Hit a kerb…hard.

J

Jags C20LET

Member
Audi A2 1.4 petrol

A combination of unfamiliar road and no street lighting resulted in me smacking my nsf wheel in to a kerb at about 45mph. Destroyed the tyre. The wheel looks like it somehow survived unscathed.
Emergency roadside tyre change, no balancing ...£165 for the cheapest dogpoo tyre and I'm away.


However... clutch now has a vibration at the top of the pedal at idle (ie clutch out) and there's a pronounced drone at 40mph plus (hoping it's the tyre pattern). Not sure if it’s in a particular gear or not.

Steers and brakes straight and no vibration through the steering wheel.

How screwed am I?

Have I shunted the driveshaft into the gearbox? Is this replacement gearbox territory?


Thanks!
 
Hi,
Sorry to hear about the accident.
My idea is to get the car's undercarriage visually inspected for component problems such as cracking in the console mounts or deformation of steel suspension parts. The front of the vehicle is cluttered with safety-critical components. The gearbox noise would be ranked lower down the list but still a priority.
Drive steady until the car has been given the all clear, avoid motorway speeds.

🙂
 
Jags C20LET said:
Audi A2 1.4 petrol

A combination of unfamiliar road and no street lighting resulted in me smacking my nsf wheel in to a kerb at about 45mph. Destroyed the tyre. The wheel looks like it somehow survived unscathed.
Emergency roadside tyre change, no balancing ...£165 for the cheapest dogpoo tyre and I'm away.


However... clutch now has a vibration at the top of the pedal at idle (ie clutch out) and there's a pronounced drone at 40mph plus (hoping it's the tyre pattern). Not sure if it’s in a particular gear or not.

Steers and brakes straight and no vibration through the steering wheel.

How screwed am I?

Have I shunted the driveshaft into the gearbox? Is this replacement gearbox territory?


Thanks!
Click to expand...
I would guarantee that the wheel is damaged and out of round further compiled by the new tyre that was fitted having not been balanced, which if it's on the front axle (as I suspect) is an absolute no no and would be enough to cause consequences even without any damage.
Get the car into a tyre garage, tell them what happened and get the wheel taken off and put on a balancer and look at the wheel whilst it's spinning, (inside and out) if you're lucky it might just be this but at 45mph you would expect a little more (get them to visually check) but these cars are resilient and built well (with original parts) only ruined by adding cheap far eastern replacements so🤞for you.
If the wheel isn't too bad get them to swap it onto the rear temporarily as you won't feel anywhere near as much on the rear axle.

Good luck 👍
 
A2Z said:
I would guarantee that the wheel is damaged and out of round further compiled by the new tyre that was fitted having not been balanced, which if it's on the front axle (as I suspect) is an absolute no no and would be enough to cause consequences even without any damage.
Get the car into a tyre garage, tell them what happened and get the wheel taken off and put on a balancer and look at the wheel whilst it's spinning, (inside and out) if you're lucky it might just be this but at 45mph you would expect a little more (get them to visually check) but these cars are resilient and built well (with original parts) only ruined by adding cheap far eastern replacements so🤞for you.
If the wheel isn't too bad get them to swap it onto the rear temporarily as you won't feel anywhere near as much on the rear axle.

Good luck 👍
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’ve been on the lookout for a wheel, unfortunately it’ll have to wait till tomorrow as I have to drive 120 very cautious miles home first.
 
Hi,
Would you share the route you are taking home?
I ask because there just maybe A2OC members on that route who could assist if a problem arises.

Are you a home mechanic? Or do you take the A2 to a trusted garage?

🙂

EDIT
Do you have breakdown cover? It would put my mind at rest if you have.
 
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I would definitely get the potentially bad wheel that is unbalanced off the front and on the rear before your journey if I were you and I also forgot to mention that wheel alignment will be required at a minimum if all is good after the carrying out the other checks mentioned 👍
 
rotifer II said:
Hi,
Would you share the route you are taking home?
I ask because there just maybe A2OC members on that route who could assist if a problem arises.

Are you a home mechanic? Or do you take the A2 to a trusted garage?

🙂

EDIT
Do you have breakdown cover? It would put my mind at rest if you have.
Click to expand...
Mostly m1 north to Yorkshire. I have breakdown cover, so it’s all good. I’ll try to swap wheels over if I can.

I’m competent enough to do most things, but where I am, I have no access to a jack and axle stands. Also, typically, it’s Sunday morning, so a lot of garages are shut

Thanks for the concern ❤️
 
I'm in Huddersfield West Yorkshire
Don't hesitate to ask for help, nothing much on today due to poor weather forecast.
Happy to lend a hand if you're stuck.
🙂

You can use bricks and an old rag as an axle stand and rear beam anti scratch protector. (If you are parked on level ground.
 
Personally speaking, "just" up the road being from Slough to North Yorkshire on the M1 is courting disaster. Miles and miles of "smart" motorway.

Let the train take the strain, and give Gary a ring at at B&F Autos in West Hounslow a ring to check the car over.

Best of luck.
 
simon martyn said:
Personally speaking, "just" up the road being from Slough to North Yorkshire on the M1 is courting disaster. Miles and miles of "smart" motorway.

Let the train take the strain, and give Gary a ring at at B&F Autos in West Hounslow a ring to check the car over.

Best of luck.
Click to expand...
I’m in Birmingham at the moment, and I’ve now moved to just outside Harrogate, but thank you.
 
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Hi,
I can field the M1 stretch north of Sheffield and south of Leeds if required.
🙂
You're breakdown cover will be a great help but if you're stuck for parts or tools give me a shout.
 
I would almost guarantee your wheel bearing is toast, easiest way is to get a second hand knuckle/hub as this could also be damaged. Hopefully the suspension arm and console will be OK.
Not sure why the clutch would feel different. Check the gearbox for any sign of oil leak, I bought one from skoda, drove great as super low miles but the casing was cracked and began leaking oil soon after been fitted, sellers pictures didn't show extent of crash damage.
 
Howey said:
I would almost guarantee your wheel bearing is toast, easiest way is to get a second hand knuckle/hub as this could also be damaged. Hopefully the suspension arm and console will be OK.
Not sure why the clutch would feel different. Check the gearbox for any sign of oil leak, I bought one from skoda, drove great as super low miles but the casing was cracked and began leaking oil soon after been fitted, sellers pictures didn't show extent of crash damage.
Click to expand...
I’ve had the wheels swapped and balanced….same. Clutch is not happy. Judders bad going from neutral to first, ok in the rest. I think that a gearbox mount may have expired. She drives just fine otherwise.

It may be time to take the old girl out for a trip behind the barn with a 12 bore.
 
Thanks for the info and very generous offers of help ❤️. I got home ok, but the clutch is certainly not a happy bunny. Weather permitting tomorrow, I shall get some axle stands under her as see what the bellend driving has done to it. I concur that the wheel bearing is goosed, a new one is only £25 and my BIL has the Gen2 bearing tool as he recently did the bearings on his 2002 golf. Weirdly it wasn’t hot at all, I was expecting it to be glowing in the dark.

As for the clutch, it’s either a mount, the dog bone or the bearing is so goosed it was binding the gearbox…..or worse…when I hit the kerb, the wheel stopped and shocked the drivetrain up to the clutch and damaged it/release bearing…..We shall see. The car dealership in town has (cue shocked intakes of breath all around) a Ford Focus Estate for reasonable money………
 
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Update.. just went for a little drive. There is a whining sound that appears when in neutral and you press the clutch and rev the engine. It doesn’t go away completely when the clutch pedal is up, but it’s there. Also very juddery going into gear, but fine when in gear and moving. Any ideas what that is?
 
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