- ongoing alignment problems after repairs

Hi there,
My Citroen C3 1.6 2005 model took a huge knock to the right front wheel area (driver side) after being hit by another vehicle last year.

Since then, and after the repairs and panel beating was done, the CV joints were leaking and were replaced. The shock absorbers were supposedly also replaced on the front right side by the panel beaters.

Subsequent to this, a knock developed on the right side and a smaller one on the left, in the area of the engine.
The car was then serviced and the cam belt was replaced - I was told that the front shock absorbers were in urgent need of replacement. (At this stage, I had not realised that they were supposed to have been replaced previously).

So the shock absorbers were done again, with the right shock mounting just breaking off when removed (this was the bad knock on the right). The control arms were also replaced, and the left side knock disappeared.

But the car's wheel alignment could not be corrected and pulled strongly to the left. It went to another fitment centre for another inspection and found that the CV joints were leaking again and these were again repaired.
Brand new tyres have also been fitted in the last two months and the wheel alignment was perfect after that.
My questions:
If the shock absorbers were replaced after the accident, could this right shock mounting break off when these were replaced for the 2nd time?
Could the CV joints have been damaged when the shocks and the control arms were fitted?
Could the steering control have been damaged now after these new repairs, and is this why it is now pulling to the left?

I am at my wits end and just need some technical/mechanical advice please.
Many thanks,
Doreen Carrington
Cape Town

Hi Doreen

Doreen wrote:If the shock absorbers were replaced after the accident, could this right shock mounting break off when these were replaced for the 2nd time?

The shock absorber and the top mount are 2 separate parts. Good practice is to do the top mounts when you do the shock absorber struts and do both left and right at the same time. It is often overlooked and only the bare essentials are replaced.

Yes, top mount can fail at any time when it wears out.

Doreen wrote:Could the CV joints have been damaged when the shocks and the control arms were fitted?

Probably not, but I suppose it depends on how they failed and how they had previously been repaired. The CV joint is covered by a rubber gaiter and these can leak grease. Its this leaking that is often identified as a bad joint. After a while the leaking looses the grease and the actual joint starts to knock through a lack of grease. You have 2 joints per side (inner and outer).

Doreen wrote:Could the steering control have been damaged now after these new repairs, and is this why it is now pulling to the left?

The car is pulling to the left? It could be a problem with the power steering or a mechanical problem with the geometry setup. You should have it checked (again) and explain it pulls to the left and see what they say.

Does it only pull when braking, or pull left when you let go of the steering wheel while moving forward?

Thank you for all of the feedback.
The car pulls to the left as soon as I take my hand off the steering wheel, not when I brake.

Doreen wrote:Thank you for all of the feedback.
The car pulls to the left as soon as I take my hand off the steering wheel, not when I brake.

The electronic power steering can, amongst other things, can cause this. You need to take it a mechanic to get it looked at.

Thank you again for the feedback.
After having 4 new tyres put on and the wheel alignment done, the car's steering and alignment was perfect.
After the first repair (the new front shock absorbers), the alignment was done with the report stating it was correctly aligned, but it was then pulling to the left? Could the repair have damaged something else in the steering? (The steering knuckle was also replaced when the car was repaired after the accident).

Doreen wrote:After the first repair (the new front shock absorbers), the alignment was done with the report stating it was correctly aligned, but it was then pulling to the left? Could the repair have damaged something else in the steering? (The steering knuckle was also replaced when the car was repaired after the accident).

There could be a number of things that are causing this but I don't think you will get to the bottom of it without the car going up on a ramp and a mechanical inspection of the suspension and steering. They will also get a feel of the EPS (PAS) as it goes on the ramp.

If it was pulling to the left as you drove it off the repair forecourt, you should have not accepted it and taken it back to where it was parked.

Without the visual inspection it won't be possible to determine the cause and by driving the car away, you have accepted as repaired.

Hi Doreen

I've been reading through this topic from the top and looking at what's happened to your car and what repairs have been tried, I think you'd need to go back to the original repairer and find out exactly what they did.

It is possible that the body of the car may have been distorted as a result of the original collision. If this was the case, no amount of part replacement or wheel alignment will solve your problems properly.

If the repairers say that the alignment was checked and is OK, at least then you know you have a sound footing to work with. If not, I'd strongly suggest the body is checked. It's not such a big deal, all decent accident repairers have a jig for this purpose.

If the body is OK I'd be looking at the front strut and other suspension components including all bushes. Again this should have been done as part of the initial repair, however, repeated shock absorber and mount failure suggests otherwise.

You mentioned that the wheel alignment was checked and OK. Do you know if this was 2 wheel or 4 wheel alignment? It needs to be a check of all 4 wheels including camber. A simple 2 wheel check won't show up enough.

Thank you again for the feedback. Yes, it seems that all of correct alignment checks were done: Primary angles front and rear, caster, camber and toe. Secondary angles: SAI, included angle, max turn inside, toe curve change, setback, track width diff, wheel base diff, front and rear ride height.
The thing that I am not understanding is that before the shocks were replaced and this pulling started, it was absolutely perfect.
If the problem was there before, then I do not understand why it did not pull after the new tyres and wheel alignment were done 2 months ago.