RHamill
Ryan
My truck is a 1996 Chevy K1500 5.7 4x4, ECSB.
Diagnosed Steering, Checked front end steering parts and Ball Joints, Checked steering shaft (moved free), Checked Pump pressure (Very weak), Needs PS pump
10/09/2009 - I had my Power Steering Pump Rebuilt at a used car lot repair shop
2 months later, High Pressure Powersteering horse sprung a pinhole leak..
The next day I replaced the hose with Pump on truck.
13 months later (11/11/2010) Thursday, I called a local alignment/body shop up that I go to for all my alignments (A different place from where the PS pump was rebuilt) and told them I need an appointment for an Alignment, so I was all set up for Friday at 8am, so I brought my truck up there and went to work with a donor vehicle. At 2:00 PM I called (from work) and he said he hasn't started on it yet. 3:30 I get a call saying I need a Pitman & Idler Arm, which I knew was coming as I had a lot of play in my steering wheel and the truck pulled to the right severly. Well I am working 6 days a week with overtime so I have no time to do it myself, so I gave him the OK to put MOOG parts on it. At 5:15 I got a call saying my truck will be done at 5:30, So I left work early and picked up my truck, made sure to get my old parts in the MOOG boxes. Come to find out when I got there he also replaced my Passenger Stabilizer link (which they thought they broke). My Out-the-door total over the phone was $340.85 (with a free alignment, because he did the previous one and he told me next time he would do it free).
The bill says..
Pass. Stabilizer Link MOOG- $24.43
Pitman Arm MOOG - $64.24
Idler Arm MOOG - $96.09
Labor - $140.00
Total Parts $184.76
Total Parts and Labor - $324.76
Tax - $11.09
Grand Total $335.85
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Anyways, I told him I broke the Stabilizer link, but he didn't seem to mind.. I don't understand how I paid for the Stab. link but yet my total is still under what I was quoted, unless he took labor off for taking long.
Anyways, that's not the problem. I get in my truck and drive 10 miles home, previously to me driving the truck it was sitting for a while and was totally cooled off (engine wise). Everything's fine, steering is nice and tight, with a little play in the power steering pump (I know? Wtf) which wasn't his fault, as all he did was take a bolt out to move it and slide the Arm on. I haven't heard of PS pumps wearing out in 13 months time when only driven off road maybe once every 3 months. All my driving is highway and city.
I arrived at my driveway (which is a left turn off the road), I get into the oncoming lane's shoulder to get my mail and am about to turn into the driveway, well my steering is harder then ever, so I pulled it in to the ditch and got out, I thought maybe I blew a hose and lost pressure, nope.. It is pretty dark now as I picked my truck up at 5:30 and arrived home at 6:00 PM, so I put it in 4 wheel drive and creeped up the steep hill that is parallel to my driveway, tore my grass all up and reefed the truck into the top of the driveway. (There is big pine trees so I couldn't of gotten to it sooner). Well after muscling it to a good spot I get out and pop the hood, look at gearbox, pump, reservoir, linkage, check for leaks, Everything checks out OK! I couldn't turn the wheels AT ALL with truck running on a flat pavement driveway. The pump made its normal hissing sound when turning the steering wheel, but the wheels would not turn, nor did the steering wheel, save for a tiny bit which is normal for anyone.
I jacked the front of the truck off the ground and the wheels turned just fine, even by hand on the actual wheel itself. So I called up the mechanic who worked on my truck 1 hour previously and he was completely puzzled, as he double checked everything and made sure there was fluid and pressure in the pump.
When leaving his shop there is basically 3 left turns and I'm home, that's it. It's 6 miles of 55mph highway, and 4 miles of city. But like anyone else who gets an alignment I tested out the tightness of the job and it was nice and snug.
He told me on the phone that he would be at my house today at 9am, luckily I didn't sign for overtime today because I wanted to get my hunting shack ready for rifle season. Anyways, at 8:45 I moved the other vehicles out of the garage and got in my truck, fired it up and the wheels turned perfectly, just dandy.. Now I have a mechanic coming over in 15 minutes and everything's working now I thought to myself, he didn't want me to monkey with it because he is liable because he had his hands on it last and would take care of the issue, Good customer service
So he comes out and says... "Did you find out what the problem was...?" Because he saw it in the garage which obviously I had to turn my truck to get in there.
So I had to tell him it's working fine now, so he looked at it anyways and I came up with the "Maybe when it's hot the pressure fails" theory, and we both agreed maybe something happens when it gets hot. So he gives me his cell number and tells me that if need be, he can have it towed to his shop free of charge. I told him I would take it for a spin and get it hot, then see what happens.. Well I drove it to wesco and seen his truck at a restaurant, well he was across the street at a car dealership talking to their mechanics, so I pulled in and talked to him again, told him everything is fine and then talked to the mechanic about random things. Then I started on my way home and everything was totally fine, turned in to the driveway, all good.
