Mazda 322.5
I'm getting ready to pull the engine on the Mazda. Once I get the hood off, i just have to pull the axles and hoist up the engine. The rest I disconnected today.
This car is bent.
I noticed some brake problems indicating bent parts, and the inner tie rod on the left is visibly bent.
The left door pillar is cracked, and in front of it is visibly bent.
I get to pull the engine, and maybe we can clean some of this up.
While pulling off accessories, wires, and hoses, i noticed some more stuff indicating bent parts. The difficult part is determining what is bent, and how badly.
This engine mount should be straight, not crooked. The mount itself is fine.
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This line to the clutch looks like it's been replaced, looped around, and hung wrong. I think there might be another brace missing too.
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Here is the driver's transaxle mount brace, and a view from inside the fenderwell. It looks funny to me... like it was cut out and re-welded maybe, or just bent and "straightened"... or all of the above.
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I had some pictures of where the left frame horn dips down below the fender, but they didn't come out well. It's like the whole front end was pushed over and folded, and then partially straightened.
It drives well other than the acceleration pull. The extent to which we go into repairing these things is going to have to be weighed as cost versus effect. Obviously the one who "fixed" it after the accident was mainly concerned with cost. I still consider it a safe car to drive ...except after accelerating hard in a hard corner, such as one would mainly do in an autocross event... not acceptable street driving.
Before I pull the front axles, I expect to see one of them plunge further on the inner joint than the other. Getting them even will be an after-effect of getting the rest right.