What a fine, upstanding customer service oriented establishment! I love a dealer that'll go to bat for the consumer when the factory drags its heels on warranty work!

Name them here.

 

sounds like pure B.S...I've heard some good ones before, but that is up there.


if it truly is bent, grab an axle from a Junkyard for maybe $1,000 at max. then do the install yourself. it's only 12 bolts, 2 sway bar endlinks, and brake lines to worry about.


typically these places try to pull a fast one over women. my hometown Dealership did that crap with my wife when I was deployed once. She took our 1994 F-150 in for A/C work and they said the water pump was bad which was causing the A/C to not cool. Charged her $100 + labor to "fix" the issue. When I got back I had a little discussion with them about it and got my money back luckily.

 

I would of said,,,Show me my Bent Axle!,,,Sounds like BS to me!!

 

Do you have the paperwork from a year ago?
If not, the dealer does because businesses track the work they do for vehicles under warranty and during recalls. It is just plain good business practice so to continue the maintenance schedules. I get notices from the dealerships all the time as they project certain mileage milestones. Once a dealer found bad ball joints (no fee on incomplete alignment). I replaced them myself then aligned with fee. A year later, a new alignment, and I heard about the ball joints I replaced from the mechanic doing the annual alignment.

Sorry I digress, back on point. Take that paperwork alignment record and press the case with the Ford customer service. Do not take the dealership’s word on this. I have seen and proven where some less than reputable mechanics fix a vehicle to exhibit problems when the customer is hesitant about having service done (properly aligned vehicles will tend to drift away from the crown of the road). That is how some make their money and right now the economy is bad. You should look deep into every charge. You can try to do the measurements, but ask yourself if you rely on your results or be able to correct them if you have that reliance.

BTW $90 for an alignment is an overcharge. Yours was incomplete and the service requested was not fullfilled.
Would you pay for the full price for half cleaned a shirt? Half price for half cleaned shirt? I am pretty confident you would pay nothing.

 

Can you smell it? The B.S. I mean. You are only 5 minutes away, but I can smell it from here. You gave them $90.00, so you are done with it. I would bet that the dealership talked to the engineer and discourged him from comming out there, knowing full well he would have found nothing wrong.

 

That a good idea. Should of thought of that myself. Thats why it's good to have someone else to bounce ideas off of. I have to wait till this weekend and I'll measure center hub to center hub on both sides. That's probably the easiest way to check, quick and dirty. Thanks everyone for all your help.

ItsET

 

first things first.

A friend of mine had an '02 F-250 that had a bent tube on the pass. side rear axle. In 60,000 km's he had 4 axle seals replaced at the dealer under warranty. It only makes sense that the axle seal will wear out if the axle is not centered perfectly. It was out of warranty before anybody told him what the problem was. He went to ford corporate and they agreed to pay for half (he had the seals all done at a dealership, they should have found the problem before the warranty expired). He then got in touch with Dana, with Fords help, and they covered the other half. Have you had axle seal problems?

Second, maybe some of you can help me out. With a solid axle in the rear, a front end alignment has nothing to do with the rear axle or wheels???? I am not an alignment expert, just asking.

 

under most situations with a rwd vehicle only a 2 wheel alignment is done. if a 4 wheel alignment is requested by the customer it can be done. I had to align a newer model chevy that had been in a rear end collision. The frame was slightly bent and had been straightened, so it needed a 4wheel alignment. I had to drop the axle and take a die grinder to the center hole on the axle pad, but it worked.

 

If you've got much bend in the tube you will be able to see an abnormal wear pattern on the splines of the effected axle shaft. Of course you can't see this without pulling the pan (along with the expensive oil) and c-clips to release the axle.

 

An easier way to check if the axle is bent is to make a vertical mark on the tread of each tire (the most accurate way is to put some duct tape on the tread and make a fine mark on the tape). With the axle jacked up enough the wheels can spin (a garage lift is easiest and safest), position each wheel so the marks are facing the front of the vehicle and have someone set the parking brake (having three people makes this a whole lot easier). Measure the distance between the marks. Rotate the wheels so the marks are facing the rear. Again measure the distance between the marks. The two distances should be the same. If not, the axle is bent horizontally.

Vertical bends can be measured as long as the axle can be dropped enough when the frame is jacked up to allow measuring across the top of the tires. Just as before compare the measurements across the top and bottom of the tires.

 

What a great tip. That's one to remember.

 

You guys are great. Awesome ways to check if it's bent or not. See, thats why I come here. The tape on the tires makes better sense to me. I was going to measure front to back centers but if the front is turned just little bit, The measurements are going to be out. Here at home I only have one floor jack and no stands. But tomorrow, at work we have another jack, and stands. So I'll try and check Monday at work. I think it will be safer on stands. And with another set of hands. thanks again.