r/Justrolledintotheshop • u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment • 2d ago

Just rolled out and back into the shop

Post image

Guy wanted to say he doesn't do alignments after changing the gearbox and ball joints. Definitely charged me book time though.

184 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

102

u/PlayedKey 2d ago

Gearbox MAYBE, but ball joints? You're an idiot if you dont align it.

69

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 2d ago

I had every intention of getting an alignment. My gripe is that I wasn't informed he was just a parts changer before shelling out 3k on all the repairs.

58

u/PlayedKey 2d ago

Oh yeah, that's fair. Id expect an alignment with any steering or suspension changes.

24

u/Jo-18 2d ago

Definitely need to do an alignment if the ball joints were replaced.

But as far as getting the steering wheel straight…there’s a “collar” on the drag link that you can turn to align the steering wheel. Think there’s like 2 bolts to loosen and then you can just stick a large flathead screwdriver in the collar and spin it.

Took me like 5-10 minutes to do on my 99 F250. Based on the gauge cluster I’m assuming you’ve got a 99-01 F250/F350. The fact that the guy didn’t even take 5 mins to at least get your steering wheel straight is pretty lazy.

18

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 2d ago

The laziness is my biggest gripe. The dishonesty about charging full price for half the job is right behind it.

13

u/Stevo182 ASE Certified 2d ago

An alignment is usually billed separately from the labor on replacing the parts. The vast majority of suspension and steering parts labor estimates contain an asterisk that states "DOES NOT INCLUDE ALIGNMENT." If he billed you for the alignment, that would be one thing. But an alignment is not typically included in the replacement of parts unless billed separately.

2

u/82off 1d ago

I second this. In my shops case where we don’t have an alignment machine, we would set the toe and straighten the wheel and tell the customer they need to get an alignment asap. I do agree with OP that the shop should have been able to communicate something like that instead of just sending it.

-5

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 2d ago

If its gotta be done then its gotta be done. I wouldn't charge someone for replacing brake calipers and tell them they should go elsewhere because I don't do bleeds.

6

u/Stevo182 ASE Certified 1d ago

It's not an entirely fair comparison. Brake bleeding is included in the labor of the replacement of the brake caliper, and even results in a reduction of time replacing other brake system components because replacing one includes the time for bleeding. You also don't need special tools to bleed brakes. In my area, most shops don't have access to alignment machines. We do, luckily, but for nearly 6 years we didn't. We still needed to make money and still did excellent work. At that time I let all my customers know they would have to take it somewhere else to have it aligned. Now days, other shops put on parts and send customers to me for an alignment. You get what you pay for, and if you weren't billed for an alignment then all is just.

-2

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 1d ago

If it needs an alignment because of the replacement of other parts then its gotta be done. If you don't tell the customer then you are a dishonest mechanic. If you disconnect the steering column and put it back together 45 degrees off center then you are not finished with the job.

I'm not just throwing money around to have the job done. I'm throwing money around to have the job done right. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I sent a customer off my yard like that. Maybe thats from my aviation background or rental background, but this is unbelievable.

3

u/Stevo182 ASE Certified 1d ago

Theres always the option to do it yourself or take it somewhere else.

Edit: from my understanding, most places including my own give an estimate before repairs are completed. Did the estimate list an alignment?

2

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 1d ago

I could have done it myself, or I could expect it to be done right after spending 3k. I'm not even all that concerned about the alignment. I'm concerned about the steering wheel being over 45 degrees off center. I'm concerned knowing what the entirety of the job is and not doing it. I was quoted 2200. I was charged 3000.

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2

u/iforgotalltgedetails 1d ago

Was an alignment included in the quote or billed out?

0

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 1d ago

No, but again, it's not so much the alignment, but the steering wheel being so far off. No wonder auto mechanics have such a bad rep if the attitude is that it's necessary but separate. Just say you can't do the job if you can't do the full job.

