Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Real Bad Problem

I went to have an alignment done at my Ford dealership today. Guess what I saw? My control arms were bent as could be. The left was worse than than the right. The inside was about all gone and I only put 5k on my new KDWS!
The only thing I can think of is Discount Tire using their floor jacks on the arms. I did ask them not to use the floor lift because the last time they did, the skirts were screwed up (SVT). I can't prove they did it. I left the car with them and went home. This explains why my wife's SE handles better than mine.

Does ANYONE have any advice? I was going out of town this weekend but no way I am going in that car. Can I bend it back temporarily? Should I use heat if I did?

Does anyone have any "laying" around?

Thanks in advance!

DAMNIT I just threw away an EO front subframe Sorry

Well it is the rear that is the problem. Funny, I was checking your site out and WAS going to email you!

Yes, this is the usual conundrum.

Do you go complain untill they fix it (the idiots that screwed it up), or eat the cost!

Up to you.

QUESTION FOR YOU!IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS VEHICLE WAS TOWED
INCORRECRTLY..THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE DRIVER PULLS THE
VEHICLE FROM THE ARMS TO THE FLAT BED.

All four of my rear control arms were badly bent on my mystique. I removed the rear two and straightened them. I placed them on a big anvil, and beat them with a big hammer. I finally restored them to a near perfect condition, and they haven't changed since I reinstalled them (that was about 1 year, 20k miles ago).

The forward two arms (still on the rear of the car) was a different story. I can't get them off, so I'm still driving with bent arms. I have done what I can with various tools to remove some of the bends, but they still have a lot of room for improvement. Suppose I'll have to someday drop the subframe to replace the arms.