Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
04-11-2006, 05:06 PM
#11
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
I am unsure of how to answer that, ikeybmg; I am not a mechanic and my knowledge of automotive repair is fairly limited, and supplimented only by my skills with Google. [:-]
04-11-2006, 05:10 PM
#13
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
They're in the process of fixing it right now. Currently, what's left of the tire and the wheel are at the tire manufacturer, undergoing an "investigation" into the failure. The owner of the shop, who I've been taking my car to for years) was absolutely mortified and promised full restitution when I showed him what had happened.
04-11-2006, 06:23 PM
#15
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 5,263
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
agree with everyone else.
if it wasnt falling aprat before your mechanic touched it,
sounds like they broke it, or didn't do work correctly.
time to find a new shop
if it wasnt falling aprat before your mechanic touched it,
sounds like they broke it, or didn't do work correctly.
time to find a new shop
04-11-2006, 07:28 PM
#16
4th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,267
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
I firmly disagree. Having worked in a shop since a week after my 16th (when I got my license), I know how everything is done. You don't need to touch the brake lines to do any of that work. All that needs to be done for the alignment is loosening of the locking-nut on the inner tie-rod socket, which is as easy as crawling under the car with a creeper with a wrench, then just spin the inner socket to where-ever it needs to go. Wheels and tires... repair shops don't even do them, they send them away to a tire shop, and besides, the changing of a wheel and tire obviously has nothing to do with the lines. So I would suppose just un-lucky.
04-11-2006, 07:33 PM
#17
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
ORIGINAL: Liquid_02
I firmly disagree. Having worked in a shop since a week after my 16th (when I got my license), I know how everything is done. You don't need to touch the brake lines to do any of that work. All that needs to be done for the alignment is loosening of the locking-nut on the inner tie-rod socket, which is as easy as crawling under the car with a creeper with a wrench, then just spin the inner socket to where-ever it needs to go. Wheels and tires... repair shops don't even do them, they send them away to a tire shop, and besides, the changing of a wheel and tire obviously has nothing to do with the lines. So I would suppose just un-lucky.
I firmly disagree. Having worked in a shop since a week after my 16th (when I got my license), I know how everything is done. You don't need to touch the brake lines to do any of that work. All that needs to be done for the alignment is loosening of the locking-nut on the inner tie-rod socket, which is as easy as crawling under the car with a creeper with a wrench, then just spin the inner socket to where-ever it needs to go. Wheels and tires... repair shops don't even do them, they send them away to a tire shop, and besides, the changing of a wheel and tire obviously has nothing to do with the lines. So I would suppose just un-lucky.
04-11-2006, 07:46 PM
#18
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
Ok, so I just got a call back from the shop.
They out-source their alignments to a shop run by a friend of the owner.
Apparently they got a "new guy" in two weeks ago, and this is the second complaint against his work, so he's outta there.
My mechanic let me know what was going on, and basically is thus, and I'll repeat it as best I can without screwing up terms:
The guy bent the brake hose assembley (the metal part) out of the way to get to a bolt, and then left it there, where it could make contact with the tire. My mechanic checked the other side of the vehicle and found that the same thing had been done, and indeed that brake line was leaking as well. I guess I just didn't notice that one in my haste and worry about the left front wheel. Apparently the right front wheel/tire/brake line were totally ****ed too.
Anyway, they've made full restitution with a new set of tires, brake lines and made sure the alignment is correct. My mechanic said his friend who owns the alignment shop just fired the guy that screwed up. I feel sort of bad that I inadvertently cost someone their job, however, a reckless mistake as such could have gotten me killed. My mechanic said that my right front tire was very, very close to destroying itself because of the groove worn in it by the brake line on the right side.
Thanks for the replies; I think I'm going to get the vehicle safety inspected by a third party as well, just to be sure.
Man, I fix computers, not cars, but this incident is making me seriously re-evaluate my lack of automotive knowledge. [:-]
They out-source their alignments to a shop run by a friend of the owner.
Apparently they got a "new guy" in two weeks ago, and this is the second complaint against his work, so he's outta there.
My mechanic let me know what was going on, and basically is thus, and I'll repeat it as best I can without screwing up terms:
The guy bent the brake hose assembley (the metal part) out of the way to get to a bolt, and then left it there, where it could make contact with the tire. My mechanic checked the other side of the vehicle and found that the same thing had been done, and indeed that brake line was leaking as well. I guess I just didn't notice that one in my haste and worry about the left front wheel. Apparently the right front wheel/tire/brake line were totally ****ed too.
Anyway, they've made full restitution with a new set of tires, brake lines and made sure the alignment is correct. My mechanic said his friend who owns the alignment shop just fired the guy that screwed up. I feel sort of bad that I inadvertently cost someone their job, however, a reckless mistake as such could have gotten me killed. My mechanic said that my right front tire was very, very close to destroying itself because of the groove worn in it by the brake line on the right side.
Thanks for the replies; I think I'm going to get the vehicle safety inspected by a third party as well, just to be sure.
Man, I fix computers, not cars, but this incident is making me seriously re-evaluate my lack of automotive knowledge. [:-]
04-11-2006, 10:12 PM
#20
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
Just got it back from the shop.
My mechanic showed me the groove worn in the right tire by the same part of the brake line that was rubbing the left tire and caused it to burst. It was about...1/4" of an inch deep, running around the entire inner sidewall of the tire, right below the tread, which is why I didn't spot it - It looked almost like a feature or styling of the tire itself and not a groove cut into it.
Gah...I really dodged a bullet with this one. X_x
My mechanic showed me the groove worn in the right tire by the same part of the brake line that was rubbing the left tire and caused it to burst. It was about...1/4" of an inch deep, running around the entire inner sidewall of the tire, right below the tread, which is why I didn't spot it - It looked almost like a feature or styling of the tire itself and not a groove cut into it.
Gah...I really dodged a bullet with this one. X_x