When it rains, why does it pour?

[78SilvAnniv]

Took 78 back to the shop for them to try and track down the reason for her continuing to pull to the L after her alignment....here is what they discovered:

Her front bearings need to be replaced. They have .5" of movement when you grasp the tire and shake it.
The rear won't align properly and needs new shims.
Hubby is forbidding me to take it back to the shop for repairs. He feels they should have caught these things at the first alignment.

78 also needs bushings, they look dried and cracked. She also has a leaking caliper, and the rear rotors are worn beyond repair and will need replacing.

I think we will be parking the car until we move into the house/garage, because we can do all of these repairs at home. Hubbys new job is not as demanding on his time as the last ones were and he will have time to fix it up. Besides, we have the usual conglomeration of necessary, useful, semi-useful and lots of I-don't know-what-they-are-but-they're-shiny tools that Hubby will be able to reaquaint himself with. What better project than an ongoing Corvette project! I'm sure he'd be grimacing if he knew just how much I want him to do! :bang

Silver

 

[Ken]

Heidi, you're supposed to do that stuff in the winter so you can drive it in the summer.

Ken

 

[Solid62]

EXCUSE ME!!!

Now Silver,

I am soooo disappointed that these are all hubby chores!! Who drives the car??? Hmmmmm?

Not tryin to brag , but Donna would be frowning right now if she was readin yer post.
(Don't worry, I won't let her know...:

Come on now, You Can DO IT!!

'course be careful, 'cause grease is addictive!


And as Donna says, "Tools are fun!!!":L


Good Luck!
Rick

 

[78SilvAnniv]

OUCH!

That's gonna leave a mark!

I did, after all, change the fuel hose. I really liked having the satisfaction of "I did it."
He will have to stand over my shoulder and instruct me because I don't know what I'm doing, and he'll probably wind up doing all the muscle and finesse stuff.
I'm just a girl trying to learn more about her car! (batting eyelashes)

odjfh0i [pij09zift mklxcjvbopix..........
Help!!!! She has me tied to the toolbox!!!!!
Send help fast........
lkfjgjsidorutm sirj gpdum

Hubby thinks he's soooo funny!

Silver (Heidi & Ken)

 

[Stingray6974]

Hi Silver,
I would be having a few words with the shop that did your alignment. It is impossible to do an alignment with loose or bad wheel bearings. And as for the rear shims, how did they align the rear end the first time?
Mike

 

[DDLS3]

Really!!!!!

That must have been one of them take the money and run shops.
Mike is exactly right.....demand a refund, all they accomplished was to to waste their time and your money.I would be ad

Dale

 

[Yoda]

Re: OUCH!

That's gonna leave a mark!

I did, after all, change the fuel hose. I really liked having the satisfaction of "I did it."
I'm just a girl trying to learn more about her car! (batting eyelashes)

odjfh0i [pij09zift mklxcjvbopix..........
Help!!!! She has me tied to the toolbox!!!!!
Send help fast........
lkfjgjsidorutm sirj gpdum

Hubby thinks he's soooo funny!
Silver (Heidi & Ken)

ROFLMAO.... Hang in there Ken.. who knows you may have a little bubbaissss on your hands... LOL Good luck you Two.. Your friends and audience awaits the out come :L :L :L

BudD

 

[ccflorida]

Hedi,
Sorry to hear about your Vette. Yes, the shop should refund your money and your husband is right about catching those repairs before the alignment. Yes, its nice to work on your own car and feel the sense of accomplishment but for me it comes down to time,talent and money.. Time: Do I want to take the time to repair the car or would my time be better spent elsewhere?? Do I want to lay up the car until I have the time to work on it...
Talent .. I can repair it but it will take me twice as long as a good mechanic.. Do I have the proper manuals and tools to do the repairs? What happens if I have a problem? Who do I ask for help??
Money: How much would it cost to have the repair done at a certified repair shop?? What is the cost of the parts that I need for the repair and the availability?? Do I have to order them now so when I have the time to repair the car I have them ? Do I really want to do this ???These are the questions I ask myself before I do any repairs?? Sometimes I just take it to the repair shop and have it back the same day for a cruise.. Just my 02.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Well spent .02!!

Hubby appreciates ALL of those sentiments...and I do, too. I don't like Corvette down time at all.
It makes me :cry

Silver

 

[Solid62]

Uh Oh~

Well,

Donna caught the email and wanted to say that Ken needs to pass those tools over to you a little more often (or else get you another car so you can wrench all by yerself!):

I am glad to see that you guys have a great sense of humor !:Silly

Our website will have some pictures of Donna twisting the tools by tonight and you can enjoy all that grease without actually gettin it on ya!

Also, it easy to say from here (Armchair Quarterback....) but I would go give that garage a piece of my mind:argue, I hate it when they act like the customer is at fault or should have known better.....ad

Anyway, at least you can driver her safely!
Have fun!

Rick and Donna

 

[Bev]

I know how you feel

Hi Silver,

I know exactly how you feel. I have been there several times. I don't know how a shop could not see the things that needed done while aliening the wheels.:confused We had some of the same rpoblems and the mechanic refused to even attempt to do anything with the car.

Right now we have a door problem. I was bonding with the 81 this week and the stupid drivers door would not close and stay closed.:crazy I had to drive home with the seat belt holding the door closed.ad I wanted to get used to driving it since we got the new engine and carb put on her.

At least I did have fun the 2 days I did have her out.

You 2 have fun working on the vette. We enjoyed doing repairs together, that is when we knew what to do.:L

Bev.
yellow 81
copr/princess

 

[Solid62]

Evidence

Now this is fun!!

Rick and Donna

 

[Yoda]

Oh yeaaaa a picture is worth a 1000 words huh Silver

Way to go Donna...

BudD

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Well....

...since I see it isn't violating the rules to wear gloves...

I would still prefer to leave the more important safety issue problems to hubby who has more experience, and stick to oil changes, hoses, tune ups and other 'simple' items.

Roy made several good points in his post that brought me up sharp. 78 is my daily driver...and that's what I want to do, drive her daily! If we wait around for me to snail my way thru learning something, the car will sit too long and frustrate me. Another point...we will have approx 2.5 weeks between moving into the house/garage and the BG trip.

I think in this particular case of repairs...I am going to watch, learn and hand over tools like a good surgical nurse. I will certainly wrench where pointed to, but I am a long way from tackling a repair project by myself.

Silver

 

[DDLS3]

Your wisdom is beyond your years Grasshopper.......

Dale

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Aaarrrrgghhh, I forgot!

I telephoned the alignment shop today and calmly requested a refund. They said sure, no problem. They were very polite.

Sil

 

[DDLS3]

Good for you!!! Better luck with your next choice of alignment shops.

Dale

 

[ccflorida]

Silver,
GOOD NEWS...

 

[Her 92]

Silver,

Glad you were calm! I don't think I would have been. I voice tends to go up and down when I'm upset about things, my husband would have probably called them if it had been us. Good luck on the wrenching. I hope your vette is back up and running properly soon.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

I don't handle confrontation well...

...especially face-to-face....but over the phone I have a trick...

I write down concisely (not a dialog) what I want, any questions I have and possible replies to rejoinders from the other party. This keeps everything in order, I don't have to worry about being upset and forgetting anything because it's written down and it keeps me calm since I'm not panic-ing when things don't go well.

Last resort is sending in the husband. I try to handle my own problems, but if that is not possible...Hubby looks out for me with his strong leanings toward fair dealings.

Silver