that the wheel hub was bent upward or distorted the knuckle assembly in the process of the wheel walking off the hub?

I've taken it to a local mechanic who installed a 1/4 inch shim/steel plate to the strut tower thinking that would even out the ride height difference...however no luck.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am inclined to purchase a new knuckle assembly, hub and wheel bearings to troubleshoot the issue but would prefer not to given the cost and huge PIA of redoing a wheel bearing.

Thanks in advance. Chris

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Does the wheel (tire) touch the strut? If not, then the knuckle is probably ok.

Have you checked the drive shaft nut - it has not come loose?

If you did not make the comment about the shim I'd say the top hat has collapsed because of rust. Top hat is the component which supports the spring and shock rod... and attaches the top of the strut to the vehicle body. You have to disassemble some of the interior to get access to the nuts.

Good luck,

T

PS a photo tells more than... :)

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

You're absolutely right, I'll work on getting pics to post later tonight. The strut and top hat are brand new so no issue with rust. I have not checked the axle nut.

The tire/wheel do not touch the strut from what I can tell. Hard to tell when the vehicle is not jacked up. I am using dayle's motorsport drop springs all around.

Stay tuned.

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

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Unfortunately I can't attach the actual photo as opposed to a link

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

The front driver's side angle pic and passenger/driver's side rear II's pics are probably the best examples of the height difference.

The front driver's side angle gives a great pick of the significant negative camber as well.

Again the driver's side is so out of wack that it can't be aligned properly and ride height is 1/2 an inch lower than the passenger side.

Additional note is that the driver's side rear was so out of alignment that the inner half of the tread was almost gone after only a few thousand miles on practically brand new tires. The shop I took it to bored out the strut bolt holes to get more play and force it into alignment. Clearly a patch to the symptom as if that guy ever goes out of business I'll never get it aligned again!

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

You said that you noticed all this after the rear wheel came off, correct?

Are you sure that it was not like this before that and you just did not notice?

The rear struts are handed.... what if you got two right side shocks? Could that be the cause for the misalignment?

Did any of the control arms bend when the wheel came off? I am having a hard time thinking of what could cause this.... especially if the tire does not rub to the strut....

Anyone else?

/T

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Yes, all after the "accident". I am so meticulous I would have definitely noticed this issue beforehand. Also worth noting is that I do notice at highway speeds the rear will wobble or seem to fishtail at random times. On a highway going about 60 - 70 miles an hour, no turns, straight shot the car just kinda wobbled on the rear drivers side. Hard to explain, but think like when you're walking and your knee just gives out? That kind of feeling.

Is it even possible to install a right side strut on the left side? I would have noticed a difference no? at the very least the brake line brackets would have looked out of place no?

There doesn't appear to be any damage to the trailing links or lateral links. I had Old Tom look at this issue about a year ago and we were unable to come up with a cause. Also brought it to a subaru dealership and after they figured out what it was, they too couldn't figure out the problem (given their lack of knowledge with the car, i didn't give much weight to their inspection).

Leading up to this I replaced EVERYTHING in the rear suspension...all new bushings, powdercoated the rear sway bar, lateral links and hub assembly, new wheel bearings, struts, springs and strut mounts. Really anything could be the culprit however the passenger side is fine, so that leads me to think that the cause has to be isolated to the wheel coming off.

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Oh,

This is all guess work.... but the clearance between tire and fender seems to be quite large on the drivers side.... much larger than mine - and your passenger side too.... if the clearances between the tire and the strut are app the same on both sides then the upper part of the strut must be way too far on the inside - yes?

Have you checked under the shock boot that the rod/shaft is not bent? Maybe even broken at the top hat (threaded part sheared off). Should be evident when you lift the car up...

Could the top hat have broken somehow? The three bolts sheared off? Vulcanizing broken?

My apologies if all this sounds too simple - I know you must have checked everything several times.

/T

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Thanks Tapani, great suggestions. I've taken both struts out and compared side by side, and there does not appear to be any defect visually speaking. There may be a defect that I am not seeing once the strut is under load though.

When applying downward pressure to the vehicle (pushing down on the trunk lid) each strut seems to be going through it's natural motion...no sound of weird clunks or squishes or any indication that either strut is blown.

I really am at a loss and am thinking that I may have to take it to a frame shop or start replacing suspension parts one by one trying to troubleshoot this.

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Ok,

Did you remove the spring to check the shaft and travel?

Check the LH/RH part # issue?

Check the tire to strut clearance LH/RH?

Maybe the welded-on part which attaches the knuckle to the strut was distorted when the wheel came off? Take photos both sides.

One idea is to measure the angle of the strut tube when the car is on its wheels and when off the wheels. Are they the same LH/RH?

Tapani

Re: Bent Hub and/or Knuckle Assembly
 

Will do, I'll report back results later this week.