Tire store thought it was okay to jack car up by floor board

[LaRondo]

What the heck is that?
A tool set for a Taco Bell Burrito Wrapper???

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by MaydayMike

Heh,Heh... I watched a tire monkey at Wal-mart today use a clicker torque wrench on a car, AFTER running the lugs on as tight as his impact gun would get 'em. Tighten to 200+ ft/lbs with the gun, and then go around and 'click' each lug with a torque wrench set at 90 ft/lbs.

LOL!

Tom W

[KAdams4458]

I've had plenty of bad experiences from letting shops service my vehicles, which is why I tend to prefer doing the work myself, even if it means spending more money in the end on special tools and other supplies.

The thing that ticks me off the most at tire places is when they go trying to roll two wheels across the shop at once, and manage to let one of them drop right on its face against the concrete floor. Yeah, that's real good for the wheel finish. Thanks a lot.

I find that the best tire and wheel service comes from the high-end custom wheel shops. At a store where selling appearance products such as aftermarket wheels, they know better than to scratch, bang, or otherwise mistreat any wheel, and they don't grind grease in to my floormats, either. I'll pay $20 per wheel to have them balanced on a good machine at such places. I'll have them filled with nitrogen while I'm at it, as well. Air tools? Those do nothing but screw up pretty chrome lugs, so they don't use those, either.

The only trick to dealing with such shops usually revolves around tolerating some of the spoiled-rotten customers that are there for a new set of rims because the set they bought last week was just seen on another car in town, and besides, they're a week old. We all know how those week old rims are always so "last week!"

[KAdams4458]

A wrenching buddy picked up a set of those a while back. They really do work rather well at un-$%@&#^#i-ing the mess that ham-fisted wrench monkeys and and brainless mechanics leave behind in some cars. That Craftsman Bolt-Out set has saved both of our butts numerous times.

[aklim]

Unless it is with a trusted mechanic, I will NOT let the car out of my sight.

[cmac2012]

I think I heard on Car Talk that many of the lube places don't even take the oil pan drain plug out any more -- too much chance of liability. Instead they have a device that sucks it out through the dipstick tube.

That there's some pow'rful suck.

Less chance of accumulated debris draining out though.

[Matt L]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I think I heard on Car Talk that many of the lube places don't even take the oil pan drain plug out any more -- too much chance of liability. Instead they have a device that sucks it out through the dipstick tube.

That there's some pow'rful suck.

Less chance of accumulated debris draining out though.

Only if the debris is rather large. If so, you have bigger problems.

[cmac2012]

Good point. At least with draining it, you get some heads up on the bigger problems coming your way.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Good point. At least with draining it, you get some heads up on the bigger problems coming your way.

Also you know whether to put that expensive synthetic fluid in it or some El Cheapo you get from Wal*Mart.

[Matt L]

Yes, that is true. In fact, draining from the pan caught a problem in a friend's 460 before it became catastrophic. We found unidentified metal there, and didn't know where it came from until we tore the engine down. It turned out to be a piece of a valve tip.