Possible rack and pinion damage after hitting a pothole?

JESSICA MERTENS

MEMBER
2011 HYUNDAI SONATA
2.4L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

Okay, so a couple months ago I hit a pothole that really messed my car up. My strut spring completely broke and dug into my tire (brand new one of course) like a 1/4" into the sidewall and I had to get it towed. And since then I have changed the tie rod, the ball joint, and now the CV axle. I got it aligned. Got new tires. And it still drives like crap. It randomly will veer off to the side if your driving straight. When I reverse and turn my wheel to the left there's a clicking but it only happens once in awhile which is what made me think it was the CV axle but it's not. Also when I had both tires in the front end jacked up the other night if you grab the tire and you rotate it forward and backward you can hear a big clunking noise that doesn't sound normal and if you look under the hood while somebody else does that with the tire you can almost see and hear it underneath the transmission it looks like it's moving parts right around there that shouldn't be moving that much. So I don't know what it could be. Also the other I turned my car off there was a weird low pitcher groan noise coming from my front right side for about 30 seconds then it quit.

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,885 POSTS

Hi,

That must have been a big pot hole. I have a few questions. When the coil was replaced, did you have the entire assembly replaced and a unit, or did you only replace the coil?

Next, the sound you hear when you spin the wheel, that could simply be play in the transmission. Is it loud enough for you to record and upload for me to hear? Also, was that sound present prior to replacing the axle/CV joint?

Is there anything that causes it to pull one way or the other? For example, does it happen when you apply the brakes?

One last thing. I don't think it's the rack and pinion. I suspect it is a component that took the pressure from the pothole. Have you checked control arm bushings, the stabilizer bar to make sure it isn't cracked, and the stabilizer links to make sure they didn't break? And did the underside of the car hit the road? (I don't know how deep the hole was)

I attached a pic below of the front suspension. I highlighted things to inspect. The control arm bushings should be checked with weight off the vehicle. Take a pry bar and see if there is excessive play in either of them (number 16 in the pic).

The stabilizer bar and links can be checked visually. You can use a pry bar on the bar if you suspect it is cracked.

Let me know what you find or if you have other questions. Also, let me know if the entire strut assembly was replaced. If it was only the coil, the noise could be coming from the strut plate at the top of the assembly. There is actually a bearing in there that may have been damaged.

Take care,

Joe

See pic below.

Image (Click to make bigger)