Have the service writer put it in writing and if you're staying at the dealership keep your key and have the tech come get it from you.

 

If you take a piece of heavy bar stock, and put a hole in it to put on your torque wrench, then weld a square drive to the other end from an extension, you can multiply how much torque your wrench can measure.

A six inch extension on a 1-foot-handled wrench, would cause the actual torque applied to be 1.5 times what is on the scale, so for 200 ft-lbs you would need the scale to read 133 ft-lb.

Wire it in place and get yourself a 12 volt electric fencer. Is there a way you could bolt or rivet a box over the plug?

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing. I plan on using a small electronics box, wires in one end and out the other. I just have to come up with a means of locking it, although there may already be something manufactured I just haven't had a chance to look yet.

 

Give them the bill and they will have to refund your last repair.

 

the dealership would not touch it if I didn't sign a waiver for them not to reflash ECM I decided not to get it done will change of the ball joint myself

 

had the same problem with mine 3 times and told me it wont do it again

 

if dealership changes out for you guys make sure they change the hole bar with the shock

 

just have them fix

 

it wont give you a notice ill just break

 

This recall is the same as the previous tie rod end recall. The dealer informed me that there was not a wide enough response to the previous one so they gave it a new # and re issued the recall to try to get more owners to respond.

 

.....actually the recall was re-issued to once again inspect any truck that may have had it's "Y" steering replaced with the newer "Z" style. "IF" you went to a dealer and needed a "tie rod" the part superceded to the whole updated steering assy.....which fell under the recall, so that left some trucks that may have slipped through passing the first inspection, but then having the steering replaced. While I've only noted a handfull of these things actually breaking, we've also found a slew of potential problems stemming from poor alignment procedures. Most if not all broken ones I've dealt with personally you could lift the broken steering rod up and see pretty plainly that the base of the joint was "cocked" causing stress on the joint. Something you can crawl and check yourself....

right side...... good angle:


left side...... truck had been aligned previously and was left in this manner:


truck got new steering link, but I pried off boot from the cross link that had been replaced and cleaned it up for clarity purposes. You can see where the center pin of the ball joint had been stressing against the body of the joint. This would have eventually snapped.....



.....like this one:



something to keep an eye on