JGromada Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 (edited) I need some advice on this. I took my car to this tire place as the Suby (98 OBW) . I also needed some work on the rear brakes. ok fine with this stuff. Dropped it off Sat morning. when they started to do the alignment they told me i had a problem with the left outboard tie rod. I said ok go and fix it. they are open and would fix it on Sunday. Well things started going seriously wrong here. They broke the head off some bolt when trying to install the tie rod end. and then supposedly the ball joint fell apart and somethng else broke. i will go first thing tomorrow to discuss this mess with them. I am pissed.Does any of this make sense to anyone ? Edited December 7, 2009 by JGromada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 See if you can get some more details on the actual parts/bolt that failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 If the tie rod nut and other parts are rusty - then yes this kind of thing can happen. Being from maryland, I know how things can rust around there and rubber boots get brittle. But - sounds like they are hacking at it to be breaking all of this stuff at once. There's just no way that all sorts of different parts are bad at the same time. Most likely rust and dried boots are causing them issues as they proceed with the job. it's a tough situation. To keep these old, brittle boot, rusted parts from getting mangled they'd have to proceed carefully, soak in penetrant for awhile and it might not work. That's annoying for the worker. But you'd be annoyed if they charged you more to take the time to do it - and then who wants these parts on there much longer if they're rusted and the boots are brittle? So it's kind of a tough situation for both parties when it comes to stuff like this. One thing you can look for is under car rust - if parts and nuts are rusty then that's probably the issue. And of course look at exactly what they're having problems with. I'm curious what problems they're having. A tie rod is rather simple to replace and doesn't not involve messing with the ball joint - so not sure how the ball joint comes into play. Good chance something is getting lost in communication here. Mechanic to salesman to you to us. I know a guy that's a service manager of a dealership in Maryland and he said they will not work on older generation Subaru's because of stuff like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGromada Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 Interesting response Gary. Let me clarify what happened. I went to a tire place to get new tires. I asked for an alignment as well. In the process of doing the alignment they said the left tie rod was bad. OK replace it was my response. Well they did that but in trying to do the alignment they said it couldn't be brought into spec. Well somehow in trying to adjust it the bolt going into the outboard steering knuckle got broken. At this point they said i needed a new steering knuckle (not something the dealer stocks) so it came from a junk yard. He said he charged me cost for the knuckle and half price for the labor on this. I can't say I was real happy with the situation although i do know from my own experience sh*t happens... Wondering what anyone else thinks about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log1call Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Something wrong with their story I'm afraid. To adjust the wheel alignment they would only be working on two big bolts that have nuts on the other end, so If they broke the bolt they can just change it. The bolt that screws into the knuckle they should not have needed to touch. Check with them which bolt it was that broke and why they needed to work on that bolt. Ask in a bland sort of a voice and look him in the eye as you ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Did you see what they broke before they replaced it? I can't picture which bolt it is that they were trying to "adjust". The one that holds the ball joint in has to be removed to get the ball joint out. The two bolts that hold the strut are easily removable. And if you can manage to break one of those... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmithmmx Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 (edited) here are only two bolts on the knuckle, the ABS sensor and the ball joint. What could they have broken on the knuckle? If they broke the ball joint they can press it out. Wondering if they are unable to press the ball joint out or broke that nut off? They could have drilled it out and re-taped. But no need to touch this stuff for an alignment Edited January 1, 2010 by msmithmmx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
574-240sx Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Sounds like they beat on the knuckle to get the tie rod end to pop off and broke the knuckle where the tie rod end bolts too. I would think the lower ball joint was old/rubber was cracking old/fell apart if they were replacing the knuckle. Ask to see the old parts, if they broke the knuckle they should pay for it. I'm a mechanic and yes parts do break sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log1call Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 That's right, no need to touch it for an alignment. They replaced the steering balljoint. That doesn't have a bolt holding it. Then they broke a bolt going into the knuckle that required replacing the knuckle. That presumably will be the lower suspension ball joint's retaining bolt or the ABS retaining bolt, neither of which should be involved in an alignment. Their story does not add up! If they broke either of those bolts it was doing something unnecessary, or only necessary to fix something else they had done wrong/damaged to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
574-240sx Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 That's right, no need to touch it for an alignment. They replaced the steering balljoint. That doesn't have a bolt holding it. Then they broke a bolt going into the knuckle that required replacing the knuckle. That presumably will be the lower suspension ball joint's retaining bolt or the ABS retaining bolt, neither of which should be involved in an alignment. Their story does not add up! If they broke either of those bolts it was doing something unnecessary, or only necessary to fix something else they had done wrong/damaged to start with. I agree after rereading it sounds like they took apart alot more then they were suppose to or broke something they had no business touching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Ru Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Rusty tie rod ends aren't fun, just had to drill out a siezed cotter pin on a '97 it was so rusted and that was after many days of spraying rust penetrator. I can see some confusion...lower ball joint (control arm at knuckle) and tie rod ball joint at steering knuckle could be mixed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Sounds like they broke the ball joint retaining bolt. Very common but not a big deal. Drill and rethread, install a new bolt...done. If the knuckle needed to be replaced then there is more to the story on their end. Get all the parts returned to you. Does sound like they are trying to cover their own butts here. Why else would they give you parts for cost and split the labor costs without you asking for it? Be very careful and do not sign any releases from them. I wouldn't even sign the work order without noting the problems and having the manager sign it as well. Make sure you get warrantee backing for the replacement parts and all work doen by them. Make them note it and sign it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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