Collaterol Damage

[Dibbons]

Some of you have been following the front end rebuild of my 1972 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus in Mexico using PST parts and torsion bars. The problems previously mentioned:
a) placed lift pads under body pinch welds instead of sub-frames (I was there to save the day)
b) installed upper control arms wrong (driver's side and passenger side swapped) Alignment guy in same shop figured it out and put them back the correct right way.
c) no cotter pins in the ends of strut rods (I noticed that)
d) passenger side tire/wheel installed with the valve stem on the inside (no way to inflate tire, it is also throwing rim offset to the wrong side) Found that out after a brief test drive and I arrived home.

Now the story continues, there are quite a few observations so far, I will explain, post foto(s) and then post, repeat:

#1) The tire valve on the passenger side tire/rim that was installed backwards was ground down to a 45 degree angle after rubbing on something (perhaps the disc brake rotor?) See foto one:

#2) The rotor on the passenger side only spins/turns with an extreme effort by hand (no foto). I see they used the new grease seals and grease cups I provided when I asked for the wheel bearings to be re-packed.

 

[Dibbons]

#3) I heard rubbing when the driver's side tire was spun. Removed the driver's side tire. The lugs and lug nuts on this side seem to be semi-stripped (see foto one). Could not remove them by hand. I can turn the driver's side rotor by hand, but it does not spin. I am not sure if that means it is correct or if it is binding.

#4) The new anti-rattle retainer for the disc pads is broken off and was rubbing on the inner tire rim (see fotos one and two). I don't know why there was interference there. I'm not sure how the factory installed those.

 

[Dibbons]

#5) I am not sure if the new pitman arm is installed/pressed on all the way. I see a space between the arm and the frame. (see fotos one, two, three)

#6) The idler arm looks like it is on all the way, right? (see foto four)

 

[Dibbons]

#7) I see a few grease fittings here and there, but has anything been greased yet? (see four fotos)

 

[Dibbons]

#8) I can't figure out how the cotter pins in the strut rods were inserted, I know they feel loose and I can jiggle them all around. (see five fotos)

 

[fratzog lover]

I didn't know The 3 Stooges did suspension work in your area. How can how so many mistakes happen on one job?

 

[Dibbons]

#9) I don't have a clue regarding the disc pad anti-rattle clips, installed correctly or not? I notice in foto three the word "up" on the tab, but don't know what the reference point is. (see five fotos)

#10) The anti-rattle clip on the passenger side did not break off like on the driver's side yet, but maybe only because the rim/tire where installed with the valve stem on the inside? Don't know if it will rub when I install the rim/tire correctly. (see foto six)

 

[Kern Dog]

The splines on the steering box shaft do not go all the way up to the case. The Pitman arm slides to the end of the splines and because of that, there will be a gap.
The strut rods should have had a roll pin in the end but I have not put them back in every time with every car that I have done.
The wheel mounted backwards is a real slacker move! It was the brake caliper that the valve stem was hitting, most likely.

 

[Dibbons]

The guy/greeter who is kind of a "service provider" who shakes your hand upon arrival, but does not perform any repairs could not figure out what happened to the valve stem when I returned to the shop to show him a foto of the rim/tire installed backwards. He told me to bring the car back so he could look at it and find where the valve stem disappeared to. His main job, it seems, was to keep me away from the service bay where I could have been watching out for my vehicle the four days it was in the shop.

I had them install economy Monroe front shocks. i told this same service writer guy to order some for a 1972 Plymouth Satellite (I also have the '70 Plymouth Superbird decals on the rear quarter panels).

When he was telling the girl how to write up the invoice a couple of days later, he told her the vehicle was a Ford Satellite, so that's how the receipt reads.

 

[hanks73340]

Get your car out of there, and don't go back. From the pics you provided, who knows what else they did incorrectly. The rubber boots definitely have no grease in them. The cotter pins do not look right for some reason.

 

[R/T Boy 67]

Pull every cotter pin, and check the torque on every fastener, and grease everything. I don't use any anti rattle clips on pin style calipers. I also don't use those positioners on the pins, but you need the double sided rubber bushings in the caliper to omit them. In any case they are mounted all cockeyed

 

[Lefty71]

From the pics you provided, who knows what else they did incorrectly

I got this one; EVERYTHING!

 

[R/T Boy 67]

Your calipers have to come off and be sorted out. Pins not tight,bushing f'd up etc. A brake failure waiting to happen.

 

[Dibbons]

Re: the last foto in post #7 which shows the anti-rattle spring installed, that spring is upside down, causing it to rub on the inside of the tire rim?

 

[WP29440SE]

I'm not trying to bust your balls here, but I wouldn't trust that **** for 3 blocks. these front ends are about the easiest job on the planet to do. that picture showing the upper ball joint going into the spindle looks freaking cracked and split. I can't believe someone would be so stupid to put a tire on inside out. and to think you actually paid some idiot to do that is just mind boggling. I would HIGHLY suggest you figure it out and TEACH YOURSELF how to do this stuff before someone or you get killed. don't take any of this personal, but I would be scared to death to ride in your car lol, in fact, I would walk lol

 

[hunt2elk]

I think it's time for you to learn all about steering/suspension on these old cars and do the work yourself. I would if it was me anyway. No way I would be returning to that shop.

 

[moparmarks]

So why didn't you just do it yourself? You seem like a pretty smart guy and you have a world of help on here.
The wheel on backwards sounds like a stoner move.

 

[Dibbons]

Well, in my own defense, the alignment guy seemed to know what he's doing when I met with him last month, but they put a bunch of flunkies to work on my car while the alignment guy was doing everyone else's vehicle correctly.

that picture showing the upper ball joint going into the spindle looks freaking cracked and split.

You mean in this foto?

 

[Dibbons]

Both sides appear to have the same casting defect (or both sides are cracked).

 

[Kern Dog]

That is not a defect, just a parting line.