Crashed my D40, got i back wont drive straight

I hit it on the front right they fixed, the bar, wheel & suspension on the drivers side.

Could impact o tne drivers side suspension done damage to passenger wise suspension or wheel ?

I know it was fine as did a 5,000K trip and day before accident by co-incidence had a wheel balane and alignment and it drove beutiful.

Heasmans is saying it alwaysdrove crooked cause of the 2" lift & spacer not the accident.

I'd love any help ?

I need a wheel also to stop them arguiing about that, so anyone with an STX wheel - even two I'll take em.

When you say it wont drive straight do you mean it pulls one way or it crabs down the road.
Pulling could just mean an alignment or something needs replacing
Crabbing could be a twisted chassis.
Being an ST-X I would guess it hasnt got any camber adjustment so they might be saying that because of the lift you have bad posative camber and thats causing uneven tyre wear and bad handling.

wanderer said:

Heasmans is saying it alwaysdrove crooked cause of the 2" lift & spacer not the accident.

Click to expand...

so they know how it drove the day before your mishap, do you have a reciept for the alignment and can you get a stat dec from the ones who done the alignment ?

Like Aussie says some D40s don't have a camber adjustment and this could be problematic. But my 2008 D40 does have a camber adjustment so this seems to be a bit of hit and miss. If this is an insurance job I wouldn't be accepting the bullshit. I have a 2" lift utilising a Snake Racing spacer as part of the setup and mine certainly drives straight......no crabbing or pulling.

I think before we try to second-guess the problem, we need to very clearly know what is meant by "does not drive straight".

Could you mean "If I let go of the steering wheel the car always turns to the left/right" ? Which way?

Could you mean "The car goes in a straight line, but the steering wheel is turned 30 degrees to the right" ?

Could you mean "The car does not like sitting straight, there is an effort in keeping it straight, but it happily sits in a turn" ?

Let's get some very clear definition of what's wrong before we jump at answers. It might be a wheel alignment - D40s aren't easy to align - it could be a suspension support bend, a spring rate issue (did they replace both front springs or just one or none), it could be a single bad shocky, it could be a bent tie rod, the list goes on.

Knowing precisely what kind of problem will at least stop us from looking like gooses, and at best might help solve the problem!

Chances are the people who did your alignment will still have the figures on their system.Go back to them and request a copy of those figures and have them check what the measurements are now and if different ask the insurance company to explain it.
Being an alloy wheel I dont see how it can be an issue unless it is in fact damaged ( cracked bend or out of round) and if that is the case then the wheel should be replaced under insurance.
Just for your own peace of mind swap the wheels front to rear. If nothing changes then that should mean you can count out the wheels being an issue.

Ok. Put the front wheels on the back & heasmans send replace the woobly wheel. Which insurance wont fix. Then bring back.

When I let go of the steering wheel it pulls left harsh, and yes they are saying no more castor adjustment in it to fix it. Lucky though heasmans did the original alignment on it and it drove straight then, so Im telling them tough luck.

I do have the reciept and they guy at the tyre shop loved my ute as he has D40 so knows me & i prob could get a stad dec off him.

Thanks for the advice so far.

So your saying you have a damaged wheel and insurance wont fix it?
Seems a bit weird. Bend an alloy wheel and its pretty much stuffed.I would be asking why insurance is knocking back replacing that wheel.
If the truck is pulling left then its more than likely an alignment issue.
Try taking it to a different steering specialist and have them diagnose the issue.
Sounds to me like your insurance is trying to shaft you.

THE EFFECTS OF CASTER

Caster is the angle to which the steering pivot axis is tilted forward or rearward from vertical, as viewed from the side. If the pivot axis is tilted backward (that is, the top pivot is positioned farther rearward than the bottom pivot), then the caster is positive; if it's tilted forward, then the caster is negative.

Positive caster tends to straighten the wheel when the vehicle is traveling forward, and thus is used to enhance straight-line stability. The mechanism that causes this tendency is clearly illustrated by the castering front wheels of a shopping cart (above). The steering axis of a shopping cart wheel is set forward of where the wheel contacts the ground. As the cart is pushed forward, the steering axis pulls the wheel along, and since the wheel drags along the ground, it falls directly in line behind the steering axis. The force that causes the wheel to follow the steering axis is proportional to the distance between the steering axis and the wheel-to-ground contact patch-the greater the distance, the greater the force. This distance is referred to as "trail."

Caster is the truck centering itself as I read it so when you let go of the wheel the truck will try to drive straight again.
In your case it sounds like either a brake caliper pulling on the disk or the alignment is off and the truck is steering that way.
Check your tyre pressure too.

Ok insurer came through, I must they have been great all along, even with the suspension work and 33" tyres, they didnt give me any headaches.

So THUMBS UP TO CGU ! Ill be staying with you guys !

New wheel from them ordered. heasmans will have another go and try and get it to drive straight.

Keep us informed
I really wanna hear what excuses they come up with

Sat at Heasmans now since Monday, told me was fine come get it. I told them drive it home and you tell me. Rang them this arvo, after driving home they agree has issues but havnt had time to look at it....

Im sure they will do a good job if they get the time to go over it properly.