Toyota GLi 2007 - Safe to Drive?

I would suspect a suspension problem before a gearbox problem, wobbles are typically caused by misalignment. If the gearbox had problems you would be hearing a nasty noise. Have them check the alignment first.

Thanks. we have places here specially at tyre selling shops where they do alignment with the computer. You mean take it there first?

I agree with Dances w' Trees but it could also be the old 'two faults with similar symptoms' thing, are you sure the spare that you put on is ok? Try to check it out with a different wheel on there.
That gearbox thing sounds like hogwash to me...a gear box is either knackered or it isn't...I don't see that it can be lurking in the bushes waiting to jump out on you...and how is it creating the wobble ? (unless the drive shaft was visibly wobbling).
Other possibles.
Bent drive shaft, damaged wheel bearing, damaged suspension ball joint, ...maybe damaged shock?
You should tell the Mrs that you swerved to avoid a poor little puddy tat / cute doggie (or whatever her favourite cuddly critter is).
Failing that, you swerved to avoid running over a Gucci handbag .
Good luck.

Del

are you sure the spare that you put on is ok? The spare was the same wheel and never used till now.

You should tell the Mrs that you swerved to avoid a poor little puddy tat / cute doggie (or whatever her favourite cuddly critter is). Wish i could. She was sitting beside me when it happened

thanks buddy.

Gearbox? It sounds very strange. I would check if the spare wheel is balanced and then I would have the suspension checked.

thanks. i will first get this done.

I wonder if "Gearbox" was just the wrong word used and "Steering box" was meant by the mechanic? This could be damaged, but will not usually cause wobble in my experience....nasty noises and nasty feeling in the steering wheel. But before you get the steering box checked, read the following:-

Is the steering wheel misaligned from before the accident? Important to know.....

By the way, the spare wheel may never have been balanced, have it balanced as a first job. Also a cheap job!

Steering and suspension alignment needs to be checked as well......also a cheap job as long as nothing is actually bent or broken, otherwise serious tyre wear may result...

This sounds like a suspension problem to me. Here in the North East of the United States, we have potholes (holes in the pavement caused by the rapid freezing and thawing of water in and under the pavement, for those of you that are not familiar with this term) that we deal with during the winter and spring months. I now drive a 5-speed Honda Civic that I have had to replace suspension components due to these potholes. This had nothing to do with the transmission. A large impact like hitting a deep pothole or a curb in your case will throw the alignment out, therefore at a certain speed you will feel a wobble/ vibration. You should take your car to a reputable mechanic that specializes in suspension work and have them look at it. As of right now this will not affect your transmission, but will affect other drive train components. So, for safety sake and limiting the amount of money that you might have to spend, take it to a suspension specialist and get it repaired as soon as possible.

This information is entirely based upon my experiences and is my opinion. Someone who is a little more up to date on automotive technology might have a different view.

No don't bring your car to that repair shop. Bring it to me. I am a specialist in selling you things that other people scarred you into thinking you needed. I am better than every one else. Please bring lots of cash money. There will may be lots of other things that I can make you believe are needed once I have taken your car from you, and dismantled it. The longer you are without your transportation, the more desperate you will be. (Guess what kids, we're going to Disney World)

Why don't you believe me? I had a very stern serious face on when I said it.

You need a tire, and possibly a wheel correct? Put a good wheel and tire on first. Then see what it feels like. If you don't want to do that, put a wheel-tier from the diagonally opposite corner on that corner of the car. Now how does it feel?

Does the steering wheel still point straight ahead when driving in a straight line? If not, something has been moved by the collision. ( Yes, it is a collision with a stationary object. Check your insurance options ) The damage may require an alignment, or a part replacement followed by an alignment. The alignment will cause wear problems. The wear problems may cause tire balance problems. BUT, not right away.

Step back and think. You are too smart to believe all of that. Use your common sense.

Thanks Ken. Will do so.

Hey back off. I'm working this tranny job.

Good answer.

I can't resist the urge to get my hands greasy. GA to you too, BTW

Thanks. Why don't you sell him the frame straightening scheme? If we wait another week, he will buy most anything. No parts to buy. Just heat the frame in a few places so he can see the marks, and he will never know. No worse than rebuilding the trans.

I would recommend taking it into a REPUTABLE tire store... preferably part of a chain. Since I am not familiar with your part of the world, I will recommend Goodyear. I believe they are all over the US. Here in the northwest I use a different chain (Les Schwabb), but they are west coast only.

