Possible suspension damage

[Engel]

Hi all.

On our way to Brisbane the other night,, (2004 LS 430), with 4 pax and bootful, we came over a rise in the road and suddenly there was something laying across the entire right hand lane.

It was the size & shape of one of those sharp speed bumps you see in carparks.

I had a car next to me in the left lane, and Armco to my right, so there was no way I could avoid it, and we hit it square on at 100 km/h. Bang, Bang!! Imagine hitting a speed bump at that speed.

It shook the car like a bomb. In fact when we got to our destination and got out, the turn indicator in the mudguard had been shocked out and was hanging by the wires. (BTW, we called 000 police to report it in case a smaller car hit it and potentially became airborne. Never heard any more of course).

So now, there's a definite vibration in the car, noticeable on even smooth road surface. The wheels & tyres seem all OK. I've checked them thoroughly. The vibration is like a drumming, similar to when you have a rear window open and the wind sets up a resonance. It's way too fast for the rotational speed of the wheels, so doesn't appear to be a bubble or flat spot in the tyre. Almost seems like the rate of one of the cylinders firing at around 1600 RPM. ie maybe 3-5 Hz. 

There's no vibration like an out of balance tyre, or anything at that sort of rotational speed. It's a much faster frequency than that.

Any clues as to what it could be? I've yet to get the car up on a hoist to inspect for cracks in structure, damaged bushes etc. It has trashed the rear shocks, which were getting weak anyway, so they will now need replacing. What other potential damage should I look out for? Everything still seems to work OK.

Cheers, Engel.

[2bling]

That's bad luck I'm glad everyone is ok, get it on a hoist double check the wheels and tyres, I would change them, you cant tell if there is inner cord damage, the noise could be the exhaust bent up hitting the body cheers