A couple days ago I was driving my evo ix through a parking lot and didn't see a curb because it was covered in snow. I turned the wheel and hit the brakes but I still hit it going probably 5-10mph. I took it to the tire shop, the guy did an alignment and re-balanced the wheels. He said the wheel that I hit the curb with (front passenger) is a little bent. He said the toe is perfect and the camber and caster are very close and should be fine. I forgot to ask for the alignment sheet, I'll try and pick it up this afternoon.

So this is what's happening:
Steering wheel vibrates a little over 60mph, although it was much worse pre-alignment/balance
When i'm going 40mph+ and turn, especially to the left, I hear a sort of grinding noise from the drivetrain. It sounds and feels like I'm driving on rough pavement. It's not a clunk but a mhmhmhmhhmhmh, it doens't sound like a wheel bearing either. The ironic part is that the noise is coming primarily from the drivers side, sort of right under where the pedals are.

I'm going to throw the spare on and see if it fixes anything, that way I'll know if it's just the rim being bent. I'm just afraid it could be something like the transfer case, but I have no idea what happens when they go bad.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys.

 

my rim is bent and cracked a little too. and the insurance is taking forever to send me my new rim so i haveno choice but to drive on it. Mine vibrates too but I dont hear any noises..

 

could be axle. but idk i could tell you if i drove it.

 

Are you suggesting the axle shaft is bent or the CV joint is blown? I was kind of thinking this too. Would it make any sense for the drivers side axle to be messed up when i hit the curb with only the passengers side? If I can answer any questions to help you determine if you think thats it, please ask. Thanks.

 

if your going to drive with a bent wheel i suggest moving to wheel to the back. that should minimize the vibration until you get a new wheel or fix it.

 

Thanks that's a good idea.
Hopefully it'll only be a couple days. Unfortunately the car is my DD right now, but I'll try and minimize the driving until I get a new wheel or get this one fixed.

 

this is what I had to do the other day. got forced off a the side of a road buy some dumb soccer mom in her minivan.

as far as the drivers side axel being damaged from a passanger side impact, could always be trasfer of force through the drivetrain laterally.

in other words, it could happen. if moving the wheel to the back doesnt help go see a mechanic/dealership asap. best of luck

 

the rim probably took the brunt of the damage; I would replace the wheel bearings, those are probably toast from the wheel being damaged; then do a visual inspection of CV/axle to see if it's all in line. . .driving with a bent wheel will cause vibrations, so expect that. . .

 

i would think it is just the suspention tweaked a lilttle.. or something with ur rims.. i have yet to see a bent axle.. but there is something new evey day.. so who knows

 

Now that I've driven it for a little while, I've learned this:
When turning to the left only, when above 35mph I hear and lightly feel the left front wheel go rhmmm rhmmm rhmmm. What I don't understand is that it only goes rhmmm maybe once every 5 revolutions of the wheel. not like rhmrhmrhm.
Is it possible this could be the wheel bearing?

 

yes its your wheelbearing and hub assembly. when you hit a curb your going to ruin it. Even if its slightly damaged to the point that visually it looks fine it will still need replaced.


your axle or whatever is not gonna get bent or anything at 5mph...

 

Thanks for your reply, that's what I wanted to hear. Like I said, to me it sounds like the noise is coming from the drivers side, but I hit on the passengers side, so I think I'll start by doing the drivers side and see what happens.
At autozone you can buy the hub/bearing assembly for $200. Should I get that or try and track down just the bearing? I don't really understand how the hub can be damaged unless it got bent.

 

Well it turns out you can buy the hub/bearing assembly from the Mitsubishi dealer for $160. I'll order one this afternoon. I'm still unsure if it'll fix it though. I hit the curb with the passenger's side wheel, but the noise is coming from the drivers side when I turn left. I guess it could be that lateral transfer of force through the driveline.

Unless anyone has any ideas, I'll just order the oem hub.

 

Hey!

the same damn thing happened to me!!! i slid my car into the curb while turning to the left in the snow....i took it to the alignment shop but i still heard the hmmhmhmmh sound you were describing...it turned out to be the wheel bearing...even if at 5-10mph, the impact can destroy your wheel bearing...so just take it to a mitsubishi dealership and tell them to look for the wheel bearing...

marcus

 

your correct,,