Typerod

Ok so heres my story, lol. my 07 Tahoe needed its yearly safety inspection, went to dealer, in my mind vehicle will pass w/o issue. I was so wrong. So at first they told me my front left wheel bearing was bad, then I said I just had you guys replace that last August 2015. But I had supplied the part, which was purchased off amazon, but I'm 100% sure it is OEM GM and not a fake. So another tech overheard my issue and checked it himself, he is one of the senior guys there and he says its a bad upper ball joint and not a bad wheel bearing.

So now I was like you guys were quoting me 700 bux for the wheel bearing and turns out it was a wrong diagnosis! I'm was so happy that senior tech overheard me, he is an awesome tech and has worked on my Tahoe a few times, b/c if he wasn't around to hear my issue, I would've had to go back to the buyer on amazon and try to get this wheel bearing warrantied. So I had them replace the upper control arm, and that means the car needs an alignment afterwards. Which irked me b/c just last month I got a 4 wheel alignment b/c I put on new tires and wheels and car def. needed the alignment. Then the awesome tech asked the service advisor who did the alignment, and asked why didn't he notice the upper ball joint issue. I guess that is something they check for before doing an alignment?

But anyway, they replaced the upper control arm, did the alignment, tech went to lunch, then I was cashing out, then I asked for the alignment sheet to see the numbers. Then I see that now the front camber on both wheels is now out of spec, and they still were ready to give me the car back. I refused it and argued my point with the service advisor that I'm not happy with the results of the alignment and I want them to bring it back in spec. He tried to play it down that the front left was out by .1 degrees and the front right was out by .4 degrees. I was like the front right camber is worse than when I came in, and it will definitely wear unevenly for that wheel position. He said it wasn't that bad, but I wasn't havin it man. He said I had to come back another day to get it fixed, but I said no, I'm sorry, please fix it today, I've already wasted a bit of time here today, and I don't want to come back another day. The service manager eventually came out since he overheard us from his office and he sided with me. My argument was when I was there last month to get an alignment and probably the ball joint was bad then, the tech was able to have good results, but now that there is a good ball joint now, you can't get the alignment to be in spec on all metrics? I understand that it can be difficult to do an alignment, you might adjust one thing but when you go to tighten it down another metric goes out, which is what the tech was saying the car was giving him a hard time, but really you were just gonna give me the car back with those camber specs out?

So then at this point I was at the dealer for about 4.25 hours already, so then the tech goes at it again, and it takes him another 3.5 hours or so to get it right. He said he had to heat up some bolts on the other upper control arm and the tie rod bolts to make adjustments. He said he would take it out for a test drive and come back and the specs would be off again and the steering wheel was waayy off center.

So here are the results of the first alignment right after the replacement of the upper control arm and the final and current numbers of the alignment when I left the dealer.

Although I spent a whole business day there, at least the alignment is on point, its even better than it was when I last was there for an alignment, last month, at least in my novice mind. lol.

For the alignment gurus that advised me last month, please comment. How do the number look to you guys?

Thanks in advance!

Scotiapilot

I don't blame. I am a super freak about alignments. A bad one will destroy your wallet, tires, suspension parts and the ride.

Typerod

I forgot to ask one of my questions. I have the old part in hand, so how do I tell if a upper ball joint is bad? Just from looking at it, it looks fine. I don't see any tears. When I pull and rotate the screw part it feels ok. But when looking at the pics of the bottom of the ball joint, it looks goopy like the grease has seeped out, even though I was putting pressure on it, and couldn't get anything grease to ooze out. I'm really hoping this thing is bad, and that they didn't bs me.

tech2

I didn't go through the alignment numbers. I do agree with everything you said, everything the good tech said.


good for you for not caving to the service advisor. Thank you service manager for correcting this. No way should you have to return because the alignment guy is inept. It takes many years for a tech to get good at this job.


Part of an alignment is a pre-alignment inspection. the purpose is to find worn suspension parts. What good is it to fine tune an adjustment angle when the parts have slop in them.


there is no way to check the upper ball joint once its removed from the steering knuckle. it would have to be falling out to have play when removed.


which side upper control arm did they change? that side should have adjusted easily.


find out the good tech's name and only book with him. Never go back to that service writer. Service writers for big dealerships are paid on commission of customer pay work only. they make no money for writing warranty work orders. Give this person no more customer pay work.

tech2

there almost needs to be a person that represents the car owner when they go to have car repairs.

Typerod

They changed the left upper control arm. I'm not sure which side gave him trouble for the alignment, I want to say the right side. He said he adjusted the tie rods and did something with the right side upper control arm bolts, he mentioned he had to heat them up to loosen them.

Yeah I don't think I'll go back to that dealership again. I've been there a few times, and always had a good experience, this was the first bad one, but also my first time dealing with this SA as well.

I'm curious, what does adjusting tie rods have to do with alignment? And why would it be that when the tech said he would take it for a test drive and put it back on the alignment rack, that the specs would out again? was he not tightening down the adjustment fasteners properly? I'm just worried that maybe the alignment is now off again since I drove it away from the dealer. it drives straight and doesn't pull, i just hope the camber hasnt changed since I left, these are new tires on the car.

tech2

the tie rods adjust the toe alignment angle...the most important tire wear angle. Anytime caster and camber or ride height is changed, toe will change. Installing a upper control arm will change caster, camber and toe.


after performing the alignment, the vehicle must be test driven to ensure there are no pulls and the steering is centered. If its not good...back to the rack for corrections.

Typerod

Thank you tech!

justimagination

YOUR QUOTE :I said I just had you guys replace that last August 2015. But I had supplied the part, which was purchased off amazon.

First, good information from teck2. Second, I find it hard to believe a authorized dealer would let someone supply parts, that's a NONO. As far as your experience with this facility, it is not a place I would take my vehicle. Your repair was profitable for them whether you spent all day or not. A technician especially a front end tech, can change the ball joint in question rather than a complete control arm. Ring one up for the P&L account (it's called profit & loss). If I had one piece of advise for you, DO NOT go back to that dealership. It's a hard lesson to learn, but you will learn from this. Todays society is all about $$$$$$$. There is no way you can convince myself that my original 99 Tahoe @ 32,343.00 NEW, is in todays economy is in the area of 65,000 plus.
Hang in there and keep your car serviced, might try shopping, too many questionable stories about dealerships, always has been and always will. JMHO, and good luck

tech2

for this generation the upper ball joint cannot be changed without replacing the control arm. have a look at his pics.

I do agree with your comments. Its all about $ and the upsell.

big shops may have 20 to 30 techs. Sometimes you get the super tech, sometimes you get the beginner...it doesn't make everyone in the shop bad. Its how the service manager handles it when things go wrong that goes a long way with me.