Is this a huge deal!

Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 HONDA ACCORD
  • 260,000 MILES
1999 honda accord, 4 cyl, 4 door, 5 speed.

My mom passed in april, I recently got her insurance money, around 3,300 and paid 2250 for a 99 honda accord in very good condition with about 260000km on it. Anyways, I got pulled over by the cops 5 days after buying it, and turns out my drivers side wheel is coped in. Mechanic didnt know much about body work, as this is what he said it was, but there are apparently brackets on each side holding the wheel, that they are 2 of 4 anchor points securing the wheel, these on my drivers side are completely gone, as he was flaking away the mud that he said is usually around these, they just flaked away as well. I guess thats why I felt bouncing sometimes, like I had left my trunk open or like my muffler or exhaust was hanging off. Anyways, im taking it to a guy they recommended, but they also said it could have cracked the subframe but that it felt nice and solid and they didnt have reason to beleive it had. Im scared! I just blew my moms insurance money on this car, I learned to drive stick, I can finally get my kids around to appointments and to do errands, I finally have a life. I know the guy who sold it to me wont give me anything towards it, and probably wont refund me if the problem is gigantic. But is this a big deal? What are these brackets called? Is it going to cost me a fortune?

thanks in advance, to any help, and also the mechanic said its something even the inspector missed, and that it is something that you dont know is going til its gone kinda thing. And it deff wasnt like that when I bought it. One bad pot hole or bump must have just let go.
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:01 PM

11 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
I am not sure what you are refering to and if my guess is correct, it should be the uper arms and suspension linkages. If you are able to upload any pictures, that would be great. I have a diagram here, see if you can identify any of them.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:10 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
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  • 7 POSTS
Sorry for the miscommunication, it is only on the rear drivers side, and they dropped the wheels down when they had it up on the hoister thing. There are two on each side, it could possibly be the lower control arm or the stabilizer bar? I saw it, was directly behind the rotor, there was a bar and on each side of it was a semi circle bracket with bolts holding it. Also I had it looked at before I bought it, there is no rust or rot into the floor or anything else, trunk is dry and rust free, the car looked great, it was inspected for 2 years as of the end of july just passed, he said it was something you wouldnt notice until there was a problem because it was so compacted with mud. They literally flaked away as he was remvoing the mud.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:22 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Anything here?
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:24 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
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  • 7 POSTS
Just had a look at rear suspension for the vehicle and the closet thing I can think of that it might be is the knuckle brackets, are there two on each side of the rear wheels?
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:26 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
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They also said whoever repaired it would have to match the brackets perfect to the otherside or id never get a perfect wheel alighnment and have to keep buying tires for the rear drivers side.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:30 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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There are many control arms with bushes etc and they directly affect alignment. A good alignment shop should be able to tell you what is out of specs and you can go on from there. It is not necessary that everything must be perfect as there is a certain tolerance for each component.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:36 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
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  • 7 POSTS
Yea, as I looked it looks similar to a control arm. Should everything be okay if I get this replaced? And is it expensive?
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:42 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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If the bushes are worn or the rods are bent, you would need to repair or have them replaced. Try the junkyard, you should be able to get them at a very low cost.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:44 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
  • MEMBER
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I believe its something that holds the control arm to the frame perhaps. Heres to hoping its an easy fix.
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 1:51 PM
Tiny
ASHLEYNADINEREID
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Here's a link to the photos of the bad side and good side. http://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=1C1D36CF83F819B!247&authkey=!ANILcDqSMoW_U6o
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 AT 2:35 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Those are tortion bars ab=nd base at suspension subframe. The torsion bars are not expensive but if the subframe needs to be replaced, it would be more expensive. There seem to be a lot of rust so you need to check for corrosions to the subframe.

As I mentioned earlier, the junk yard should be the plce to visit.
If it is necessary to replace the subframe and complete links, you can get them at an affordable price.
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Thursday, August 16th, 2012 AT 8:11 AM

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