A meaningless story to pass the time.

[aerovette]

I had a motor mount go bad on my truck. I watched a few videos and figured I'd tackle it myself. Well, I slid under the truck and changed my mind real fast. Being 4WD, there was way too much big bulky shit in the way and I decided this would get farmed out. I don't have a second car so anything I do, or get done, has to be all in one day. A coworker knows the owner of an aftermarket accessories shop. The guy quoted a decent price and my first question was "Have you done this before?". He assured me he has. Said it's a big job, but not outside their wheelhouse.

Fast forward, they call and tell me the truck is done. I go pick it up and immediately I have a check engine light. No panic since I knew the battery was disconnected etc. I cleared the fault but it came back. Turns out they broke the knock sensor off the block. I took it back and learned that the guy that worked on my truck was so pissed off about what a huge job it was, that he quit. They rep[laced the sensor no charge of course. In hindsight, I think he quit before he was done with my truck...

I would back out of my driveway and hear a "clunk" in the front end as I steered from left to right. The truck is pushing 130k so I know things will start happening. Probably needs some suspension work.

I FINALLY decided to take it to my regular shop. He tells me that the rack was left loose when parts of the suspension were removed to get to the motor mount. The pissed off mechanic never tightened the rack. They also left off or lost a sway bar bushing. He got it all listed out and I had two tie rod ends put on, sway bar bushings, and an alignment. He called to tell me the truck was on the alignment rack and getting finished up. It should be done by the time I get there to pick it up.

I pulled in and it was still on the rack. I went in to the office and was informed that they found more loose bolts and were still checking it all out.

Now I have it back and it steers tight and right. Moral of the story, if you find a decent mechanic, treat them right and know it isn't always about price or convenience. Going to the Off Road shop because it was close to my office, could have caused a catastrophic accident. I just got lucky that I took it to my guy before it all came apart.

[Anjdog2003]

cliffs

[RMVette]

You're lucky something didn't come apart!

[GTOguy]

I was a pro mechanic for 17 years in private industry before I went into consumer protection involving auto repair for another 25 years, and sadly, your story is very common. You 'get what you pay for'. Always check the reputation of the tech or the shop and be leery of great deals. Mechanics/Techs that are getting treated right and paid fairly for their work generally do an excellent job. Like everything else, 5% of the bad techs give the 95% of the rest of the techs a black eye. I remember a couple of occasions where I had to pick up on a repair job that another tech had quit or walked off on and went home 'sick'.....in each case, virtually everything surrounding the repair area was buggered up, loose, stripped, or broken. Sorry for your experience.

[Mike Mercury]

[RMVette]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

Well alrighty then.....

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

That's the equivalent of using @aerovette as your electrician.

[aerovette]

Originally Posted by Anjdog2003

cliffs

Truck broke then
Truck fixed bad then
Truck fixed good

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

"When your monthly nut is $3000..."

[Vandelay Industries]

This story lived up to its title.

[ratflinger]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

I approve of the ingenuity shown here. Base steel would have been cheaper though.

[Don Rickles]

Your tailgate vehicle?

[04 commemorative]

Maybe big zip ties would have worked

[aerovette]

Originally Posted by 04 commemorative

Maybe big zip ties would have worked

No. Ask me how I know.

[The_Dude]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

No, they did that for fun I think.

[ToolMaker]

Originally Posted by The_Dude

No, they did that for fun I think.

I see lots of things like this on rat rods. It's fun looking for it!

[m and t's77]

Originally Posted by ToolMaker

I see lots of things like this on rat rods. It's fun looking for it!

The welds are near perfect,it was for showing off for sure.