car jumps to one side when hitting bumps ?

[9obamartins]

ive got an oldish vaux tigra - it WAS in pretty good shape until i jumped a red light and got a slight clip , since then ive noticed the car jumps over to one side when going over rough ground and feels unstable,i know i need to get the tracking done but will this alone sort the problem ? or am i looking at a bit of a huge bill to sort this out ? thanks for your time and any help is much appreciated

[cosmicma]

if it's jumping about on bumps it sounds like the lower ball joint is shot
not really an expensive job but somthing that needs imediate attention if that gives way you lose a wheel

time to jack each wheel up in the air and check for play
or it might be a bush on the lower wish bone again not expensive ( about 30 - 40 quid for lower wish bone ) and quite easy to change

i'm presuming it's the front end thats jumping about you don't say

[9obamartins]

yeah it is the front end thats jumping about , thanks for the reply its much appreciated

[Zippeyrude]

ball joint is a bit of a guess tbh

if you only got this after the clipped kerb it could be anything.

you really need to have a look and see if anything is bent. possibly steering rack / track rod end, tie bars, wishbones. Or as suggested bushes or even ball joints (although imo less likely).

The tracking may be out which will result in handling issues.

Get it jacked up and on axle stands and get under there with a pry bar and give it a good once over.

compare both sides very carefully and measure if necessary.

[plug1]

could allso be the roll bar bush or bent bar

[cosmicma]

ball joint is a bit of a guess tbh

if you only got this after the clipped kerb it could be anything.

it's all just a guess without the car in front of you it's hard to diagnose
in my experience enough play to make the front end jump usually ends up being to do with the lower wishbone
anti roll bar bushes don't tend to make a car jump around just a bit unstable in corners and something that can be heard as bit of a knock
track rod ends can be felt through the steering wheel if one is bent it would pull to ones side and would be noticeable that way
track rod ends have a habit of fraqcturing because there made from cast
but the arm from the rack there attached to can bend
thinking about it if the ball joint on the track rod end is buggered that could cause the car to jump about

all guesses at the end of the day there's no way of knowng from behind a keyboard but whatever it is it needs looking at before it causes something major

the clipped curb sounds like somethings has bent you can take your pick what that would be