Timothy
Westmont,#2Author of original report
Sun, May 07, 2006
Heli Coil Thank you for your comments. I will check to make sure that the bolts are still doing their job. I think I will check the more regularly now that this type of part is installed. After reading your comments I thought I would research the product itself. When I talked to Andy, of course he said it was safe and that they had been doing it for a long time. Well he was right. This particular product has been in use since the 1930s and NASA has used them on every space shuttle per company website. Time will tell whether or not they are practical and safe for the application I have used them for. Additionally I have written the company and asked them about their confidence in their product for such an application.
Nuri
Www,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, May 06, 2006
I would think twice before doing anything about your braking system. Are you sure that the repair Midas did is going to hold up to 1700 pounds of pressure? To replace the tierod end, you do not need to take the caliper off. In most cases you do need to pull the steering wheel out in order to replace ignition lock. If your steering wheel was loose, then you would be able only to slide the steering wheel up and down. Then all of a sudden you mention tierod replacement??? Yes the play in tierod end will couse 3 inch movement... I have worked on cars that had electrical problems. Brand new cars. Customers would go balistic. Most common reason customers would park cars near trash containers. Rats would end up in engine compartment, warming themselfs, while biting off wires. Thats not covered under any warranty. What they were doing with your car for 9 hours? Are you the owner of the company? Don't you thing there are other customers inline? IAC will not shut down the engine while driving. As its name states, idle air control valve...IDLE...you might have problems having the engine idle. There are 2 bolts holding brake caliper bracket to the knockle ( spindle), the bolts are more than often, seized b/c of the heat. Just applying heat to the bolt before removing it, it will loosen the bolt just fine. Maybe the tech just used airgun and forced it loose, causing the threads to strip. Just this past week I worked on rear brakes ( ford explorer)and ford used Lock-tite to make sure it doesnt get loose from vibrations....Now, can you imagine how frustrated I was? That was unnesseserry. The point is... I could have stripped the threads very easely but I didnt. I knew what im doing. All of the above is irrelevant, but have someone check your brakes again. Have them make sure the caliper bricket is still tight and the system is safe, for you and people around you. ""Thank Andy at Westmont Midas you're a...well lifesaver."" Lifesaver???...I doubt. PS"Please take a look in any major news parer, job opportunities section. Only the dealers offer jobs to unqualified people. " No experiance needed, will train... Now guess how they get trained. On your car ! Nuri Master Tech MD vehicle safety state inspector ASE Tech
Timothy
Westmont,#4Author of original report
Fri, May 05, 2006
Just last night I posted the above report. Since then I have had my car looked at and here what they are telling me: The spindle itself is an item covered under warrenty, but because it looks like someone cross-theaded, or stripped the thread it makes it a workmanship defect, which the is not covered by the warrenty. After thinking about it a asking some questions, we now believe the shop who replaced a tie rod I had bent this last winter put the brake caliper back on incorrectly. All said Ford wanted $727 to replace the spindle and hub. They said the hub was necessary because the old one would be damaged when they removed the spindle from it. All this for a stripped out connection. I got to thinking how much would Midas charge for the same job. So I called and he asked me why I was going to replace the whole spindle for the one joint. I was like thats what Ford had told me needed to be done. He suggested Heli-coil; I'm sure if thats how you spell it and I have certainly never heard of it, but it worked and the grand total was only $124. A little more than $600 less. I realize that the dealer would have installed a new spindle and hub and that's why it would cost more, but it makes me ask the question, "Why would they sell me something I don't need?" Money would be the answer. Thank Andy at Westmont Midas you're a...well lifesaver.