Hit some ice in my All-Trac and fishtailed sideways into a curb last night. Passenger side rear tire struck the curb almost parallel at slow speed, probably less than 10 mph. Scuffed the rim, but that's not what I'm worried about. The car seems to drive straight but the steering wheel is slightly misaligned now; Instead of 9 and 3 o'clock, it's more like 10 and 4 o'clock. Weird, since the front didn't hit anything. I couldn't see any noticeable damage, will take it to a shop tomorrow. Should I be looking for anything else before getting an alignment?
Double check the rear control arms and the rear suspension crossmember to see of anything got bent...
if your wheel was slightly bent when you hit the curb sideways (provided your front wheel hit it as well) then your one tie-rod is probably bent a bit would be my guess
Ok, everything is fine now Just got back from the shop. The passenger rear wheel was out by less than 1/2" inch, but nothing was damaged. A 4-wheel alignment was all that I needed and it came to $100 after tax. Thanks for the input guys, guess I'm just a worry-wart when it comes to my car, hehe.
We all are, better that than suspension failure! I've noticed a change in camber is enough to tilt the steering as you describe, the rear links are flimsy enough and most appear to be rusting badly
