Hello all, I didn't dare post this in the general Maintenance and Performance thread as I thought I'd get a more sympathetic response from my fellow Roomstonians.

I had a little skid about on the solid ice on the road in my street last night and ever since the steering is waay out... so badly that when the car is parked, and the wheels are pointing straight, the steering wheel is at ten to twelve... and here is the bad bit.. I drove to work with it like that this morning, it was like driving a slanty shanty.

The question is what do I go to the local tyre emporium/garage and ask for? Steering overhaul, wheel alignment, wheel balancing? I have no idea and I worry about being shanked, as I'm new to the garages in the area (though it was my home town for 20 years) and I don't know which place is good and which is bad, so some advice here would be greatly appreciated.

You have bent a key part of the steering and now your tracking is way out, without replacing the bent part your steering will allways be way out.

You have bent a key part of the steering and now your tracking is way out, without replacing the bent part your steering will allways be way out.

Thanks mannyo, so not a tyre place, I need to get myself to a garage? Safe to drive, got to get back from work y'see?

Did you hit anything ?? (confused - a skid shouldnt bend anything really)

Did you hit anything ?? (confused - a skid shouldnt bend anything really)

Weeellllll... I did go side-on into a parked car at about 5-10 mph, and the only thing that happened was that our wing mirrors got bent back. I didn't think it would have caused such trauma.

Yeah, you'd normally need to hit a kerb or pothole at speed to damage the suspension - do you have a Significant Other who has something they've yet to tell you?

Yeah, you'd normally need to hit a kerb or pothole at speed to damage the suspension - do you have a Significant Other who has something they've yet to tell you?

As for the wheel being out, i hit a kerb in my Octy last year, and bent the track rod, was a fairly hard knock, and my steering wheel was out just under a quarter turn.

So someone somewhere surely has had to hit something ?

Weeellllll... I did go side-on into a parked car at about 5-10 mph, and the only thing that happened was that our wing mirrors got bent back. I didn't think it would have caused such trauma.

Even at 5mph a wing mirror would not have stopped you - depending on which way your wheels were turned you may have banged wheels. Even so, not sure how you could bend a track rod so easily.

Get it checked as soon as possible though.