Small accident... big problems.
 

Year: 1995
Make: Ford
Model: Escort
Engine: ??
Transmission: Automatic

Heres what happened. I drove the car into a curb (the curb was about 6in high I'd say, it was just barely under the bumper) with the wheels turned all the way to the left at about 20 MPH. My foot was on the brake and the car came to a complete stop but it still hit the curb pretty hard.

The wheels got stuck and I couldnt turn the wheel untill I backed the car away from the curb.


Now there is two issues with the car:
1) The streeing is extremely tight and it is very difficult to turn the wheel. It still has a full range of motion, it just is very difficult to turn it.
(There is nothing visibly impeding the motion of the turning as far as I can tell.)

2) There is a kind of noise which leads me to believe a belt or something is rubbing or loose.

3) The battery light came on. This is probably unrelated? It came on right after the accident though.


The most important thing I want to know is weather it's safe to drive.

does the car have power steering?

something has happened to the power steering system. your power assist is no longer functioning, therefore you have to use only your own power to turn the wheel, which makes for difficult steering, especially at lower speed.

this is NOT a safe situation.

take it in and have it checked/repaired. if your garage/mechanic is VERY close, you might be able to drive there; if not, have it towed.

guess: the battery light is on and the power steering doesnt work = the serpentine belt is either broke/gone, or the impact dislogded the tensioner and therefore the belt is no longer tight enough to turn the alternator (thus the battery light being on) or the power steering pump (thus the hard steering).

as mentioned above, driving under these conditions is NOT a good idea.

20mph collision with the wheels turned all the way ... you're going to want to get an alignment done as well.

I would thoroughly agree with both posts above. You have a failure in your power steering system and it is probably traceable to a belt issue, said belt issue would also cause a poor charging situation and result in a battery light on. An alignment is also a foregone necessity as well.

Don't dirve it, if at all possible.

Heh one belt does all that?

Like I pointed out origionaly, I know I heard some squeaking like some belt was messed up or rubbing something, but this was the least of my worries at the time. Sounds promising though.

Is it possible to take a look at this on my own? Even if I can't fix it, can I determine if this thing is messed up without disassembling anything. Where would I look in the engine if so?


I'll take it in tomorrow and drive a diff vehicle till later.
Thanks guys.

If the noise you hear is a buzzing/grinding that gets worse when you turn the wheel, you fried the power steering pump.

You damaged your steering Rack & Pinion unit, It's really easy to damage a Rack & Pinion unit with a hard hit to the wheel. :eek:

http://www.magnumforceracing.com/ima.../powerrack.jpg

You can probably get one for about a hundred dollars at a wrecking yard.

No. The noise does not increase in volume or change pitch with wheel movement.

Hmm... heres hoping its just a belt... :)

If I broke the rack and pinion thingie would I still be able to turn the wheels and drive the car home? Cuz I did. It wasn't easy though. Luckily I was only a few miles from the house.

Furthermore... if I broke this, would that account for the battery light being on?

I was heading toward a broken / missing belt, the rack and pinion would not cause the battery light to come on. you may want to keep an eye on your temperature also.....good chance that the same belt also drives your water pump.

You guys were right.

Both the belt and the belt tensioner were broken.

The frame is also slightly bent around the wheelbase and they are going to have to cut out a small piece of metal that got bent into the way of the wheel path.

Hopefully they won't discover anything else wrong.

All together it looks like 180$ in terms of parts and labor. Course they origionaly told me 50$ just to change the belt and it's been going up from there. :rolleyes:

dont forget another $50 or so for an alignment. You really must get one. Quick, uneven tire wear (resulting in buying new tires), worse handling, and a decrease in mileage are likely to result until you do.

I say number 2 is your power steering belt has come off or is loose and not turning.....

And the battery light came probably because that enigne is set up with just one belt that would also run the Alternator if it isn't charging your battery may go dead and that is even more money in the long run. (if your battery keeps going dead)