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Hey guys,

Well, I don't know if any of you remember me posting about my suspension making noise before, but I had goldline springs put in my car from a performance shop. Just this last friday as I was driving home frmo work, my front right tie rod end nut fell off the threads. And my right wheel cocked sideways causing me to screech to a stop and at an angle to the side of the road. Now I was lucky I was in a residential street going about 20 MpH. However imagine if I was on the freeway or something. I had my car towed back to the performance shop and, get this, they said it is normal wear and tear on the car. WTH!! Look, I don't know too much about cars, but I DO know that with only 16k miles on my civic and the fact that the tie rod end's threads looked stripped and without a cotter pin in place, that this could not be wear and tear. They said hona uses cheap *** parts and the brass nut that is on there just falls off. They said it happenes to all newer civics. Now I would think if that were the case, that there would be a massive recall by now?? And why would something like that even pass the engineering phase??? Also they charged me $100.00 for the repair and said the other side would eventually do it too. Well since I was suspecious, I went ahead and called honda service. They said they never heard of such a thing. Well, all in all, the performance shop would not claim liability for the crap that happened. I was told to call the B.A.R. and let them know what happened and go from there. I do have the old part, but no digital camera so I could show you all. But I need opinions on this. Was it really their fault, or am I missing something here?

Thanks for any input.

 
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Well thats NOT normal. let me see if I got this straight, the nut just fell off? or the whole are broke? to break that you pretty much have to run into a curb really hard. those aren't really easy to break. $100 isn't bad to fix it, its'a $60 part from honda. plus labor. wasn't the cotter pin in it still? the nut shouldn't have just come off like that. I would say you got screwed. sounds like who ever did the last work on that part of your car messed it up. I'm sure they will deney it, if you got in an accident and it was because of a broken tie rod and they worked on it last, they can be held responsible. If you had a pic I could tell you more. but I wouldn't go back to them again if I were you.

 
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Is this related to your problem?

 
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that bS man....that nut couldnt have just all of a sudden fell off especially if you had that cotter pin still in it. I installed my springs myself(goldlines also btw) and that nut has never fell off or even came close to falling off. Its nice and secure and everything is fine. That shop must have fugged up with something bad. Thats scary having that happen, lucky you were going slow.

 
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Let us know what happens if you do anything.

 
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The thread was completely stripped on the tie rod end like the wrong nut was cross threaded on. I will see if I can get a digital camera to take a pic of it and put it up here so you all can see. The nut flew off, and come to think of it just prior to me losing control of my car, I heard something bang all the way from front to back as if I ran over some metal object...Guess what?! The nut was probably what flew off at that moment. Well, they still don't claim liability on this happening. So I filed a complaint with the B.A.R. I hope maybe they can help me. I mean, I could have really wiped out if I was going any faster or in a more crowded place! Thanks for the feedback guys.

Oh and BTW, the name of the shop is 'Quest Performance' in San Bernardino here in So. Cal. So if anyone is even thinking of having work done to their car at this place, I would kinda steer the other way if you know what I mean. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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Here are the pics I took of the part. I tried to get as close as possible.








The flash kinda got in the way cuz of the glare off of the metal. But I wanted you guys to see something...

 
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that doesn't look normal...

 
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Well, I can almost be certain of what happened to that tierod end. They didn't use a pickle fork and they didn't know to hit the strut on the side to release the end. Unfortunately, what they did is hammer the bottom of the tirerod upward to pop it free. That explains why the bottom is no longer flat and required the nut to be forced back on. Since so much turning force is needed to put a nut on a stripped stud, they couldn't get it on all the way as the tierod end spins when it is not tightly held in place.

They hammered that **** from the bottom. What a bunch of f-in idiots. YOu have to realize that the guys that do installs at import shops are usually guys just like you and me, nothing more. I'd bet they know exactly what happened and just wouldn't pay for it. In other words, they are crooks.

