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Upper Control arm just popped out - am I overhyping what could've happened?

SierraStorm21
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SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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I went to Les Schwab near me a few months back and had them install the Bilstein 5100's. Everything appeared to have went well. I hardly drive the truck and it's not my daily, so two months later, last week, I was completely shocked when I took it to Discount Tire to get new tires. Les Schwab didn't carry the ones I wanted, but could special order them. Unfortunately they were way more expensive there than elsewhere ($500 more), but I digress.

 

Discount Tire shop jacked up the truck and pulled off the drivers side tire and bam! The upper control arm just popped out and went sideways a little. The young guys there had never seen that happen and got the Manager to take a look, who then called me out there and asked if I'd had any suspension work done recently. I explained that I had Les Schwab do the struts and shocks and he showed me the result. They'd had forgotten to put the nut back on! 

 

DT told me they could still do the tires, but that I should first call LS and then have it flat bedded to them to fix it. I called LS and told them of the issue and they said go ahead and bring it down after I was done..

 

While I was trying to grasp the severity of the situation, the DT manager took pity on me and was nice enough to go and get me a temporary nut from a local place and put it on. He said it'd hold to get me back to Schwab and have them fix it with the right one. 

 

When I arrived at Schwab, they met me in the parking lot and I told them the issue. They took a look without putting it up on the rack and said "Yep, they put a nut on and it's the right thread. You're all good!". I asked if there was anything else they needed to do and they told me, nope, your all good. I explained that the shop put a temp one on. He told me that the types they put on my rig are different, but it looks fine. He did check the passenger side and it was right. I again asked if there was anything they needed to do and was told nope. I was floored and at that point decided to just leave.

 

Not trusting what I was told, I called and scheduled an appointment with the GMC Dealership where I bought it. They took one look and said it's absolutely NOT fine and wouldn't trust the temp nut that the DT shop had put on. 

 

They didn't have the part in stock, so I had to make a second trip do the dealership to get it resolved. $55 plus 4 hours of my time and fuel to get something resolved that LS should've got right the first time.

 

I get it, mistakes happen, but the unwillingness to put the rig up on the rack and make sure everything else was done correctly just sort of blew me away. The fact that even after I told them it was a temp nut, not locking or anything and they assured me it was fine was equally shocking.

 

In my line of work, we can't push anything to production without 2 other folks checking to make sure everything looks right. Perhaps LS should employ the same method when doing something that could cause a catastrophic failure if not done right.

 

I was getting ready to write a scathing review for LS and thought I should get clarity on the ramifications of what LS did before I wrote it. My question to those that know, is this being overhyped in regards to what could happen had I hit a good enough bump to cause it pop out? Wouldn't that have just destroyed everything and cause an accident?

silveradosid Senior Enthusiast

silveradosid

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not overhyped in my mine, should have taken pictures. how ever the fact that they won't double check the work they did tells you not to go back. post your review as negative, but pics would have helped a lot

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

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Now's your chance though to replace those arms, assuming you are still on stocks with your raised front height.  Otherwise it will be the joint failing next.    

 

 

 

 

 

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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4 hours ago, silveradosid said:

not overhyped in my mine, should have taken pictures. how ever the fact that they won't double check the work they did tells you not to go back. post your review as negative, but pics would have helped a lot

Yeah, I kick myself for not taking any. I was in total disbelief when they grabbed me to show and said I had to flat bed it, so that's what I was focused on.

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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2 hours ago, newdude said:

Now's your chance though to replace those arms, assuming you are still on stocks with your raised front height.  Otherwise it will be the joint failing next.    

 

 

 

 

 

I did dig into this prior to making the jump and replacing the UCA's is not required in my setup. I follow a YouTuber with the exact same truck and year who detailed his transformation with Beilstein's and 34's and made note that replacing the UCA's were not required. The angles had not changed with the AT4 and 20" tires/wheels.

In that attached post, he probably had to replace them due to putting in spacers in the front, where I have not.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

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23 minutes ago, Mstorm18 said:

I did dig into this prior to making the jump and replacing the UCA's is not required in my setup. I follow a YouTuber with the exact same truck and year who detailed his transformation with Beilstein's and 34's and made note that replacing the UCA's were not required. The angles had not changed with the AT4 and 20" tires/wheels.

In that attached post, he probably had to replace them due to putting in spacers in the front, where I have not.

 

 

I'd trust the suspension companies and GM over a Youtuber.  

 

20221214_133255-jpg.3781

 

 

 

The fact that Bilstein, Rough Country, ReadyLift, etc. all sell arms with their AT4/Trail Boss kits should be a good indication as to why they are.  Stock arms on 19-22 AT4/Trail Boss are basically maxed on the stock setup.  GM conveniently made a new upper arm for production too.  

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asilverblazer Senior Enthusiast

asilverblazer

Posted
Posted

What makes a nut a 'temporary' nut?

 

IIRC, the upper ball joint nut has a flange up against the bottom of the upper control arm. I don't remember any means for locking them though.

 

Where did Discount Tire come up with a nut? Did they run down to the hardware store and find something with the right threads?

 

If the above is correct, I would have at least wanted a washer between the new nut and upper control arm to prevent the nut from marring up the upper control arm. I'm not faulting Discount Tire, I'm curious what they put on to determine then Les Schwab's actions below.

