F**k Car Repair Shops!

[mcatrophy]

Don't grease the lug threads. All the torque setting are too light then....

I always grease the lug nuts, and never use a torque wrench. If you really must, use 2/3 or 3/4 of the quoted value.

How many car drivers who change a wheel use a torque wrench when putting on a spare wheel? If it's that critical, you'd be supplied with a torque wrench as part of the car's toolkit, or the manufacturer would fear getting sued.

The dry torque value will, in any case, be incorrect with any rust, dirt or rain water that's got on the threads or where the nut seats. By cleaning and greasing the threads, it's easy to feel the correct tightness.

I've never had a warped anything nor a loose nut. Well, not on a car.

 

[RossKean]

I try to keep threads clean and dry. Probably some benefit in a thin smear of grease where the shoulder of the bolt or nut contacts the wheel. Excessive friction at that point due to roughness might result in lower clamping force at the click.

 

[art miller]

I agree, it is not recommended you use grease on lug nuts. I make sure the threads are clean and free on rust. I apply ACF50 and wipe clean. That will prevent rust and will not distort the torque value. Mac gave a good lesson on how to tighten the lugs. When I need a set of tires I remove two at a time and take them to the tire shop in my other car and have them mount and balance. Never would I let a tire shop put the wheels on my vehicles unless I was there to witness they use a torque wrench. I have had cars with disc brakes for 50 years and never had a warped rotor on my personal vehicles. It happened twice on company cars and after that I insisted the tire shop use a torque wrench while I witness the operation. They do not welcome that!!! Tuff shit.

 

[Bounce]

And get this - the service manager lives in the next block. So when we need service, he takes her car in and loans us his demo for the day. Delivers the vehicle that evening!! Truly amazing.

I think DPS caught a photo of him and his carpooler the last time they drove her car.

On a similar note to you though, the selling dealership and my chosen servicing dealership have both done very well with my RS3. It was behind a velvet rope on the sales floor with signs clearly warning not to touch without a rep in attendance. The service department treats it the same way (while I eyeball them through the customer observation area).

 

[RossKean]

And get this - the service manager lives in the next block. So when we need service, he takes her car in and loans us his demo for the day. Delivers the vehicle that evening!! Truly amazing.

I think DPS caught a photo of him and his carpooler the last time they drove her car.

Yeah! Who needs a 4WD if you have a rental (or loaner)?

 

[mcatrophy]

At my Audi dealership, they put a webcam on the car as it's being serviced and the customer gets the link. Can't see everything, but it means you get a good idea of what the mechanic is doing and how he's going about it.

 

[dcarver]

And I don't tighten each nut in one go, I tighten all just sufficiently to hold the wheel in place, then finally tighten them down - in a cross-wise order. Then go round them all to make sure. Overkill? Maybe, but it makes me feel good.

Mac, I agree with you. I clean and anti-seize most all threads including lugs. Never had one come loose, gall, or strip. Ever. And your torquing pattern is nuclear power correct. We had maintenance training with a instrumented test torque stand. Fascinating to watch the torque values decrease after initial tightening. And the evenness of torque only happens with the final sequential pattern. I saw this at least 20 times with 20 different techs performing the 'final exam' on the test torque stand.

 

[Bugnatr]

Gunter knows all...goodntight.

 

[RossKean]

Gunter knows all...goodntight.

Goodntight yes but not fuckintight.

 

[QuebexicanFJR]

Unfortunate but not entirely surprising given the way steelerships, at least some, pay these junior tire changer/lube emps. Paid by the job, and not well, they are expected, need to work fast, in order to make a living wage and sometimes miss things as a result. In my son's first experience at a steelership, one of the techs sent a car out with no oil in it after the oil change. Customer came back after a few blocks when the oil pressure light came on and she heard ticking...

On 3 occasions i took our car in for service, only to find the techs did not re-install a under car shield that was removed for access to the oil filter. The first one i did not notice until i did the next oil change. The second (on a different car) i noticed as i got down and looked under the car for it, and it was indeed absent. Told the service guy and he did not believe me so i had him look under my car, then a new version of the same car on the lot, and the new car had the shield, mine did not. He found it in the garbage can in the tech's bay. He likely broke it trying to take a shortcut and only removing 2 of the 3 screws and bending the shield. They ordered me a new one and re-installed the old one.

Same scenario next time, except this time i bypassed the service guy and went straight to the service manager to explain he has a systemic issue in his operation, and while i was not factory trained as their marketing posters promote, i knew enough to replace all the parts i took off. Once again the shield was found by the tech's bench and re-installed.

Have not been back since now that the car is off warranty.

 

[lnewlf]

#1 daughter just got her Ram back from being serviced...nice of them to top off all fluids.....putting antifreeze in the windshield washer reservoir not so nice....gotta wonder what went in the radiator...they said it didn't need topping off..

 

[ogopogo]

Uncle got several free oil changes when he bought a new car about 6 years ago in Toronto. He collects on all the freebies with no issues. The first time he needed an oil change on his own dime he receives an estimate for $1500 in supposedly needed repairs on a vehicle with 40k km. Brakes, other fluid changes, and new wiper blades. Uncle, who is longtime mechanic and former auto repair shop owner, says most of it is unnecessary, what is necessary he'll do himself or elsewhere, and his wiper blades were fine when he drove in. But now one is slightly torn, and the other is almost completely ripped off and hanging loose, to make the stealership's estimate more plausible I guess. Uncle says he ain't leavin' until they replace the wiper blades they destroyed. Service manager says "you're gonna' battle me over $10 wiper blades?" Uncle says, "no, I'm battling over the $79 wiper blades you put on this estimate." Dealer replaced the wiper blades for free and Uncle says that even with his experience he was shocked at the dealer's attempt at outright fraud.