98ImprezaWA Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) I'm going to preface this by telling you all what I'm sure you already know! That you should only go to a tire place such as Les Schwab for tires, or perhaps an alignment. That is all. They offer free beef when you buy tires. Enough said! If you go for an alignment and they tell you that your power steering rack and pinion unit need to be replaced and are loose, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT believe them. OR the quote that they will then give you for $1000. Instead, go see Rick! (GeneralDisorder) It is guaranteed that he will save the day. And your wallet. And you will make a new friend. And he has a very sweet cat. And he just may tell you that it is indeed NOT your Power Steering rack that is broken, just that the steering u-joint is loose. (right Rick?!) He will take it out, clean it off a bit (a lot in my case... it was an east coast car) tighten it back up, and instead of being $1000 for the wrong thing, it will cost you $60. Labor included. For the right thing. This $60 also included replacement of a torn axel boot. Which he drove around with me to get. So not only did I get a cheaper CORRECT diagnosis of the problem, I got an axel boot included in the deal! And he took time out of his day to go and get it. SO, moral of my story, go see Rick. (obviously he knows about more than just steering issues. he knows everything. he's a subaru superhero.) Thanks Rick! ...and don't forget, he has a really sweet cat! Edited February 13, 2011 by 98ImprezaWA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) Much abliged for the glowing review of my work! I'm proud to say that I actually grab stuff and check for play before I condemn very expensive bits of my customer's cars. Turns out - the previous steering rack replacement job was buttoned up with the lower section of the steering u-joint not fully seated - the bolt was above the groove in the splines. It was tightened but the splines being engaged by the joint were about 1/8" wide. Over time this got pretty loose and sloppy. A simple cleaning of the splines and bolt threads and proper installation of the joint cured the problem completely. I suppose this was probably just a case of incompetance on the part of the "tire guys" at Les Schwab, but to reccomend a $1000 repair to someone's car without fully inspecting it for the location of the "play" is borderline criminal. I really hope they do the alignment for free after you bring this potential "scam" to the management's attention. Oh! And for the record the steering u-joint took like 20 minutes to fix so that was $20. The other $40 was for the axle boot job. GD Edited February 13, 2011 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 You found a good friend crossing paths with Rick. He has helped not only keep my daily driver running, he's also let me spend days in his garage letting me watch over his shoulder so I can attempt to learn a fraction of what he knows about subarus. Fair and honest with charging for his services and his work is meticulous. You should have seen how many shortcuts and possibly catastrophic mistakes that a respected Subaru shop in my area made that were found when my engine was pulled. Finding my timing belt tensioner bolts barely finger tight was pretty rad. Good thing the belt was still fresh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstone Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 GD is one of the best resources on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrongturninwv Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 So what about the free beef ????? Was it good ? We cant get an Italian Beef here in WV. I have to drive 700 miles back to Chicago to get one. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98ImprezaWA Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 I haven't gotten any free beef yet. I didn't buy my tires from them. But any free beef is good beef! Im pretty sure its jerky. And some of it also comes in tube form... like pepperoni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Don't think I would trust beef from a tire shop. Props to GD for saving the day! And props to you for having the sense of mind to go see him, rather than shell out at the tire shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98ImprezaWA Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Don't think I would trust beef from a tire shop. Well they've got to do something with those old tires no one is ever gonna buy! Why not inject a little "beef scent" into them, chop them up, wrap them in plastic and make everyone else get rid of your waste for you for free?! Thinking of making "I'm GD's #1 Fan" t-shirts... Maybe a giant picture of his face, with that written across the forehead. hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockbass Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 he knows everything. Well then...In that case I may have him take a look at my various physical ailments since I'm planning on meeting him soon for an engine swap. No worries Rick...I won't try to save money by having you perform the prostate exam that's way overdue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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