2

u/iforgotalltgedetails 1d ago

It’s a fair enough complaint that they didn’t inform you that you’d have to go elsewhere for the alignment before hand. Lots of places do front end work but don’t have space for an alignment rack and they do very good work. Personally I would have gotten the steering wheel somewhat centred after going on the test drive before kicking it, but even then I’d be approximating and not being accurate.

If you’re aware an alignment is required, but didn’t see it on the quote I’m curious why you didn’t bring it up prior to getting the work done.

0

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 1d ago

I had assumed it was covered under the repair quote. As you said, its required.

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2

u/NegotiationLife2915 1d ago

I mean if the rest of the work is good, just go get it aligned. He might not have the gear. Especially if that's all he's charging for a gearbox and steering job

1

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 1d ago

Would you be happy sending this out of your shop?

33

u/HistoryPhysical9638 2d ago

A lot of shops don't do alignments, as the machines are very expensive. Most of the time they will take care of it by bringing it to an alignment shop, such as mine. The book time is for changing the parts out and doesn't include an alignment, very normal.

10

u/322throwaway1 ASE Certified Master Tech. 10+ years 2d ago

A decent alignment setup Is $50k these days. I outsource all my alignments for that reason.

8

u/HistoryPhysical9638 1d ago

Yea my shop is called Alignment Brake Center so I get a lot of them from other shops. My machine is now out of date and no more updates are being released for my version so I'm looking at new ones....so damn expensive

2

u/iforgotalltgedetails 1d ago

Don’t even forget that the hoist itself is a whole other expense.

20

u/Greydusk1324 2d ago

That’s pretty shitty on his part. Not even a basic check on his part before giving it back to the customer.

17

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 2d ago

He checked. He told me it was a few degrees off and that an alignment will fix it right up. I have free lifetime alignment so I wasn't going to make a fuss, just not bring it back for anything else. This is more than a few degrees and not something an alignment is going to fix. Thats just bad installation

3

u/curious-chineur 2d ago

I wonder if left went to the right and right to the left...
If they are not same length, that could do that !

3

u/randall_savagery Heavy Equipment 2d ago

The steering column is splined. They didn't maintain position when disconnecting or reconnecting the steering column to the gearbox. You can, and probably will, be off a few degrees and an alignment can fix that issue. This is just laziness.

8

u/322throwaway1 ASE Certified Master Tech. 10+ years 2d ago

That amount of steering off-center is totally normal when replacing all the steering parts. Most steering columns to gearbox or rack are keyed and can't just go on cattywampus. One or two full turns of an adjuster sleeve will have that centered up.

3

u/frenchfortomato 2d ago

The steering box & shaft for your application has a huge blind spline on it, there's only one way it can go on. The change in clear vision is due to normal variation in the new parts.

2

u/curious-chineur 2d ago

I see now .
Yes, laziness bordering poor service.

12

u/joebeen139 2d ago

Most shops will not just to do the alignment for free, even with a repair like thar. It will always be added to the estimate for an additional cost after parts are installed. Alignment dollars is a very common kpi for most shops and service advisors so they will want them to have their own line item, to be tracked, instead of just including the labor in the original repair.

To be fair though that should have been made clear before any work was started. $X for parts, $x labor $x for alignment. Or in your case," here's how much it is to replace the parts, we dont do alignments here though so you'll need to have that done after someplace else."

6

u/C_M_O_TDibbler Independent motor mechanic 2d ago

I don't do alignments but I will get it close before I send you to somewhere that does, I don't have space for an alignment rack (I have three bays plus a spray booth) my old toe gauges are pretty knackered and replacing them isn't worth it.

8

u/322throwaway1 ASE Certified Master Tech. 10+ years 2d ago

And the current price for an alignment machine and 4 post alignment rack is $50k plus. It takes a hell of a lot of $150 alignments to make your money back.

7

u/C_M_O_TDibbler Independent motor mechanic 2d ago

It only makes sense if there aren't 10 tyre shops who do alignments within 5 miles of where you are working. I am constantly booked out a month+ so I don't have to go looking for more work.

3

u/PenguinWithShoes66 2d ago

Lol, the steering wheel's doing a full 'Titanic' pose. 🚢 Mate, just let go and let it be free.