Hello all,
new to the forum. Here's the story
about 6months - 1year ago i accidentally hit a curb with my RIGHT FRONT tire and since then I have developed a slight vibration when driving and specifically when the wheel is turned to the right. I feel like the vibe has been getting worse recently.
my guess is to replace the ball joints or maybe a ujoint on that right tire but any advice before i start buying parts would be great!

 

Welcome to the forum

I would recommend having the front suspension looked at and also the roundness of the wheel and the condition of the tire. You likely may have either damaged the tire cord internally or bent the wheel? If the impact was hard, you would have had alignment u issues that you would have noticed? These are all guesses, and you really should just go get your Mazda looked at. Firestone would be a good choice.

 

You can check the tire by rotating that one to the back and see how the car drives. Jack up the front, jackstands on both sides, and take a good look at everything. Spin the wheel and look for runout (bent & wobbling). Have someone wiggle each tire, hard, while you look for loose parts. Wiggle with the helper's hands on the top & bottom of each tire, and the left and right of each tire. Have someone steer the wheels full left and right and look for loose parts. Look close for any bent parts. I agree, get it looked at by a pro unless you spot something...for sure...to replace. Don't just throw money at it.

 

The OP is describing a condition which would be in line with safety. My suggestion because this new member is asking for help on what may be the cause would be for a Service Shop like Firestone to inspect his MAZDA would be a better recommendation after any impact on the chassis which includes the tires and wheels. Your suggestion while very good for a more experienced DIY like yourself IMHO you may be are asking too much from some less experienced on suspension, wheel and tire problems?

It would Not be a waste of money and his time to seek professionals to inspect his Mazda.

 

I have had a professional alignment since the incident so I don't think it's that. I am trying to avoid taking it to a shop because that is just "throwing money at it"
I am capable of doing the work myself I am just asking a for a direction to start with short of "check everything"

 

Your suspension is not like "old school" and really needs a trained and experienced mechanic and or automotive technician to look at it. If the shop doing the alignment had no troubles, then either they completely missed (you hopefully mentioned your accident) looking at your chassis and suspension or they did not check the tire and wheel that was impacted during your accident which had you mentioned your accident they should have done. so I guess......
Good luck with your DIY inspection then!


ASE