I just subscribed to the Indiana Forum and I am excited to hear from others with International 7.3 motors. Mine is a 1999 F250 super duty and everything done to the truck is done by me, I do not trust most mechanics to work on the truck. There are too many mechanics out there that simply don't care and will return the truck in as bad of condition as when it was dropped off, and sometimes even a worse situation. About a year ago I was having the alignment done, and the mechanic called me and told me my inner tie rod needed replaced (which I already knew about). I was planning on replacing it myself but when he told me the total cost would be under $150 for the part and the replacement I said go ahead and do it, I'm busy and that makes sense. When I picked up the truck not only was I told that the inner tie rod was not $75, but actually $150, but I was also told that the labor was more than expected because the tie rod was tough to get off. With that I paid them the $300 instead of $150 that I was quoted, and i went home to check their work. You know what I found under the truck? A cheap inner tie rod from the parts store that actually does cost $70, they forgot to tighten the bolt (and this is a bottom facing bolt, not top) and they didn't put the cotter pin in nor did they install the grease zerk. They also lost one of my wheel centers and stuck a horrible mismatched one on (as if I wouldn't notice)!!! To top it all off, the alignment wasn't touched! That's what I call throwing money away. Anyway, nice to meet everyone and I hope to come across some nice folks here, that have the same mentality as myself. Talk to you soon!

 

Hey!

Doesn't seem to be many who visit this forum unfortunately.

I hear ya about mechanics. Find one you can trust, then help keep them in business and hope they live forever lol. Otherwise, do it all yourself if you want it done right.