Hey guys,
The other day i got my tire changed by a tow truck. when i heard some funky noises i walked around front to see the lift hitting my steering linkage. anyways the truck wont drive straight and the mechanic says i need a steering gear, track bar, steering linkage and possibly ball joints... this pic shows a little bit but that lift was really banging all my linkage before he lifted it like that.



what do you guys think?

 

I think that is absolutely NOT the way to lift ANY vehicle.

... but he's got the full weight of the nose of a 3/4-ton (with a v-10 no less) sitting on just the diff housing and the steering linkage. (Are those bits of your steering stab laying on the ground?)

The D60 is probably tough enough to survive this abuse but the steering linkage ... doubtful. Try an alignment before throwing any money at it. You might have gotten lucky and just trashed your toe-in.

 

I would think about going after the towing company. I am pretty sure that T-bar is meant to be a wheel lift only. I know the tire was to be changed but that bar is usually a cradle setup. And like the other gent said, the axle is tough, but the steering parts aren't designed to be part of the jacking evolution. Sounds like ur front end needed some work anyway?

Good luck.

 

That doesn't look to good. Defenitially a half *** job on his part cause the driver was to lazy to do it the right way. Why did you call a tow truck to change a flat anyway?

 

thanks guys, i have been in contact with AAA and the towing company... they did not think that lifting the truck like that could do any damage. but it seems everyone agrees it can. I will press the issue more.

As far why i was getting a tow.. the truck is reletively new to me, did not come with a spare and the jack handles were missing. tough way to find out.. but i should have looked...needless to say i've got a new jack and spare and i am seriously thinking about ditching the AAA.

i will keep you all posted on where it goes from here. again, thanks for taking a look.

 

All the driver had to do was move the whole truck onto the pavement, and nothing would've happened. If the pic you've got there is showing the "tire pinch" way of picking up a vehicle, I see little cars come into work all of the time like that without problem. I'm sure your truck has more ground clearance than a Neon...must've been a new guy.

 

what an ***!!!

looks like the diff AND the pass. side steering linkage is sitting on that lift. i would seriously complain about this.. not sure why a tow truck driver is using his wrecker to lift any vehicle to change a tire anyway.. thats so not cool

 

on the other hand, i would not think about ditching AAA, they have been around for a while and saved my butt a few times. and they are usually pretty quick. Not to sound off topic, but i wouldnt let one person change my mind like that. maybe he had a bad day or was working late or something. just my $.02...

 

i replyed on pavementsucks but yea i would do sue there *** and have them fix your truck. not only that i see that as a saftey hazard as that could have have slid right off that thing. very stupid move on there part. if they still think it was fine show them these threads. AAA A$$ holes [:@]

 

I magnified the pic. In my honest opinion, it looks like the cradle bar makes contact with the steering stabilizer. And I get confused on some of the proper names but it looks like your passenger side tie rod(?) and drag link(?) are under great stress from the poorly placed lift bar in the pic. Was this an accident? Did ya ride a ditch, wipe out....lol??



I look again though, and it also seems like part of the stabilizer is missing as well. It's probably my eyes. But if it was an accident, or a ditch, that most def could have caused all that damage. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck.