Front A-arm rebuild / Maybe the frame is bent?

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Waldo

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I'm in need of some advise and help in the beginning of the season my steering rack broke free and it caused me to loose control of my buggy and as luck would have it I hit a witches eye and I broke one of my lower a-arms ever since then I can't seem to get the steering dialed in making me believe that I might of bent the frame but I just don't know how to go about checking to see if I did or not. The shop that I took it to get fixed can't seem to get it right. They told me that if I brake them they would replace them for free so I broke three sets this season. I don't think its my driving style cause the originals I've had for 4 seasons and never had a problem so if you have any suggestion I would greatly appreciate it 

 
Pictures?

Pull at a tape from a trailing arm pivot bolt to what would be the lower front arm joint at spindle. Compare each side.

 
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Waldo said:
I'm in need of some advise and help in the beginning of the season my steering rack broke free and it caused me to loose control of my buggy and as luck would have it I hit a witches eye and I broke one of my lower a-arms ever since then I can't seem to get the steering dialed in making me believe that I might of bent the frame but I just don't know how to go about checking to see if I did or not. The shop that I took it to get fixed can't seem to get it right. They told me that if I brake them they would replace them for free so I broke three sets this season. I don't think its my driving style cause the originals I've had for 4 seasons and never had a problem so if you have any suggestion I would greatly appreciate it 
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Broke the arm 3 different times in one season?

 
The first one I was built using only tubing I had asked them to put plates on them but he insured me that they would hold up and if not he would replace them free of charge which he has with no complaints and the next 2 sets didn’t break completely I just bent them he tried boxing the tubing 

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Do you have a picture of the original arm?

 
Do you have to force the arm on the car after the repair? They should slide right on, you shouldn't have to force them into place. I was told if you are forcing them on the car, they are already under tension and will bend or break easier.

 
Get you plum bob out and start measuring. I dont think frame will cause aRms to break. 
 

we are gonna need more and better pics for gd.com csi, but your shock angle seems really steep, you need to pull springs and cycle bump to strap and see if you have a bind. it may have more to do with your shocks than the arms.

 
Agree on cycling. Should move without springs by hand. If it fights you more than just the shock valving (should move top to bottom with only resistance to moving, never stopping), you’re breaking things because it’s binding.  My guess is a heim joint isn’t lined up and binding. 

You’ll need to cycle the steering as well throughout travel. 

 
I agree with everyone. All you are doing by going with bigger arms, is hiding the problem. There are geometry issues at here. I can't tell what they are by the pictures but cycling the suspension should be your first check item. Who built the car??

 
JM PRO said:
Do you have a picture of the original arm?
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Sausage450r said:
Get you plum bob out and start measuring. I dont think frame will cause aRms to break. 
 

we are gonna need more and better pics for gd.com csi, but your shock angle seems really steep, you need to pull springs and cycle bump to strap and see if you have a bind. it may have more to do with your shocks than the arms.
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So I pulled both sets of shocks of the front and cycled the arms and I didn't feel any tension or binding, but I did notice that the caster would move forward about 5" and it would also push the tire away from the car causing it to get wider in the front by 4-1/2" and as it traveled up the tire would toe out as well. Also for some unknown reason the bolt on the bottom of the caster was working itself to be cut in half. I don't know if the bottom and the top a arms are supposed to be the same size cause there not IMG_1162.png 

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Theres all sorts of effed up going on. Get that car to a reputable shop and have it gone through. Its still really hard to imagine with all these zoomed in photos. That bolt could be from being loose, too small dia for mount tabs, etc. upper/lower not same length is not anything substantial, but left and right being 3” different is odd. Are there any heim spacers in that spindle? Have you cycled at full lock left/right (steering).  Looks like spindle is binding on lower arm from the damage in last pic

 
Thanks for the info I live in riverside anyone know of a good shop that could help me out also if anyone has a Sandwinder and could give me some measurements of there a arms I would greatly appreciate it 

 
Waldo said:
So I pulled both sets of shocks of the front and cycled the arms and I didn't feel any tension or binding, but I did notice that the caster would move forward about 5" and it would also push the tire away from the car causing it to get wider in the front by 4-1/2" and as it traveled up the tire would toe out as well. Also for some unknown reason the bolt on the bottom of the caster was working itself to be cut in half. I don't know if the bottom and the top a arms are supposed to be the same size cause there not View attachment 66663 

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Arm lengths is a head scratcher for sure.

 
This is my attempt to help you as I've needed help in here before. People in here are more than willing to help you sort this out, but without the right information from you it's nearly impossible. 

Start with this.... 

Take several pictures of the front end of the car. Try and get a dead center front view only showing entire front end center of car out to spindles/wheels. Next would be from above of the front end, as centered as possible as well. Turn the wheels one way, another pic etc etc... but with entire views. Not your garage, not your close up tube with writing on it etc. A pic of the entire car for reference would also help.

Also, take video and upload it to youtube, of the cycling on the good side and then the bad side regardless of bent tube. We're trying to see the difference. 

How wide is the car itself? What size shock, I assume 10"... have you laid a center line down the entire frame and measured out to wheels? Did you know that the position of the rack, or length of the tie rods can change your cycling drastically? Even the wrong spindles or rack spreader thingy. Let's check it out man! I assure you, the members in here will set you straight. 

This is if you aren't afraid of tearing it up and fixing it yourself or at least want to know what's wrong. 

I found some old plans of a car that's A-Arm and yes upper and lower arms are different lengths but left and right should be the same if everything is centered. I assume because they work some camber in but spindles also play a part. Lots of geometry going on and you're car is off. Between Riverside and San Diego, there are a chit ton of shops that will set it straight no doubt. So at least you are in the right area. 

Let's see the car, front end, cycle video when you get a chance! 

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I have a sand winder 5 seat car.  Let me know what measurements you need and I can go out and measure it. I put new spindles on the front a few years ago but still used the original arms and geometry

 
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