2001 Chevrolet Cavalier 01 alignment/suspension

JKING91

MEMBER
2001 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
190,000 MILES

I have an 01 cavalier. I had an accident when we got some snow where I live and slid into and over a merger concrete island at approximately 20 mph. This damaged the car significantly. I had a family friend repair the axle and any other damage. He repaired the axle, but said that the subframe is bent, and he lacks the equipment to bend it back. This left the tire on the front passenger side leaning inward at a very noticeable angle. The car runs fine, and will drive, but has worn through the portion of the tire making contact with the ground very quickly. My question is how much repair would be on average for the subframe, and if it is possible that it may be a control arm problem or something similar, because only that tire is affected, the other is fine. The axle damage was also located on that side only, and was inexpensive to fix. (Compared to other things that could have broken) Any help is appreciated!

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

This should be inspected at a tire and alignment shop because we can't see it over a computer. By far the most likely thing to get bent is the strut, and that's an easy repair. Also, if the car was aligned previously, someone likely ovaled out one of the strut's mounting holes to make the "camber" adjustable, (something GM didn't care enough to do at the factory). Replacement struts come with that hole elongated already. In either case, a hard hit can cause that adjustment to slip and make the wheel lean. All that's needed to correct that is the alignment.