hmmmm waiting always makes the heart grow fonder! lol

 

Corporate should handle it, NAPA has a good reputation and they like it that way. Personally I never use the service centers attached to any of the parts stores, I've always had a harder time or received non-competetive quotes at them. I get most of my parts at NAPA though.

For those of you wondering about your tie rods, one way you can check them is jack up the front end of the truck, grab one of the front tires (hands on either side) and then push with one hand and pull with the other, try to wiggle it that way. If it moves more than 1/8" or so and especially if you hear a clunking noise that can indicate trouble in the steering linkage (tie rod included).

If you do the same thing but put your hands on the top and bottom of the tire play can indicate trouble in the suspension linkage or wheel bearings. This info comes out of one of the books I picked up "How to Make Your Car Handle" by Fred Puhn. Quite a bit of handy info in there.

 

i know that, but I'm actually afraid to do it because of what I might find....I just bought this truck in May, I don't want to have to sink $500 in repairs when I'm still spending money modifying her (hmmm...superchips or tie rods) lol

 

lol superchips shoot with the extra power in it it'll power through just sitting on rotors and drums! lol

 

Better to catch it sooner and have to delay the Superchips than wait for it to break and cause other problems too then end up paying even more.

 

NAPA Corporate called and told me that the shops charge more for the part like a Rack and Pinion because of the fact that it is a part that is more likely to fail a second time in the future. They told me that because of that fact they charge a higher percentage markup on certain parts that have a higher failure rate because once a part has been replaced if it breaks within a certain period of time it's the shop's responsibility to fix it free of charge.

They were pretty good about telling me what was going on and they called and spoke with the shop manager so I think everything has been squared away. It would have helped if the manager explained this reasoning in the first place instead of being irritated about it.

Anywho it's up to my insurance today to let me know if they are fixing it. They got the invoice from the shop so I should hear from them today since it's Tuesday. I stopped by the shop personally on Saturday to see if the rack was really damaged the way they said it was. Sure enough the threaded end with the inner and outer tie rod ends is bent like a a banana so needless to say it does need replaced.

Mechanic asked me if I hit a pothole or something and it reminded me I have tagged a couple of large potholes this summer. The last one I hit in particular was a big one. I hit it good enought that my girlfriend commented that she hoped I didn't blow a tire or something. I would have to think that is why this part broke the way it has.

 

Finally got the truck back. Brand new rack and pinion and inner and outer tie rod ends. Steering is nice and tight and she drives straight down the road. The insurance somehow talked the mechanic down from the $1100 quote down to around $830.

 

well that one heck of a deal though...atleast this isn't coming straight out of pocket! gotta love insurance! now my ? is, is this going in as a claim on insurance so the insurance will go up a little?

 

My insurance won't go up. I paid a $500 deductible so they only had to pay a little over $300. I was in a bad accident back in February 08 with just a tad under 3k worth of damage to my truck and my insurance remained the same after that ordeal.