Tie rod break

[MuddyButt]

So I brought my 4runner in to get an alignment at a firestone and after letting some penetrating oil soak over night they attempted to adjust the tie rod. so the guy pulls out a huge wrench with breaker bar and after using all his weight (literally watched him hanging from it) he ended up snapping the inner tie rod out of the knuckle, they never attempted to use a torch to heat it up which i found out later was because they aren't allowed to use them. Guess who has to pay for it to get fixed now? Yup, me.

I'll also add that I have 2.5 inches of lift and 265/75/16 goodyear duratracs on it and the manager attempted to tell me that all the additional stress from the lift and WEIGHT of the tires most likely caused the tie rods to weaken and hence caused the break. Obviously wasn't because he torqued on it so hard.
I called BS on both. Since first of all the tires are lighter than the 265/70/16 bfg A/T that were on it previously. And secondly 2.5 inches of lift won't put much additional stress on the tie rods.

 

[Do-boy]

From what I know, it's always illegal to use heat on suspension parts. It's really weird that your tie rod was on so tight. When was the last alignment or when they were cracked open last? Unless he was torquing it the wrong way, it must have really been seized on. Not because of the weight, but something. It sucks, but if not the mechanic, it would have been you wrenching on it?

 

[JayRolla]

Whats crazy is I always break or strip the bolt before inner tie rod end comes apart. If you where doing the work yourself same thing would have happened even maybe with heat. Either way you would end up paying for it.

 

[MuddyButt]

Well he did strip the nut trying to get it loose. I bought the car used so I don't know when the last alignment was done, don't understand how it could have been stuck on so good. they did give me a $100 discount and they also broke my camber adjuster which they will be fixing for free.

 

[nevada]

So I brought my 4runner in to get an alignment at a firestone and after letting some penetrating oil soak over night they attempted to adjust the tie rod. so the guy pulls out a huge wrench with breaker bar and after using all his weight (literally watched him hanging from it) he ended up snapping the inner tie rod out of the knuckle, they never attempted to use a torch to heat it up which i found out later was because they aren't allowed to use them. Guess who has to pay for it to get fixed now? Yup, me.

I'll also add that I have 2.5 inches of lift and 265/75/16 goodyear duratracs on it and the manager attempted to tell me that all the additional stress from the lift and WEIGHT of the tires most likely caused the tie rods to weaken and hence caused the break. Obviously wasn't because he torqued on it so hard.
I called BS on both. Since first of all the tires are lighter than the 265/70/16 bfg A/T that were on it previously. And secondly 2.5 inches of lift won't put much additional stress on the tie rods.

do you have a pic of this? im having a hard time envisioning exactly what broke and where...

 

[MuddyButt]

From what I know, it's always illegal to use heat on suspension parts. It's really weird that your tie rod was on so tight. When was the last alignment or when they were cracked open last? Unless he was torquing it the wrong way, it must have really been seized on. Not because of the weight, but something. It sucks, but if not the mechanic, it would have been you wrenching on it?

he may have been torquing it the wrong way. he was a younger mechanic...

 

[Do-boy]

they did give me a $100 discount and they also broke my camber adjuster which they will be fixing for free.

This sounds very fair to me. Whether he screwed up or not, they basically just paid for a new tie rod for you.

 

[MuddyButt]

This sounds very fair to me. Whether he screwed up or not, they basically just paid for a new tie rod for you.

I agree. The manager didn't just immediately give me the discount though. Once he realized I wasn't an idiot like the other customers they take advantage of. And after some convincing arguments on my part he then gave me that discount. I already get a discount though as a college student so I really got $60 off. Still spent $580 though and I still have to bring it back in to fix something else free of charge.

 

[MuddyButt]

do you have a pic of this? im having a hard time envisioning exactly what broke and where...

no pics. But basically where the ball joint joins into the knuckle it just popped out of the socket. Keep in mind I was in the shop when the mechanic tested the LBJ and tie rods (I wanted to see for myself) for any play and they had no play. So for the most part my tie rods were fine other than the fact that they couldn't be adjusted.

 

[ojahunzhe]

they did give me a $100 discount and they also broke my camber adjuster which they will be fixing for free.

 

[piecesparts]

I do my best to know th epeople that I am dealing with, so if there is a broken piece, we can work it out easily. I do not know if you were in a shop that you didn't know the manager and his people, but in the long run it pays.

IU would not pay for something that I did not cause, so when he took on the job, he assumed the responsibility of breakage. He is the expert and he should know his capabilities.