My question is... What the hell happened to my truck??
Diagnosed Steering, Checked front end steering parts and Ball Joints, Checked steering shaft (moved free), Checked Pump pressure (Very weak), Needs PS pump
10/09/2009 - I had my Power Steering Pump Rebuilt at a used car lot repair shop
2 months later, High Pressure Powersteering horse sprung a pinhole leak..
The next day I replaced the hose with Pump on truck.
13 months later (11/11/2010) Thursday, I called a local alignment/body shop up that I go to for all my alignments (A different place from where the PS pump was rebuilt) and told them I need an appointment for an Alignment, so I was all set up for Friday at 8am, so I brought my truck up there and went to work with a donor vehicle. At 2:00 PM I called (from work) and he said he hasn't started on it yet. 3:30 I get a call saying I need a Pitman & Idler Arm, which I knew was coming as I had a lot of play in my steering wheel and the truck pulled to the right severly. Well I am working 6 days a week with overtime so I have no time to do it myself, so I gave him the OK to put MOOG parts on it. At 5:15 I got a call saying my truck will be done at 5:30, So I left work early and picked up my truck, made sure to get my old parts in the MOOG boxes. Come to find out when I got there he also replaced my Passenger Stabilizer link (which they thought they broke). My Out-the-door total over the phone was $340.85 (with a free alignment, because he did the previous one and he told me next time he would do it free).
The bill says..
Pass. Stabilizer Link MOOG- $24.43
Pitman Arm MOOG - $64.24
Idler Arm MOOG - $96.09
Labor - $140.00
Total Parts $184.76
Total Parts and Labor - $324.76
Tax - $11.09
Grand Total $335.85
-----
Anyways, I told him I broke the Stabilizer link, but he didn't seem to mind.. I don't understand how I paid for the Stab. link but yet my total is still under what I was quoted, unless he took labor off for taking long.
Anyways, that's not the problem. I get in my truck and drive 10 miles home, previously to me driving the truck it was sitting for a while and was totally cooled off (engine wise). Everything's fine, steering is nice and tight, with a little play in the power steering pump (I know? Wtf) which wasn't his fault, as all he did was take a bolt out to move it and slide the Arm on. I haven't heard of PS pumps wearing out in 13 months time when only driven off road maybe once every 3 months. All my driving is highway and city.
I arrived at my driveway (which is a left turn off the road), I get into the oncoming lane's shoulder to get my mail and am about to turn into the driveway, well my steering is harder then ever, so I pulled it in to the ditch and got out, I thought maybe I blew a hose and lost pressure, nope.. It is pretty dark now as I picked my truck up at 5:30 and arrived home at 6:00 PM, so I put it in 4 wheel drive and creeped up the steep hill that is parallel to my driveway, tore my grass all up and reefed the truck into the top of the driveway. (There is big pine trees so I couldn't of gotten to it sooner). Well after muscling it to a good spot I get out and pop the hood, look at gearbox, pump, reservoir, linkage, check for leaks, Everything checks out OK! I couldn't turn the wheels AT ALL with truck running on a flat pavement driveway. The pump made its normal hissing sound when turning the steering wheel, but the wheels would not turn, nor did the steering wheel, save for a tiny bit which is normal for anyone.
I jacked the front of the truck off the ground and the wheels turned just fine, even by hand on the actual wheel itself. So I called up the mechanic who worked on my truck 1 hour previously and he was completely puzzled, as he double checked everything and made sure there was fluid and pressure in the pump.
When leaving his shop there is basically 3 left turns and I'm home, that's it. It's 6 miles of 55mph highway, and 4 miles of city. But like anyone else who gets an alignment I tested out the tightness of the job and it was nice and snug.
He told me on the phone that he would be at my house today at 9am, luckily I didn't sign for overtime today because I wanted to get my hunting shack ready for rifle season. Anyways, at 8:45 I moved the other vehicles out of the garage and got in my truck, fired it up and the wheels turned perfectly, just dandy.. Now I have a mechanic coming over in 15 minutes and everything's working now I thought to myself, he didn't want me to monkey with it because he is liable because he had his hands on it last and would take care of the issue, Good customer service
So he comes out and says... "Did you find out what the problem was...?" Because he saw it in the garage which obviously I had to turn my truck to get in there.
So I had to tell him it's working fine now, so he looked at it anyways and I came up with the "Maybe when it's hot the pressure fails" theory, and we both agreed maybe something happens when it gets hot. So he gives me his cell number and tells me that if need be, he can have it towed to his shop free of charge. I told him I would take it for a spin and get it hot, then see what happens.. Well I drove it to wesco and seen his truck at a restaurant, well he was across the street at a car dealership talking to their mechanics, so I pulled in and talked to him again, told him everything is fine and then talked to the mechanic about random things. Then I started on my way home and everything was totally fine, turned in to the driveway, all good.
My question is... What the hell happened to my truck??
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