tie rod or whole steering rack?

so like an a$$hole, i was drifting around a parking lot with some buddies and didnt see a curb under some snow...smashed my front passenger rim and broke off a good portion. Had to get new wheels...

Now when i drive evvery now and again, coming from that front passenger side, is a clunking hum...would it just be a tie rod that id have to replace? or a whole steering rack?

is it a constant hum, or a periodic clunk? you could have damaged any number of things. ball joint, tire rod, wheel bearing, strut, strut top, bent control arm, ect....

 

if we are to diag your concern with out hearing it, you need to be very specific as to where and when you here it and what it sounds like, and if you can reproduce the noise on command by driving a certian way.

I suffered a similar fate yet the rain just let me make out with the a curb. I hit the wheel and luckly just bent the control arm and bent the tie rods.

 

From what it sounds like is that you have something going on with your hub. I would lift up your car and check for anything loose, move the wheel from left to right if there is play you might have a bent tie rod. Look at the ball joint and compare the driver and passenger sides.

 

If you hear that noise all the time when driving in a straight line its coming from a moving part such as a axle, hub, bearing, if its making that noise when turning, it might be the tierod but still all the other things i listed.

yeah its very periodic....i can reproduce the sound mostly only when changing lanes on the highway from right to left lane, but not if i take a hard left turn. so it seems to only make a noise at higher speeds with minimal turning instead of hard turns. It doesnt make the sound when im driving in town for the most part.

 

Yeah i havnt thrown it on a lift yet to check it out. i could prob troubleshoot it alot better after that.

Definitely get the car up in the air and check to see how much damage was done to the undercarriage before doing anything else like buying parts and whatnot, but it sounds to me like something happened with the hub. Keep us posted on what you find.

For god sakes! You impacted something hard enough to destroy a wheel and did not get it aligned? First off, when you take it to an alignment shop (I work at one), they can only perform the alignment if the suspension is sound. If something is worn, bent, broken ect. that requires replacment, they can not do the job and won't charge you (full price at least). Then the service writer (my job) will give you a detailed explanation of what component(s) require attention, give you a to-the-penny estimate of what it would cost to fix. Sears just eliminated their $15 charge for alignment check. It's now free. Do it/or don't (I sell lot's of tires too)

The anti-Ken Block.

The Ken Blockhead.

 

Fixed! At least OP admits it - thats a LOT more than many people on here do. x100 for get the car up and take a good look at the two sides. In fact - take some pics and post them HERE so you can get a second opinion before dumping a bunch of $.