Rack and Pinion damaged? 2007 Vibe 2WD

[LaiFong]

My 2007 2WD Vibe was smashed into from the front left and pushed backward an up onto the sidewalk about 8 feet while it was parked (no handbrake on). The front struts, sway bar, and tied rod ends were replaced and the body work done and paid for. The engine was not hurt and it has less than 100,000 miles. Then the mechanic realized something was wrong when he went to align it

Now the steering wheel sits at about 2pm instead of noon and the car pulls to the left. He said it could be an easier fix if the vibe has the type of rack an pinion that is adjustable, but some cars do not have adjustable ones and it might all just need to be replaced...doubling the repair cost so far. He doesn't know which.

Does anyone know which? Or if its bad for the car and any of its parts to keep driving it as is? It seems bad for my back at the very least. If its not much I'd like to get it fixed just for that reason. Thank you!

[SeattleJeremy]

Did insurance pay to fix the other damage, if so talk to the adjuster again and make them pay to fix the steering as well.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge about the steering can chime in on your technical question.

[andrewclaus]

Rather than the steering gear, there's probably damage to the control arms or frame. It sounds like there was enough energy in the crash to damage the larger members. An expert body shop can measure the frame.

[LaiFong]

Thank you Seattle Jeremy for the hope Unfortunately this is all out of pocket.

andrew claus, is the control arm or frame issue something they would have missed while checking out and replacing the sway bar, and tie rod ends? Or the body shop miss it when they did they replace the struts and did the body work?

Also yeh, still wondering if the vibes rack and opinion is the adjustable one.

[joatmon]

I don't know, never messed with it. I attached two PDFs from the 03 Matrix manual, they should apply to your 07 Vibe steering.

The first is one on alignment. Step 4d specifically says to make sure that the tie rods are the same length. Back in the day, one way to adjust steering wheel position was to lengthen one tie rod, shorten the other, but perhaps there is a reason why Toyota wants them to be the same length, so not sure about that.

The second is a long rack and pinion overhaul procedure. Step 24 says to put marks on the intermediate steering shaft when you take it off, and step 63 says to line the marks up when you put it back on. One might infer that it is therefore possible to put it on not in the same position, and therefore, it might be possible to put it on in a slightly different alignment to change the position of the steering wheel. But that's a lot of maybe's that I can't answer.

[andrewclaus]

Thank you Seattle Jeremy for the hope Unfortunately this is all out of pocket.

andrew claus, is the control arm or frame issue something they would have missed while checking out and replacing the sway bar, and tie rod ends? Or the body shop miss it when they did they replace the struts and did the body work?

Also yeh, still wondering if the vibes rack and opinion is the adjustable one.

An expert body shop would measure alignment issues on the body before starting work. Not all are expert. It's hard to imagine enough force to damage struts, tie rods and a sway bar without damaging the body or the control arms.

I haven't worked on a steering rack, other than tie rod ends. I've never heard of centering the wheel from the rack. That can be done at the wheel, but VSC would have to be reinitialized, if so equipped. An off-center wheel is a sign of significant front end damage. If the car couldn't be aligned with tie rod adjustment, something may be bent.

[jolt]

The car pulling to the one side is caused by the caster being off. This is most likely caused by the lower ball joint not being in the proper location in relationship to the other ball joint and will also cause the steering wheel to not be centered up. Caster is not adjustable in cars with struts. You have something bent on the front end.

When the front end alignment was done, what was the caster measurement on both sides of car? Was a four wheel alignment done or was the cheaper two wheel alignment done?

The car being hit hard enough to damage the strut and a spring steel sway bar is a hard hit. You could have a bent lower ball joints, bent lower control arms, and/or bent lower frame. All of which can cause the lower ball joint to not be in the proper position. All can be fixed by replacing or repairing the damaged part or parts. The ball joints and lower arms can be replaced. The frame can be bent back in place on a frame rack. That is not to say that the steering rack is not bad too. It is just that a steering rack is not going to cause the car to pull to one side. That is an alignment issue related with caster. I would be looking at taking the car to a different shop for a second opinion on the damage. It is very hard to find a good alignment shop with someone who is knowledgeable about front ends. Go to an independent owned alignment shop and not a chain store alignment shop.

[zbyers]

Yeah, I am agreeing with the others. I think more got bent than the shop thought. Good thing is, if it's an insurance claim, they will still cover the cost to repair it.