I have a 2000 Ford Mustang V6 3.8L convertible RWD 130K miles, and slid on some ice and into a pole, denting my left rear quarter panel, cracked a chunk off my rim, and other misc ground effect stuff. (impact of pole hit square on the rim and qtr panel above rim) After this accident I have continued to drive the car, and it felt like the rear brakes were stuck or rubbing(heat/burning smell/ect).
Reviewed and noticed frozen slide pin on caliper bracket, so replaced caliper bracket/new brake pads/new slide pins ect. Assumed rubbing issue was due to frozen pin. I noticed the revolutions on the axle seem to rotate unevenly, so maybe warped rotor due to heat/so I replaced the caliper and rotor. Still the revolutions are not good(slightly looking wobble) and it binds against the brake pads twice each revolution.
Do you think I have a problem with a bent axle or should I proceed with replacing the wheel bearing/hub assembly? (just wanted to know what might be common to bend in my situation so i can eliminate it first. If it is likely a bent hub assembly, what are the steps to replace? Trying to eek out a couple more years with this car. Thanks.
Sounds like a bent axle if the disk is rubbing like that. You can check it by putting a known good wheel (an unused spare, for example) on that hub and see if there is any ‘wobble’ as you spin it.
You probably bent either the axle shaft or the hub, which is part of the axle shaft, more likely the latter. Either way, you need to replace the axle shaft on that side. It’s easy enough to do on this car (99% chance it’s a simple C-clip axle with no limited slip), but it’s a somewhat messy, stinky, unpleasant job since you have to open up the differential. Should take about an hour for someone who’s done it before. If you are going to do it yourself and have never taken apart a differential, budget half a day, work slowly, and be careful. Use jack stands on solid ground, don’t drop or lose anything, and spend as little time as possible underneath the car.