mechanics opinion needed

-
justin hughes

justin hughes

Miss my car
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
774
Reaction score
2
Location
Laurens NY
long story short, i take my 03 town and country to the shop for a popping sound in the front end. the mechanic only pulled the tire and never turned a wrench on anything else. he showed me where the noise was coming from (strut assy bearings) so , i leave the shop with no work done on the van, then i noticed at low speed turns something didnt feel right in the steering wheel (slight vibration) so i pull into the driveway straight with the steering wheel centered. drivers tire is pointing straight, however the passenger side is toed out about an inch or two. called the shop and of course they say it wasnt anything they did which i can understand why being they didnnt do any work on it. but they want me to bring it in for an $80. alignment which i definetly need unless i want to keep buying tires. my proof that this just started is the wheel never vibrated before and there is no strange wear yet on the tire which has been on the van for more than a year. any opinions on why this all the sudden happened and should i pay out of my pocket for the alignment? the shop is reputable and wouldnt do anything intentional to stir up buisiness.
 
this may sound weird but if its the tire they pulled off they may have not torqued down the wheel properly causing the alloy wheel to catch the center of the hub we have a shop down here famous for doing that. try pulling your center cap and looking at the center hole of the wheel youll be able to see it if thats what they did.
 
i did check the wheels first before i called the shop, as far as i know, they only pulled the drivers wheel, but its the passenger wheel thats toed out. i do know the mechanic manually turned the wheels while it was on the lift to show me what he had found.
 
No arguement from me. The noise is most likely the upper strut bearings and the wheel didn't get put back on correctly.
I'm not sure I would drive it back to the shop in that condition. You could loose that wheel or ruin it at minimum.
 
so should i argue about billing after it is aligned (seeing what they find)or before? i believe they will be honest with me as long as the mechanic is honest with the service manager. $80. is alot of money to me having 4 kids to take care of.
 
justin hughes said:
so should i argue about billing after it is aligned (seeing what they find)or before? i believe they will be honest with me as long as the mechanic is honest with the service manager. $80. is alot of money to me having 4 kids to take care of.
Click to expand...
Well if lifting the car knocked it out of alignment I would be worried about the strut mounts being really bad or the strut shaft being bent. an alignment is not going to fix either of those issues.
 
justin hughes said:
i did check the wheels first before i called the shop, as far as i know, they only pulled the drivers wheel, but its the passenger wheel thats toed out. i do know the mechanic manually turned the wheels while it was on the lift to show me what he had found.
Click to expand...

I give up then. I cant imagine lifting and turning would change anything unless the strut is just totally shot. Still that would effect camber, caster, more than toe.
In any case... new struts, bearing assemblies, and alignment are in your future. I would replace the parts myself and go back to the shop for the alignment. Good luck with it.
 
RedFish said:
I give up then. I cant imagine lifting and turning would change anything unless the strut is just totally shot. Still that would effect camber, caster, more than toe.
In any case... new struts, bearing assemblies, and alignment are in your future. I would replace the parts myself and go back to the shop for the alignment. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
I second this post
 
I' not sure if I'm reading this right, but that clunking noise is the sway bar links more than likely. The originals were really bad. I finally got a set from Mopar that are much improved, and have gone triple the distance, than the originals or any of the other replacements. As far asthe wheeels coming out of whack, I just don't know without looking. I have seen mechs hit the lift with a wheel or chassis part when they pull them in or out, thus damaging them. Maybe it is their fault.
 
On occassion the sway bar bushings could also make a similar noise, but that is less likely. Also, eighty bucks for a good allign. isn't too bad.
 
Lift it up with a floor jack and spin the wheel by hand, that will tell you if the wheel is on right or not. Also check the rack mounts to be sure they are tight. I just worked on a Caliber with a mystery pop that ended up being a loose K-member (?) (Forgive me, I'm old).
 
i will get the floor jack and investigate a little more after work,but magnumdart made a good point,maybe the mechanic hit the lift with the passenger wheel, it was at the right angle for it when i went out into the shop.
 
Also check the lower control arm bushings. I have seen many fail and cause a wierd wobble when driving.
 
when they put it on the lift, it unloaded the suspension, and it could have made the problem show, if the strut bearings are shot, they will need replaced before they can do an alignment, just my$.2
 
mac daddy mopar said:
when they put it on the lift, it unloaded the suspension, and it could have made the problem show, if the strut bearings are shot, they will need replaced before they can do an alignment, just my$.2
Click to expand...
agreed..something is wore out, drive with care until you can make proper repairs.
 
When is it popping? Under torque?

I had a recall for my SRT Caliber regarding the LCA bolts and that is what they were doing..they would pop whenever the suspension was rapidly unloaded/loaded under torque.

Just throwing it out there. If the wheel is toed out, that's definitely not good.
 
the popping is over my bumpy driveway and slow speeds. my concern is that the toe is way out since leaving the shop. there are a couple things that contribute to the pop , the strut bearings and the sway bar bushings. the mechanic did show me this, but my wheel wasnt toed out before i went to the shop.
 
Jack up the lower control arm, with the jack as close as possible to the wheel. Only lift it about 3" to 4". Put a crow bar or a 5' length of 1" pipe under the centre of the tyre, and move it up & down, then in & out, while some-one with a torch looks at the ball joint & wheel bearing/brake rotor to stub axle assembly for movement.
Then grab the wheel at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock and move it in the steering motion ( a firm slow wriggle motion), an see if it has a clunking noise....this is to check the rack-ends and tie rod ends.
Do the same for the other side.
If any movement is detected, then it has faulty/worn parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top