Mr. Pickles Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Found another screw-up by the morons at the local Les Schwab. Tell your friends! Avoid them at all costs! They stripped a wheel stud, so the lug nut just fell off. Nice. This is the 2nd one to go away, the first I paid to have replaced. How would one go about this, the local shop wants *gasp!* $80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesmaximase Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Front or rear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Sorry, front driver's side. Its still there, not broken off. Its just stripped all to hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 if they buggered it up take it back and kick up a fuss with the manager this happened to me when i first got my muds - they stripped a stud, tried to hide it, i saw it on a visuall inspection before i left the the shop, made then fix it free of charge btw mine was a stud on the rear axle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 It was messed up at Les Schwab, the evil horrible bastard local shop. I won't trust taking it back. See the short story under the "Front end play" thread. After they totally screwed me over and cost me time, money and a tow to another shop, they wouldn't do a thing to help. I went all the way to corporate headquarters, and even they basically told me to piss off. So, I'm hell-bent on doing this myself and keeping moron's hands off my baby. And gladfully spreading the word to anyone that listens: BOYCOTT LES SCHWAB, they don't stand behind their work and are downright dangerous. Jim is against them too apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 oh i see i agree BOYCOTT les schwab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Dude, Schwab's has the best warranty and policy on tire replacement in the country. Just because you found one place that did you wrong once doesn't mean every shop is like that. I'm sure that if you take it back and put on a cool demeanor, tell them that one of the studs on your wheel has evidently been stripped out by one of the shop boys, they will fix it for free. My buddy's dually truck had six out of eight studs snap off when Schwab's tightened them up the last time he had tires put on, but you couldn't tell they were broken from the outside. After a while the other two studs went as well, causing the wheels on the back end to fly off the road and his truck to skid to a stop. Schwab's paid the tow bill, for a new drum, studs and all other costs to get it back on the road that day. They even worked late on it to get it done. People make mistakes. One stripped out stud(or two, I suppose, as it was in your case) isn't anything to lose your head over. I've had two studs break off on my front wheel on my Pathy as well. Just get it fixed and try not to be too pissed off about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I've found that shops are notorious for spinning up their air pressure to get lug nuts off and use the same forse to put them back on. I've had to use a 4 foot pipe on my lug wrench to get them off one time. Whenever I take my vehicles in for inspection, I make sure to tell them to knock the pressure down and torque the nuts they way they should be. When they are sone, I grab my wrench and loosen one lug. If it's too tight, I make them redo all of them. It is typically accompanied by a meeting with the shop manager an a story about how my wife wouldn't be able to get them off if she ever got a flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Dude, Schwab's has the best warranty and policy on tire replacement in the country. Just because you found one place that did you wrong once doesn't mean every shop is like that. I'm sure that if you take it back and put on a cool demeanor, tell them that one of the studs on your wheel has evidently been stripped out by one of the shop boys, they will fix it for free. The stud isn't the issue. Although, they've broken one on the Pathy before and refused to fix it, saying it wasn't their fault, it must have been defective. And this was at another location. Read the thread about "Front end play." I personally saw the guy doing my alignment put a wrench onto the bolt on the control arm, then beat the hell out of it with a hammer. I made it home (2 miles) then on the way to work the next day (1 more mile), it popped out. The front end dropped, the Pathy pulled into the next lane and I very nearly was in a wreck. I was just about to get onto the freeway. Imagine if this happened at 60mph. I limped it to another Les Schwab only a few blocks away. The store manager proceeded to tell me it was in no way their fault, and they wouldn't touch it because they don't do that work. He told me it must have been like that when I took it in! Then they offered to recommend a towing company, and that was all they could do. So, I went to the regional manager, and he said the same. Then the corporate office, and got the run-around, calls not returned, told they wouldn't do anything, etc. Their negligence nearly caused a wreck and cost me a couple hundred bucks. I had to get it towed to another shop pay to repair their mistake. The truck was in good shape on the way in, then I watched the guy beat on it, and it mysteriously broke immediately after. They had many, many chances to right the wrong, and not only wouldn't, but outright lied about it. So, this is not some simple outburst over something that isn't a big deal. I've gone there for many years and had no problems before, but lately they have alarmingly and drastically gone down hill. They also recently, at another location, siped my dad's and his friends brand new BFG AT's, on a Dodge Ram and a Chevy. They did both too deep, causing a bunch of chunks of tread to fly off and ruin the tires. They denied responsibility for that too, claimed they must have been out peeling their tires around town. The company is a joke, their training apparently is non-existent, and they won't stand behind their work and mistakes. For most jobs, that isn't too big of a deal, find another shop. But this company was trusted with the safety of myself and my family and friends riding with me, and they screwed it up. Then, when they had many chances to make it right and keep me as a customer, they not only blew it, but lied. That is why I'm against Les Schab and am spreading the word. I don't want someone else I know having a similar experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2an Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I have replaced studs on other vehicles and they were all pretty much the same. Steps were: 1 jack up vehicle and remove wheel 2 remove brake caliper and rotor 3 hammer out broken stud (from the front) 4 install new stud from back and install above items in reverse order. I usually put oil or some lubricant on the new stud to help it seat in. Also, it sometimes helps to partially seat the stud before installing the rotor. Just put the stud in hole (hub), spin the lug nut on the stud and tighten until the stud 'pulls into the hub'. One last note: Since I have NOT even replaced the front brakes on my pathy (rear ones last year but front still good), I am only assuming the rotor and hub are separate and not a single unit (like older style pickups and very old American built cars). Good luck Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 yea. With the auto-locking front hubs, the rotor just slips over them and bolts on. Picture of front rotors for 90-95 4WD pathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChromoTech Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 how much do new rotors or drum breaks usually cost?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 They run a ton of $$$. I just had mine done over the weekend at Midas (2nd time in 1 1/4 years :oops: ). What a joke. $550 for just the calipers, brake lines and resurfacing of the rotors (but they threw in free pads- whoopeee). It was over $700 the first time around with rotors also. They say the brake lines failed, causing the driver's front caliper to lock up on me going down the freeway. Luckily, we were only 10 miles into a road trip, and maybe 5 miles from my parent's home. "Dad, please come help!..." It was so hot, you could feel the heat a couple feet away and see the waves of heat coming off. Supposedly baked the caliper. I limped a few blocks and had to leave it at Midas after hours. My question was why didn't they replace the brake lines when I had all the work done before, but they say that isn't their standard deal. And nope, no warranty at this point. What a joke, $1300 on just the front brakes in just over 1 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Brand new pair of rotors from Ebay: $49 Brand new brake pads(performance semimetallic): $30 Brand new loaded calipers: $50 each Brand new rubber brake lines: $20 each side Total: $170. Install time: about 3-4 hours tops. I think you got ripped off by a fair amount, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 I picked up a pair of rotors from a local Carquest dealer for $35 each. There were ones available from NAPA for $26 but I figure they would warp the first time you really got them hot. carpartsplace.com has Brembo rotors for $50 or so with free shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 Ripped off for sure, but the prices were actually about half for parts, half for labor. They charged 69.95 each for the calipers, plus the brake lines and resurfacing, then a ton for labor. Didn't have much choice, it broke on the side of the road many miles from home on a Friday night. I thought it would be under warranty (is anything ever?) and left it at the shop because it was only a few blocks away. I surely didn't have the time to shop around on Ebay, as its my daily driver. This is getting old, our 2 vehicles have sucked about $4000 out of my pocket in the last couple months. pssd :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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