Front suspension noise and wobble

[KamiKaziDK]

Ok....so this all started friday while I was at work. My car got towed from my apt complex for the reg. being out of date, lots of bull****, they want nearly 300 to get it out, close their yard on the weekend, blah blah blah. I pick up my car today and pull out on the road, and it's making a loud clunking sound and my steering wheel is wobbling real bad, the faster I go, the louder and faster the clunk, and the faster and worse the wobble in my wheel gets. I'm 100% sure they ****ed something up when they towed it, but I have no idea. Now my car is parked in home depots parking lot cause I was afraid to drive it anymore. Anyone have any ideas what it could be??

 

[Chythar]

Sounds like there's damage to one or both of the wheels, at the very least. All I can suggest is to get the front of car up in the air and take a look underneath. Rotate each tire by hand and listen for the clunk. Wiggle each tire side-to-side, pull the top and bottom of each wheel.

I'm going to guess they messed up your steering rack by pulling on the tie rods. No way to really know until you get the front end up in the air.

You're probably out of luck trying to get repair costs out of the towing company, they can always claim it was that way when they towed the car. You might have better luck with the apartment complex, especially if they had you illegally towed. But it's likely going to turn into a court case either way.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[KamiKaziDK]

I'm probably going to end up taking this to one of the tv stations that have a consumer report thing. I'm going to pick up the car in a little bit, and if I have to take it to a shop to prove they towed it incorrectly then I'll do that. I just got it running like 2 weeks ago and was in the process of pulling the smog pump off because it's making an awful sound. Now I'm sure I'm looking a few hundred in suspension parts at least! Let you know what I find out if I get time to check it out tonight

 

[KamiKaziDK]

Got up under the car yesterday but didn't have time to jack it up. Nothing looks bent at all, and I couldn't see any rub marks from where it could have been hooked on, gonna try and find time tomorrow to get the front wheels off the ground and spin them