Good luck...

Bill

Hi Ducan, before anyone rates this as off topic I will. Just buy a new tire, quite putting on tyres. Tires work much better than tyres.

Hello Guys. am back from my tour and took the car to the alignment guy who drove it and said there is a "tuk tuk " sound from the front right wheel side. He recommended me a suspension mechanic who opened the right front wheel and took out an "S" type part about 2ft long (they call this scissor here). He then took out the "S" part of the left wheel. Said the left is OK . Gave 2-3 hammering of the "S" of the right wheel. Closed one eye looked at it and asked his guys to put back both. Then he took me for a test drive. No tuk tuk sound. Said now you go the Alignment Guy. The alignment guy put a new tyre left front wheel (the right front wheel spare put on was already brand new) and balanced the 4 wheels. He then did alignment of the car. No parts required, Its flying like new!

Total Cost:

Suspension Guy - Rs. 600/- + Alignment Guy - Rs. 500/- + New GTR Tyre(as original supplied with the car) Rs. 3000 = Rs. 4100.00 = US $ 50.00 (Mechanics are cheap in this part of world but parts very expensive since imported).

Thank you for warning me not to go for the Gear Box.

My thanks to all:

Dances with Trees, Del the Cat, Qqberci, Andy Germany, Nuke Geek, Kenfry, Sciesis2, Clcartson,John DG & ofcourse, bobc.

If I agree to lower my price by $20.00 will you still let me rebuild your transmission?

Glad it went well for you.

I'd rather scrap the car

Very cool, I always like to see a happy ending.

Happy ending????????????

Do you want to tell the kids that their Disney vacation was ruined by some AH that hammered on something shaped like an S.

Hey - the nice AH hammered the S thing straight - and it don't go 'tuk tuk' any more. Sounds like a bit of a hero.

Yeah . imagine what the first Mechanic said:

" I showed it to a Mechanic and he lifted my car and ran with the shift gear and showed me that both the wheels are behaving in the same manner. He told me that due to the impact the axle rod attached to the gear box had created a problem. He says the gear box need to be opened and replaced with any damaged bearing/ dislodgement of gear teeth."

My hero is Blink with his opinion

" Definitely do not open the gearbox. Unless you were sliding sideways and then made contact with a curb, the axle shaft cannot transmit force lengthwise into the gearbox... but even then, gearbox damage that would cause your symptom would be extremely unlikely. Damaged bearings and dislodged gear teeth make gnashing, growling and hammering noises. As I think someone else mentioned, any gearbox damage that would cause your symptom would have to cause the inner CV joint to wobble.

The alignment is probably incorrect, and the steering knuckle may be bent, and if the wallop was really hard, there is a slight possibility that the outer CV joint could be dimpled. The wheel bearings could have suffered dimpling too. If it were my car, I would replace the wheel bearing on the affected side as a precautionary measure -- although you can feel dimpling by rotating the wheel by hand while applying a little side force.

You should take the car to a good alignment shop, and have them check both sides for bent components, for bearing damage, for outer CV joint damage, for tire balance and runout, and of course, for general alignment. Occasionally, a tire will appear round but act as if it is not, due to problems called radial force variation or lateral force variation. (Both of these are rare, but can be easily diagnosed by replacing the tire/wheel with another.)". Thanks Blink You saved me from the first Mechanic and bobc

Blink deserves your thanks. He has given good honest answers to many people on this site for as long as I can remember. And the thanks that he gets for it is 2/3 of those people never post back to let him know what worked. The automotive field is infested with people that want to just repeat the same repair they made on someone else's car, in the hope that it will fix your car also. Blink has always tried to solve the problem based only on the CURRENT symptoms. Any of our readers that can not recognise his knowledge and logical approach to problem solving, need to open their eyes.

Thank you Blink for your efforts.

Yes bob c. Blink is exactly what you say about him. 'and i enjoyed your postings too, it put in a little charm and made this thread worth reading plus an happy ending too with the AH hammering the "S" to take out the 'tuk' 'tuk'.

Great news and thanks for the mention.

I wonder...

If I got someone to hammer on my S, would I no longer go "tuk-tuk"?

Bill

are you ? at present? not any someone would do only the AH.

hammer on my S ? what's wrong with it? Is it tuk-ing all the time?