a rotary shop in SoCal installed new belts into my FD in late august. my power steering pulley litteraly fell off last thursday. my ASE Cert. instructor told me the pulley fell off cause the acessory belt was on way too tight causing the bearings to wear quickely and throwing out the pulley.

now my question is, since it's the rotary shops fault in impropper belt installation, should they install my manual steering rack (which i plan on buying soon) free of labor charges? i'll gladly pay for the manual steering rack considering it's an upgrade.

 

Most shops won't do that. They will fix the original problem, if it was their fault, but you are asking for "different/new" work than what was originally done or being warranted. IMO, they are not legally force to do the "new" work for free.

If you can prove that it was their fault with the pulley, then you have recourse to have them fix that but I think you'll be own your own with the manual rack labor.

 

i dont think your going get them to give up free labor on new parts/ new job....
you should have them fix the your original problem...and go else where...

if it was me , and you know it was there fault the first time ...i wouldnt let them touch my car again.....thats why i do my own $#!t...
good luck with everthing....

brad

 

an impropper tensioned belt will cause pulleys to throw out. i've seen water pumps damaged due to a timing belt installed too tight. in any case, i have their work order stating "New Belt Installation." i've been told by my ASE Cert instructor that they are liable for their faults in this procedure cause it was written in the work order.

i no longer want power steering, and i've searched loads about manual steering racks on this forum. oh well...i just wanted views for this problem i have...

 

I'm not saying the belt didn't break because of too much tension. Here's the thing, how do they know you didn't leave there and crank up the idle tension pulley because you didn't think they had it just right? Unless they wrote in a log the deflection values of the belts after installation, its going to be hard to prove directly.

But trying to have them put in your manual rack in the car to cover for their possible mishap ain't going to fly.

 

If they're willing to stand behind the original work (and mistake) that's all you can ask of any shop. NO ONE is going to be perfect. As for saying "OK, never mind fixing that, I want you to do this instead", I agree with Mahjik, why should they? They're assuming a who new set of risks with the modification work....and probably liability.

 

i see what you two mean, thanks for the input.

now i can only hope that my original steering rack is not damaged and they're willing to replace my P/S pump

 

Take the car back to them and ask, "Why did the rack fall off. Nobody had touched it?"

If they mention that the bolts where too tight or something along those lines, and if they asked who installed the bel, then you can say that you guys installed the belt.

Then they should fix that problem. Just as everyone else as stated, free labor probably won't fly unless you come up with some sort of bargin.

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

at first i was thinkin it was fair but then and you want then fix/upgrade it for you.... i do believe should make them pay for the part and it put back in... or just the part and sell it . but get it put in somewhere else IMO

 

give it a shot and see how it goes
but i say they fix it free of charge

 

So how does your Instructor know the belt was on to tight if the pulley fell off?? How many miles are on the PS pump??

I say unless you can prove without a doubt the bearings went bad due to there negligence, you have no case. In the past i have found that belts that are overtentioned enough to cause that kind of damage typically will make noise beforehand.

I have a feeling the shop is just going to tell you to go kick rocks.

 

i have had same problem with a dodge.
pully just spun off .
was it the bolt that came off or did it brake?

 

Life isn't fair. Get used to it.

That being said it can't hurt to try. Good luck, you will need it.

 

I would say its fair if you want them to fix what is busted. But telling them to install something completely different is another story. See if they will give you a discount on labor or something because of the mishap.