Drag Link/steering broken

[Chris 83JA]

After hitting a little bump, the lower steering arm thingy to my right wheel has broken off on the wheel side, and is now dragging along the ground, meaning my right wheel wont turn at all (left turns fine).

The cars sitting on a muddly slope at the moment, so i can't get under it to have a look or jack it up to see where exactly it's damaged, but i'll have access to a carport soon.

Is this something i can fix, or do i need to take it somewhere.. I really don't want to have to get it towed, and I need use of my car for uni and work.

I'll update with pictures as soon as I can get it jacked up.

Thanks,
Chris

edit: jacked up the car, the metal rod thingy going to the hub has snapped at the bolt which i think is used to adjust wheel alignment (i know crap-all about suspension/steering as you can probably tell). I need a new one. Anyone help me?

And how the hell do i get the ball joints out?

[Chris 83JA]

What's that part called, and is it the same as anything else (sigma etc..??)

Thanks again
Chris

[ProZac]

Its a tie-rod, i broke one being a dumbass once upon a time, the fellow i sold the car to said he used a sigma one to replce it with no problems. You will need to get a wheel alignment done tho.

[hcca]

Yeah.. tie rod. Pretty sure they're interchangeable with GJ onwards Sigma one. Should be able to get one from Repco. You'll need a tie-rod end tool to get the old one off though - doesn't cost much and will save you a world of trouble.

[Chris 83JA]

Thanks for the help all. I replaced the outer tie rod (found the part easily enough thanks to the suspension parts guide by Merlin on Camotecs site).

Taking the car to get the wheels aligned this afternoon.

What beats me is how it broke in the first place. The bump I hit was just like a minor pothole - nothing hit the ground. Looking at the break, half appears to be an old break, half a new break, so I figure someone in the past must have driven over a gutter or rock and fractured it, though not all the way through.

[rosco]

chris it would've been pick up on the rwc you got with the car when you bought it. Could it have been done by some of the dori dori up at tolangi?

[merlin]

Glad the file helped.
And thats why its not a good idea to try see how fast your staz goes untill the suspension/steering bits have been replaced.
And best bit, they are not expensive aftermarket parts, YAY!

[Chris 83JA]

Merlin: it helped a lot, the guy at the parts shop had never heard of starions, so I would've been lost without it.
And I strongly agree with the statement about not going fast.. If that had happened when I was moving at speed, there's no telling what could have happened. The car handled like a shopping trolley without anything holding the wheel in the right direction. If i tried to drive in a straight line, even at low speeds, the car could go anywhere.

rosco rosco rosco.... It would only have been a hairline fracture, and thus invisible from the outside, so easy to miss. And the only rock i've hit was on the left hand side, and there's a big ding in the floorpan to proove it, but that's all. P.s. no one likes a smartarse

[ProZac]

It took a majour slam into a gutter to break mine. twisted the chassis aswell, writing off the car. Note to self, dont be a fucking moron.

[rosco]

chris, it wouldn't nessesarily need to be hitting something, potholes and shit could have the same effect. PS I wasn't trying to be a smart arse :D

[Chris 83JA]

I too would have blamed it on khanacrossing and rallying, but ever since i've had the car, there's been a slight vibration when braking, which i put down to warped discs, but now this problems fixed, it's gone.
And the fracture was under the nut, so no mechanic would have seen it on the roadworthy.

My dad's got a friend who's a metallurgist who says he wants to analyse the break and try and work out how it happened