Repair shop question

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Recently (about a month ago) I had a local shop replace a wheel bearing on my dd Focus. FYI The front bearings have to be pressed into the steering knuckle so there's a possibility for error.

Prior to starting the work I had the mechanic take the car for a spin and he concluded that the front RIGHT bearing was making noise. I agreed with this as I clipped a concrete barrier about a year prior and ever since then I knew it would probably accelerate wear on that bearing.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and while i was on my way home from work one day I literally thought my front LEFT wheel was going to come off while driving. Pulled over and all the lug nuts were tight as they should be. Considering the noise on the right side, I knew I needed to replace at least one bearing.

After I get the replacement bearing in (mechanic agreed to let me supply my own parts, of which he said there was no difference in name brand I chose) I dropped the car off to get the front right bearing replaced. When I went to pick the car up the mechanic stated that the LEFT bearing was making noise and that he replaced it. My ABS and TRAC lights were on too so he said I should replace the wheel sensors and the problem should go away. I also mentioned that the noise is still in the front end so he said I should probably replace the RIGHT side bearing too.

Last week I dropped the car off with two new sensors and a wheel bearing to get replaced. On the drive home everything seemed ok, but then the lights came on again and the noise was there (especially when turning). Took it back to the shop and the owner (mechanic, whatev) said that after hooking up the scan tool to the car and taking it for a spin, noticed that the wheel speed sensor is not able to read the speed on the left bearing (bad magnets on side of bearing) and that it needs to be replaced to get the lights on the dash to go out. At least I'm able to get a warranty part to replace the original

My question to you guys is, should I be on the hook for paying labor for the THIRD time or should the shop cover it? I know it seems like I should pay it again, but considering the noise is still there (bearing pressed in incorrectly?) and I have warning lights on the dash I think that they should cover it.

thanks in advance

tl;dr Shop did some work on my car. I suspect they pressed in the wheel bearing incorrectly causing noise to persist on one side of car.
 
Questions about liability/responsibility are always tough ones.

If you and the mechanic have a history, then there should be some accommodation here, based on loyalty. But the real issue is that your front end has numerous issues, AND you're supplying your own parts here, which means that he is under no obligation to cover them or their installation should they fail.

If you and he have a relationship and you value continuing with him in the future, I would ask him if there's not some accommodation you and he can work out. If not, I'd just take the car to someone else and just eat it, the larger issue there is one of trust in his ability. Often, once we realize this, there's also this tendency to stay with the person because they're into the job, and that doesn't make sense. What you;re after is getting your car right, not saving a few dollars now...only to have to spend it later b/c the repair failed again.
 
Since you brought your own parts, the shop will likely blame the parts. That's the risk of providing parts.
 
Originally Posted By: Noey

If you and he have a relationship and you value continuing with him in the future, I would ask him if there's not some accommodation you and he can work out.


Just got off the phone with him and we concluded that he'll replace it at a reduced rate (since there's nothing stuck/corroded). I'm ok with this.

For future reference I'm probably going to permit shops to order their own parts to avoid situations like this. If it's a job I can do I'll obviously get parts for myself

thanks again
 
Originally Posted By: Noey
But the real issue is that your front end has numerous issues


No, not really. The car only has 90k miles. The noise (a scraping sound that's prevalent when going straight) is persistent when braking. It's also prevalent when the car is switched off and coasting in neutral at low speeds (to rule out the PS pump or other engine/accessory sounds).
 
I'm glad you worked it out. But 90k is a lot of miles, things wear out and issues arise by then.
 
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Since you brought your own parts, the shop will likely blame the parts. That's the risk of providing parts.


Yep, which is fair in my opinion. Most people buy the cheapest junk they can find and it isn't the shops responsibility to eat that cost. Now if the shop bought the parts they should replace it for free.
 
dO 1/2 SHAFTS RECENTLY OR INTERMEDIATE PILLOW BLOCK BEARINGS?

I don't think the reluctor has magnets in it. It works by the moving iron variable reluctance principal. Like the good old b&o Sp series phono cartridges. or some of the V15 pickerings.
 
What brand bearings did you use and how much were they? How much did the mechanic charge? I need to get one done as well.
 
Usually when you supply the part, the mechanic will give no warranty for labor. But you obviously have a decent mechanic (or at least a nice one) to drop the labor price.

When you want a specific part in the future, see if they can special order the part.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
What brand bearings did you use and how much were they? How much did the mechanic charge? I need to get one done as well.


Both times I ordered the whole assy from Rockauto. First time LH was Timken (more $$$) and that's the side that's failed again. Second time for RH was WJB and was packaged FAR better than the Timken.

Labor was two hours on each side @ $108/ hour

Info on the repair and problems with the bearing are in the following link
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...ity#Post4094985
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
dO 1/2 SHAFTS RECENTLY OR INTERMEDIATE PILLOW BLOCK BEARINGS?


what does this mean? Is this a question or a statement and what does it have to do with my question?
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
You paid for labor to install your parts not overall repair. There is no fluff in parts markup to cover the freebie.


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Parts-changing 101.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
The mechanic pressed the bearing in backwards - that is why your ABS / Traction Control light is on.


Yup, the tone ring is part of the cartridge bearing on the Foci. We have had a bunch of people come in after buying the bearings OTC saying they are defective. They were all installed backwards.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Miller88
The mechanic pressed the bearing in backwards - that is why your ABS / Traction Control light is on.


Yup, the tone ring is part of the cartridge bearing on the Foci. We have had a bunch of people come in after buying the bearings OTC saying they are defective. They were all installed backwards.


Most likely the scenario since the warning light were on right away and the bearing failed very shortly after.
One would have to try really hard, or have no clue what they're doing, to damage the bearing when pressing it in.
 
I had a mechanic friend some years ago that had a customer with a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I forget the trim level, but it may have been the Limited. For some reason, he had been back approximately 8 or more times for the same wheel bearing. I forget which wheel it was.

In this instance, it was a NAPA part, and since the part had a lifetime replacement warranty, each time, the new bearing was free. Pressed in. I do remember watching it being done. I do remember there was an exact way it had to be pressed in, on the machine.

I now service cars myself, but an ASE certified mechanic does actual car work, our shop does complete brakes and emissions and various other things that are not classified as major jobs, this unrelated to that Jiffy Lube article about four tires falling off, which I will call.. suspicious, though perhaps not absolutely impossible (since it is implied they were not put back on with an impact wrench, which is how they were taken off, so. But that is unrelated to this wheel bearing, only what we will believe. Back to the issue at hand,) so I do not know what arrangement the customer and he came to on the labor to install and replace, but the part never had to be bought twice.

I never did know why the bearing kept failing. Mechanic said NAPA kept sending bad bearings. No idea if the mechanic was doing it wrong, it sure seemed like all was in order. Or if the Jeep had some kind of issue. Only that, when going the route of parts-changing without actual diagnosis, please do hope and pray that what you deem to be the issue is correct.
 
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