Steering lock adjustment and wheel bearing check

[supra_rulz]

Alright, so this is the situation i'm in.....

went to PARC few weeks ago for drifting and towards the end of the day, i hit a mud hill/pile thing that bent the front end of my car, i called it quits since i had to then drive from portland to seattle. there was some rattling and wheel vibration above 65mph but nothing else seemed to be out of the normal. got home and tore the entire front end apart.

when i took the wheels off to go get them checked for balance, this is what i saw......


the entire inner lip is pretty much shaved off.... :I





and then i looked at the car side and specifically the lower control arm.







so my question to you guys is, i would like to know the short term band-aid for close events, and the long term fix so i dont have to worry about this. Also, i always hear something about checking the wheel bearing. how do you do that?
Thanks.

 

[IJ.]

Adjust the lockstops correctly...

 

[supra_rulz]

Adjust the lockstops correctly...

are you talking about this thing?

 

[supra_rulz]

As long as I have been here, i never read the "Dealing with the oldschool....". So, after that...

Lower control arm scrape:
1. My rims are 17x9 +38. No spacers and no mods (that i know of) on anything steering related. It doesn't rub in full lock when on jacks, which i'm assuming is because of the zero load. I will check later today, but i believe that it does not rub when on the ground with just the vehicle weight. The three options I'm aware of now, are :Spacers, New rims, and adjusting the lockstop.
a. Spacers. I've read a few things about spacers but it seems it's going to be my short-term fix but definitely not something i want to stick to for long term. Unless someone knows of any method that works well. I have read about the hub centric rings and I'm confused if that relates the spacers or just the rim.
b. New rims. Also an option, but i feel that i'm pretty screwed in this department because any rims that i like seem to have anywhere from +27 and up for the offset. I dont want to spend that kind of money only to find out that its going to do the same thing.
c.Lockstop. IJ posted the lockstop method which i posted a picture of what i think he's talking about. I've looked at this and see that be adjusting that screw, i would lose steering angle? Which would be bad for drifting in my case. (although i guess its better than losing a rim) So is that the only method?

aaaaaaaaaaand its time for work, so i'll post stuff about the wheel bearing after.
Thanks

 

[IJ.]

The Lockstops "should" have plastic caps on them, as you've found they serve a very important function in limiting the steering so the rim can never hit the arm, that rim now has a prebuilt failure point...

 

[supra_rulz]

lol hmmm...not so plastic-y now. i'll go and get something from homedepot to cover it. and booooo to the failure point. i'm guessing its not as bad as, if it were just scraped in one spot?

 

[IJ.]

Think of it as "Cut along dotted line"

Personally I wouldn't reuse that wheel.

 

[NashMan]

i would use that wheel just depends on how deep it is

if it's the grand canyon then I don't think I would

 

[supra_rulz]

Think of it as "Cut along dotted line"

Personally I wouldn't reuse that wheel.

I think for now, it will have to do until i can find replacements.

i would use that wheel just depends on how deep it is

if it's the grand canyon then I don't think I would

i'm assuming you're talking about how deep the scrape is right? One side is not bad, other is well.....less than ideal.


Now, i guess the next thing is, the wheel bearing check.
I am told that the easy way to do this is put the rim back on and wiggle it to see if there is any play. Does this sound right?

 

[NashMan]

that is correct sir

but when there bad most of the time you can just hear it

you mean both wheels have this scrape?

 

[destrux]

I have the exact same wheel size and even though they don't rub anywhere at full droop, they do rub at ride height.

I adjusted mine (steering stops) on a drive-on lift, but removing the shocks and checking it under compression too would be best. I still have some sort of loud creaking noise at full lock on one side, but I think it's because the plastic cap is missing on one of the steering stops. I never got to check to see if toyota sells new ones.

Mine also hit the sway bar, so watch for that too.

Yeah you will lose angle for drifting, so if that's super critical then lower (numerically) offset wheels would be the fix, but know that will cause brake steer and other unwanted things to happen to the steering feel.

That's why pro drift cars use custom arms (for clearance) and have the steering geometry corrected for the wheels they use.

 

[supra_rulz]

that is correct sir

but when there bad most of the time you can just hear it

you mean both wheels have this scrape?

What kind of sounds is it? On the drive back from portland, i did not hear anything that was different from how it usually sounds. only the vibration.
and yes, both wheels do. the other side is much worse.

I have the exact same wheel size and even though they don't rub anywhere at full droop, they do rub at ride height.

I adjusted mine (steering stops) on a drive-on lift, but removing the shocks and checking it under compression too would be best. I still have some sort of loud creaking noise at full lock on one side, but I think it's because the plastic cap is missing on one of the steering stops. I never got to check to see if toyota sells new ones.

Mine also hit the sway bar, so watch for that too.

Yeah you will lose angle for drifting, so if that's super critical then lower (numerically) offset wheels would be the fix, but know that will cause brake steer and other unwanted things to happen to the steering feel.

That's why pro drift cars use custom arms (for clearance) and have the steering geometry corrected for the wheels they use.

I will check the sway bar today then. I dont recall seeing any damage there though.
hmm....lame. so essentially, there is no long term fix for this except to get custom arms huh....time to talk to buddy at shop. haha

 

[Poodles]

i would use that wheel just depends on how deep it is

if it's the grand canyon then I don't think I would

Look at where it is, it's not on the reinforced lip where you would get curb rash...

 

[supra_rulz]

Look at where it is, it's not on the reinforced lip where you would get curb rash...

.....I'm confused...you would never get curb rash there since its on the inside? Or are you saying its bad BECAUSE its not on the reinforced part.

and destrux, glad you mentioned the sway bar because look what i found...



its not bad, but could be the beginning of annoying things to come.

and also, i put the tires back on and wiggled it up, down, side, doesn't seem to have any unusual movement that i can tell unless its something really subtle. Hopefully this means I am in the clear for the bearings.

 

[supra_rulz]

I also added another picture on the first post for the other rims inner side.

 

[Poodles]

Hellllllll no I wouldn't use those wheels.

 

[destrux]

I'd get new wheels for sure. If one breaks there you'll end up messing up a lot of shit, possibly wrecking the car too.

 

[te72]

Heh, drifting. Lot of fun until it starts breaking everything, isn't it?

OP, I wouldn't use that wheel either. Consider this, is it really worth it to you to stuff an entire car just because you cheaped out and re-used a wheel that would cost $50 to replace?

 

[supra_rulz]

hahaha yeah. But why else own a sports car if you're not going to use it right?

i'm being peer-pressured into making a smart choice -_- lol

 

[Poodles]

It's a GT car It's made to haul my ass around at high speeds in comfort for long distances :rofl: