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My car is a piece of shart

Re: My car is a piece of shart

bigblue_dl said:
I would never go to a dealer for tires. I've always been able to find better prices going to tire shops or in the case of the last time I bought them, online.
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I'm starting to see why :p

I'm hesitant to use Tirerack because the shipping costs would be astronomical up here. Cheaper just to go to a tire shop.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

Twitch Boy said:
I'm starting to see why :p

I'm hesitant to use Tirerack because the shipping costs would be astronomical up here. Cheaper just to go to a tire shop.
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Yeah, in your case, that is most likely a much better plan. Down here, I saved about $400 last time I bought tires, buying them from an online retailer.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

Do you have alloy wheels?

If you don't re-torque after about 100 miles the lugnuts with alloy wheels, they can come loose, and if a couple come loose it is very common for studs to be sheared off. I have seen this happen before. Make sure to always re-torque your lugnuts when you have alloy wheels, or this kind of thing can happen.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

bigblue_dl said:
Do you have alloy wheels?

If you don't re-torque after about 100 miles the lugnuts with alloy wheels, they can come loose, and if a couple come loose it is very common for studs to be sheared off. I have seen this happen before. Make sure to always re-torque your lugnuts when you have alloy wheels, or this kind of thing can happen.
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I'm having that side done next week, so I'll be sure and return for re-torquing. Meantime I'll just keep checking it the next couple of days until I leave for vacation (we're getting a rental because our van doesn't have A/C and we're taking our pet with us). The guys who checked it yesterday said the nuts seemed nice and tight, and it's already been longer since we got the studs fixed than it was between the brake job and the shearing.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

walrus said:
I hope you didn't pay for the new studs. I'd say your mechanic made a mistake.
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I didn't pay for the new studs--my husband did. And we paid $20 labor besides (2/3 of the birthday money my parents sent me).

We're not going back to that guy anymore. He flaked on us when we inquired about the clunk.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

BadgerAlum@WMU said:
I didn't pay for the new studs--my husband did. And we paid $20 labor besides (2/3 of the birthday money my parents sent me).

We're not going back to that guy anymore. He flaked on us when we inquired about the clunk.
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You, your huisband, either way:) . Stinks when a guy doesn't own up to his work. Glad you aren't using him anymore. Like Bbdl said if you have alloy wheels, they should be retorqued. Steel wheels give you some forgiveness in that respect, aluminum doesn't. Alloy wheels like a good clean surface to sit on also, some mechanics ignore that but they shouldn't
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

walrus said:
You, your huisband, either way:) . Stinks when a guy doesn't own up to his work. Glad you aren't using him anymore. Like Bbdl said if you have alloy wheels, they should be retorqued. Steel wheels give you some forgiveness in that respect, aluminum doesn't.
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Yeah, I'm surprised for all the good work he did otherwise, and service, he never mentioned coming back for retorquing. The brakes are just fine. I'm sure he used an impact wrench, and I've been told that he might have tightened the lugs too tight.

I'll definitely make sure I ask the new mechanic (who is certified with 20+ years experience in a family business owned by someone who has a PhD in automotive stuff) when I should bring it back to have the lugs retorqued this time. He's already given us a preliminary quote for the work, and did everything he could to reassure us about it yesterday, so I know he'll do it right. Apparently the mayor takes his car there.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

BadgerAlum@WMU said:
Yeah, I'm surprised for all the good work he did otherwise, and service, he never mentioned coming back for retorquing. The brakes are just fine. I'm sure he used an impact wrench, and I've been told that he might have tightened the lugs too tight.

I'll definitely make sure I ask the new mechanic (who is certified with 20+ years experience in a family business owned by someone who has a PhD in automotive stuff) when I should bring it back to have the lugs retorqued this time. He's already given us a preliminary quote for the work, and did everything he could to reassure us about it yesterday, so I know he'll do it right. Apparently the mayor takes his car there.
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You really wouldn't have to bring it in to re-torque the lugnuts. Just take a breaker bar and give each nut a good 1/8 turn or so (more if they are noticably too loose) after you drive about 100 miles.
 
Re: My car is a piece of shart

bigblue_dl said:
You really wouldn't have to bring it in to re-torque the lugnuts. Just take a breaker bar and give each nut a good 1/8 turn or so (more if they are noticably too loose) after you drive about 100 miles.
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Yeah, like I have one of *those* lying around the apartment...:D

Actually, the guy who looked at my ball joints on Saturday (different than the first guy and the certified mechanic) used one when he put the wheel back on. I checked them a day later; one was loose so I retightened it. The rest were fine. They were all fine yesterday. I'll check them again tonight because I think I've passed the 100-mile mark.

EDIT: Checked both front wheels, and everything is nice and snug. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
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