My 92 Thunderturd... [Archive] - ForumsHQ

[Hobo_Bill]

...broke a lower ball joint today on my way home from work, at 65mph. Driving along, nearly home when the front end drops suddenly, a terrible grinding noise starts, and sparks shoot up through my window. I can't imagine what the car next to me was thinking as my car started all this jazz.. Suffice it to say, if I nearly shat myself keeping on the road, they must have, being only a foot away from my tank in their little rice burner.

First thought was flat tire - I've been meaning to replace the front driver's-side tire for ages, and immediately started cursing myself. When I finally manage to grind my way over to the side of the road and get out, I see my tire is canted at a severe angle upwards (miraculously not flat), and the whole bottom of my car is dragging on the asphalt.

I also had to drag my way over about 100ft of asphalt and dirt to get out of the roadway and fire-lane I managed to nose into.



Sooo... What kind of damage am I looking at? Obviously the ball joint has to be replaced, but I'm more concerned about peripheral components that might not have liked the high-speed sanding they took as my car decided to dump like a lowrider.. Oil pan, exhaust, gas tank? Also, steering assembly? My power steering seemed to be ok, but with my front tires facing each other like / \ I'm kinda worried about other parts.

[Ghaleon]

I'm more concerned about peripheral components that might not have liked the high-speed sanding they took as my car decided to dump like a lowrider..

puuuure poetry.

[Mwuhaha]

I've seen this happen before sometimes its as simple as replacing the lower control arm.

[ari]

Fuck me! Glad you got off the road safely man, sucks about the car obviously but hopefully it's a cheap fix.

[Monoxide the great]

man forums hq people have tons of car issues haha... but its good that you didnt wreck when that happened

[Hobo_Bill]

And the coup de grace?!? My car was impounded (stolen!!!!) by 1pm the following day.

The cop I spoke to first claimed it was reported as an abandoned vehicle. I told him the car was registered AND insured, and a simple check on the license plate would have confirmed such. Then he went on to say "how do we know it wasn't stolen?". Same drill, moron. Run the plate and call the RO. Then he claimed that it was a hazard, being so close to a bridge. What the fuck does a bridge have to do with my car?!?

Bottom line, I got tagged with a towing scam. The Police Department issues releases for impounded vehicles M-Thu. My car was towed Friday. Which means I'm unable to get a release till Monday, which means the towing company benefits.

Fuck the police, nuff said. Can't count how many times I've needed the cops, and they've never been there. When I can't afford to have the cops be so "productive" they are. I can't even express how fucking angry I am.

Oh, and the funny thing is while driving past the spot my car was parked this morning, I see a big ass red firetruck parked in the same exact spot. I should've called PD and reported it as an abandoned/hazardous vehicle.

[exmonkeypunk]

Wow...I caught a great visual of your car shooting sparks like a 4th of july sparkler fountain. It's really tough to say what you may or may not have jacked up on the underside of your car. You'll have to jack up that side and pull the tire down into place and see if anything else got busted off or high speed sanded down to the point of no return. You really might get lucky though and just need the ball joint and a serious alignment. Your lower control arm has probably suffered some serious road rash though. Thank god you were driving a rear wheel drive vehicle when this went down, otherwise you'd be looking at alot of transaxle work. Take some pics when you get the car back if you could, i know we'd all love to see em.

[Hobo_Bill]

At this point, I'm probably leaving the car in the impound lot. As of today, they want $415.50 to release the vehicle.

I have an ongoing investigation into the reason my car was towed, however. The police report I was privy to after visiting the tow yard indicates that the patrolman didn't know what the fuck he was doing.

No VIN listed. He didn't run my plate; listed my vehicle as a 1989 with no registration. My vehicle is registered and insured, and is a 1992.. All that you can find out by simply running the plate. He also stated he towed it for violating penal code 22651a - Blocking a Bridge or Tunnel. I was nowhere near a tunnel, and 100ft from the nearest bridge. Every time I talk to someone at the PD I get a different excuse.

Received a call from the Watch Commander today saying he was investigating the reason, and he was as concerned about the incomplete police report as I was. We'll see what happens. I also sent emails to the City Manager and City Lawyer.

Bottom line, with the pre-existing problems with overheating and transmission, I'll just be junking the car anyway. But at this point, it's the principle of the thing - they towed my car illegally, and I shouldn't have to pay shit.

The Colton PD was recently on the news here in California regarding their habit of vehicle stops without reason, harassment, and general assholery. I'm attending the City Council meeting this Thursday to talk about this towing shit. Something tells me the cops are gonna be gunning for me even mroe after this is over.

Update: Just talked to the Watch Commander, and got an ear full of lies. He states the vehicle was 3 feet INTO the roadway when he had it towed, which is complete bullshit. I passed the vehicle 2 hours before it was towed, and it was right where I left it. The only way it could have been moved is if the towing unit moved it into the roadway, then called it in. Horseshit, but nothing I can do about it. I have 2 witnesses who can say I parked it where it was, but the cop says that's not good enough. Fuck the police. Bye-bye, Thunderturd!

[zan]

Sounds like you should call the mayor and lawyer again.





Good ol tax dollars at work.

[ari]

Call the tv station that was running the piece on them, see if they're going to do any follow-up interviews. /shrug

This happens all the time, unfortunately, no matter where you live. I can think of two people I was living with at seperate times that had this happen to them.