Tierod ends are $47 from the honda dealer complete with boot installed. Installation is nothing more than a matter of loosening a nut and unscrewing the end, and putting on the new one.

 
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wow.....they fugged up bad!! Sometimes HAMMERing does work. But when i installed my springs i didnt use a friggin hammer...just used a rubber mallet and it was fine. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

Jeff

 
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Mbow said it. I've see tie rods like that before. instead of using a ball joint remover they just smashed it with a hammer to pop it out. When they did that they bent the threads and screw part of it and just forced the nut back on and stripped the treads completely off. I'm guessing the only thing holding your tie rod on was the cotter pin and that can't take any force its just the to keep the nut from turning more when it gets to a certain point but that only works if there are theads for the nut to turn on.

I can tell you 100% that's what happened. I would be pissed and demand my money back and have them pay for the cost of fixing it. You got screwed big time and they lied to you telling you thats normal. personally I wouldn't let up till I got my money back. SH*T like that is why NO BODY but me touchs my car.

And tell everyone you know not to go to that shop.

 
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Well, I got an official response from the B.A.R. And that lame *** performance shop got away with it and they can't be forced to pay. I was shocked. Oh well.

To everyone that will ever read this..

DON'T GOTO QUEST PERFORMANCE San Bernardino CA!

P.S. - I started to do all the work on my car myself...So I know what the hell is going on. Just had to gain some confidence is all.

 
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are you referring to the picture? it's flat in the picture because the entire bottom half of the bolt was cut in half when it broke. It looks stripped because it's been rubbing against the strut for who knows how long. My take on the situation is they didn't use the cotter pin. That nut can very easily become loose when driving and that cotter pin is what keeps it from falling off completely. They may have not even tightened the nut completely.

From now on, everyone follow the DIY I made in the suspension forum.. it's very detailed.

 
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No, there aren't many threads below the hole that the cottor pin goes through. Plus, the bottom being angled is a sure sign that it WAS hammered from the bottom to release the end. If anything was sheered off, it was like 1mm.

The bolt will not come loose very easily. The tierod is locked in place when the nut is tightened down. The cotter pin is strictly a safety backup. Seems like he would have heard the tierod flopped around if it was loose. Also, he definately would have felt the slop in the steering wheel.

I have also replaced my tierod ends with new ones. I am very familar with what they look like.

The DIY doesn't apply in this situation. Some idiot installed the springs at an "import" shop.

 
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This is why you use a tie rod end seperator! Using this tool easily removes your tie rod end with no damage to the end or to the bolt.

Using a hammer causes the ends and treads to become deformed. Then when you try to screw the nut back on, it cross threads and won't allow the cottor pin to be installed.

I would look at the other one right now. It is probably the same way. It sounds like your shop that you used attempted to save 65 dollars on a necessary tool and basically screwed its customers.

I look at it his way. HONDA knows just a bit more than that shop. And it specifies exactly how to remove the tie rod to ensure that no damage is done and the car will keep its tie rods intact, so your car is safe to drive.

I would go back and ask to see their tie rod removal tool, if they don't have one, you already know the answer.

Go to http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/to...select=&page=5 and see one.

 
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Right after that incident, I went to a real suspension shop and they inspected everything. The other end was fine, and the new Tie Rod was fine as well. I mean I looked at it too cuz you can see it just by looking into the wheel well, and it looked ok to me as well, since I know what to look for now.

 
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You don't need a special tool. You only need a 1lb hammer or greater. Hitting the strut on the outside where the tierod end goes through will release it. It may take a couple wacks. It will pop free and no tools are needed. It works great. This is how I was told to do it by my local honda dealer. Wish I would have know before I tore my boots. Cost me a 100 bucks for new ones. You can't just replace the boots...

 
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I'm gonna have to try that next time i install springs (tomorrow ) and if it works i owe you a million thanks for telling me an easier/better way to do it!