Estimate Cost
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Professional
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 215
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From: Northwest Fl, Eglin Air Force Base
My concern is the mechanic will spend lots of time pulling things apart searching for the problem before finally discovering it. Then give me a complicated explanation involving numerous issues costing plenty of bucks.
What was the explanation he gave you?
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 967
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From: MI USA
Find a reputable alignment shop.
Take it in for alignment - If they know their stuff, they will refuse to do the alignment with a front end problem.
Some well tell you what it is without charging, others want a $20 "hoist fee" to lift it up, take a look and diagnose.
Good deal either way, trick is finding someone honest and reputable.
Honesty is usually not much of a factor, as they rarely have anything to gain by telling you you need something else fixed before an alignment.
True, alot of those shops do front end work too, tell them in advance about your suspected problem, and tell them you will fix it yourself, then bring it back for an alignment.
Doesn't matter if you intend to fix it yourself or not, point is, you want them to think you are.
After they tell you whats wrong, then it wouldn't hurt to ask, out of curiosity, how much they would charge to fix it.
Be prepared to laugh out loud, last time I went for an alignment I was told a ball joint needed changing, and it would probably be a good idea to change them all, then come back.
I asked the guy how much he would charge, he said you really don't want to know.
I said really, how much ?
I figured if I could bring in the parts, and pay a couple $100 for labor, that would save me the PITA of doing it myself.
He said Ok you asked for it, hold on.
He consulted a colleague and some books, came back and told me $1,400.
I said you were right, I really didn't want to know.
Changed them myself, 3 days later went back and got the alignment.
I would guess it will be something fairly obvious, like a failing pitman/idler arm.
Surprising what you can see when the vehicle is lifted in the air.
In that case, you can fix it for a little bit of nothing yourself.
If its something you can't handle, then shop around to find someone who can.
Craigslist is an option, alot of good mechanics looking for little side jobs like that, will do the job for a fraction of what a shop would charge.
Of course, you can run into worthless jokers that way too ,,, I have found if the guy sounds like he knows what hes talking about, has his own tools, and wants to do it
right away, usually turns out good.
If you know more than the guy or if he gets stumped when you ask technical questions, or if he wants to do it in a day or two, stay away.
Take it in for alignment - If they know their stuff, they will refuse to do the alignment with a front end problem.
Some well tell you what it is without charging, others want a $20 "hoist fee" to lift it up, take a look and diagnose.
Good deal either way, trick is finding someone honest and reputable.
Honesty is usually not much of a factor, as they rarely have anything to gain by telling you you need something else fixed before an alignment.
True, alot of those shops do front end work too, tell them in advance about your suspected problem, and tell them you will fix it yourself, then bring it back for an alignment.
Doesn't matter if you intend to fix it yourself or not, point is, you want them to think you are.
After they tell you whats wrong, then it wouldn't hurt to ask, out of curiosity, how much they would charge to fix it.
Be prepared to laugh out loud, last time I went for an alignment I was told a ball joint needed changing, and it would probably be a good idea to change them all, then come back.
I asked the guy how much he would charge, he said you really don't want to know.
I said really, how much ?
I figured if I could bring in the parts, and pay a couple $100 for labor, that would save me the PITA of doing it myself.
He said Ok you asked for it, hold on.
He consulted a colleague and some books, came back and told me $1,400.
I said you were right, I really didn't want to know.
Changed them myself, 3 days later went back and got the alignment.
I would guess it will be something fairly obvious, like a failing pitman/idler arm.
Surprising what you can see when the vehicle is lifted in the air.
In that case, you can fix it for a little bit of nothing yourself.
If its something you can't handle, then shop around to find someone who can.
Craigslist is an option, alot of good mechanics looking for little side jobs like that, will do the job for a fraction of what a shop would charge.
Of course, you can run into worthless jokers that way too ,,, I have found if the guy sounds like he knows what hes talking about, has his own tools, and wants to do it
right away, usually turns out good.
If you know more than the guy or if he gets stumped when you ask technical questions, or if he wants to do it in a day or two, stay away.
Last edited by xray99; Feb 8, 2010 at 11:40 PM.
Thread Starter
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Professional
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 215
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From: Northwest Fl, Eglin Air Force Base
he (the dealer) said the tire pressure was wrong and tires needed to be rotated and that was after he installed the steering gear box. Not sure I should bring it to him again.
Hall Of Fame
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 12,204
Likes: 10
From: Gainesville, Ga.
this is a long running problem, scattered across several separate threads concerning new ball joints and steering gear already installed.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...icked-off.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...icked-off.html
Thread Starter
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Professional
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
From: Northwest Fl, Eglin Air Force Base
Yes, I am looking for someone other than the dealer. But still I wish the dealer would fix it. He had explained there was play in the gear box and needed changing. But that hasn't entirely solved the problem.
Thread Starter
|
Professional
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
From: Northwest Fl, Eglin Air Force Base
Find a reputable alignment shop.
Take it in for alignment - If they know their stuff, they will refuse to do the alignment with a front end problem.
Some well tell you what it is without charging, others want a $20 "hoist fee" to lift it up, take a look and diagnose.
Good deal either way, trick is finding someone honest and reputable.
Honesty is usually not much of a factor, as they rarely have anything to gain by telling you you need something else fixed before an alignment.
True, alot of those shops do front end work too, tell them in advance about your suspected problem, and tell them you will fix it yourself, then bring it back for an alignment.
After they tell you whats wrong, then it wouldn't hurt to ask, out of curiosity, how much they would charge to fix it.
Be prepared to laugh out loud, last time I went for an alignment I was told a ball joint needed changing, and it would probably be a good idea to change them all, then come back.
I asked the guy how much he would charge, he said you really don't want to know.
I said really, how much ?
He said Ok you asked, hold on.
He consulted a colleague and some books, came back and told me $1,400.
I said you were right, I really didn't want to know.
Changed them myself, 3 days later went back and got the alignment.
I would guess it will be something fairly obvious, like a failing pitman/idler arm.
Surprising what you can see when the vehicle is lifted in the air.
In that case, you can fix it for a little bit of nothing yourself.
Take it in for alignment - If they know their stuff, they will refuse to do the alignment with a front end problem.
Some well tell you what it is without charging, others want a $20 "hoist fee" to lift it up, take a look and diagnose.
Good deal either way, trick is finding someone honest and reputable.
Honesty is usually not much of a factor, as they rarely have anything to gain by telling you you need something else fixed before an alignment.
True, alot of those shops do front end work too, tell them in advance about your suspected problem, and tell them you will fix it yourself, then bring it back for an alignment.
After they tell you whats wrong, then it wouldn't hurt to ask, out of curiosity, how much they would charge to fix it.
Be prepared to laugh out loud, last time I went for an alignment I was told a ball joint needed changing, and it would probably be a good idea to change them all, then come back.
I asked the guy how much he would charge, he said you really don't want to know.
I said really, how much ?
He said Ok you asked, hold on.
He consulted a colleague and some books, came back and told me $1,400.
I said you were right, I really didn't want to know.
Changed them myself, 3 days later went back and got the alignment.
I would guess it will be something fairly obvious, like a failing pitman/idler arm.
Surprising what you can see when the vehicle is lifted in the air.
In that case, you can fix it for a little bit of nothing yourself.
That is an easy fix. Rotate the tires and check the tire pressure. Seems easy to me! That needs to be done every 5,000 miles anyway!