 

Les Schwab should have replaced the nut with the proper type (if it isn't) and torqued it correctly, that was the liability they took on when they did the original job. I'm surprised that if the nut in question is noticeably different from the proper nut that they would wantonly send you on your way. Soooooooooo... 

 

If Les Schwab looked at it and made a (professional) determination that it was an acceptable nut (did it at least look like the right one?) and then presumed it was tight, you probably are good to go.

 

Unprofessional of Les Schwab at a minimum. But I can understand a little bit of its together and tight, no harm no foul. Conversely, if it is obviously a hardware store nut; that's a problem they should have taken care of.

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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13 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

What makes a nut a 'temporary' nut?

 

IIRC, the upper ball joint nut has a flange up against the bottom of the upper control arm. I don't remember any means for locking them though.

 

Where did Discount Tire come up with a nut? Did they run down to the hardware store and find something with the right threads?

 

If the above is correct, I would have at least wanted a washer between the new nut and upper control arm to prevent the nut from marring up the upper control arm. I'm not faulting Discount Tire, I'm curious what they put on to determine then Les Schwab's actions below.

 

Les Schwab should have replaced the nut with the proper type (if it isn't) and torqued it correctly, that was the liability they took on when they did the original job. I'm surprised that if the nut in question is noticeably different from the proper nut that they would wantonly send you on your way. Soooooooooo... 

 

If Les Schwab looked at it and made a (professional) determination that it was an acceptable nut (did it at least look like the right one?) and then presumed it was tight, you probably are good to go.

 

Unprofessional of Les Schwab at a minimum. But I can understand a little bit of its together and tight, no harm no foul. Conversely, if it is obviously a hardware store nut; that's a problem they should have taken care of.

 

Fair questions. There's a Home Depot in the same parking lot. They said they had some tool to determine the thread and ran over there to get one while I contacted Les Schwab on the phone. It was definitely not in the same category as being close to what should've been on there (one they grabbed was larger and no washer) and definitely not torqued correctly either. DT said they made sure it wasn't going anywhere for my drive. I made that clear to the guy who met me in the parking lot at LS..more than once.

 

IMO, they should've taken it in and pulled off the tire and at the very minimum replaced what was on there with something that resembled stock and made sure what DT had done as a temporary measure, was done to LS standards since they took on the job initially.

 

Very unprofessional and completely against what I grew up when it came to their customer service. 10 years ago, they'd of brought it in, put it up on the rack and checked everything to make sure it was right before sending me on my way.

I still haven't posted the review. I'm still lamenting if I want to deal with the aftermath when I do. Being a small town, I'm sure they'll try and contact me in an attempt to save face. Is it then worth my time to even deal with them

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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On 6/12/2024 at 8:44 AM, newdude said:

 

 

I'd trust the suspension companies and GM over a Youtuber.  

 

20221214_133255-jpg.3781

 

 

 

The fact that Bilstein, Rough Country, ReadyLift, etc. all sell arms with their AT4/Trail Boss kits should be a good indication as to why they are.  Stock arms on 19-22 AT4/Trail Boss are basically maxed on the stock setup.  GM conveniently made a new upper arm for production too.  

While I tend to agree. I'm confident it's fine. I also do not see any AT4 kit on Bilstein's site. They do offer UCA's as a separate item that appear to fit my truck, but those aren't exclusive to the AT4/TB.

Steve-2019 Enthusiast

Steve-2019

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2 hours ago, Mstorm18 said:

 

Fair questions. There's a Home Depot in the same parking lot. They said they had some tool to determine the thread and ran over there to get one while I contacted Les Schwab on the phone. It was definitely not in the same category as being close to what should've been on there (one they grabbed was larger and no washer) and definitely not torqued correctly either. DT said they made sure it wasn't going anywhere for my drive. I made that clear to the guy who met me in the parking lot at LS..more than once.

 

IMO, they should've taken it in and pulled off the tire and at the very minimum replaced what was on there with something that resembled stock and made sure what DT had done as a temporary measure, was done to LS standards since they took on the job initially.

 

Very unprofessional and completely against what I grew up when it came to their customer service. 10 years ago, they'd of brought it in, put it up on the rack and checked everything to make sure it was right before sending me on my way.

I still haven't posted the review. I'm still lamenting if I want to deal with the aftermath when I do. Being a small town, I'm sure they'll try and contact me in an attempt to save face. Is it then worth my time to even deal with them

 

Maybe I missed you already mentioning it, but I would be talking directly with the LS Manager at that store about the whole ordeal.  Then depending on how he/she answered I would then decide what I would do further.

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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1 hour ago, Steve-2019 said:

 

Maybe I missed you already mentioning it, but I would be talking directly with the LS Manager at that store about the whole ordeal.  Then depending on how he/she answered I would then decide what I would do further.

I did over the phone prior to going down there. I'm not sure who met me in the parking lot, but they were already aware of the situation

asilverblazer Senior Enthusiast

asilverblazer

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20 hours ago, SierraStorm21 said:

 

Fair questions. There's a Home Depot in the same parking lot. They said they had some tool to determine the thread and ran over there to get one while I contacted Les Schwab on the phone. It was definitely not in the same category as being close to what should've been on there (one they grabbed was larger and no washer) and definitely not torqued correctly either. DT said they made sure it wasn't going anywhere for my drive. I made that clear to the guy who met me in the parking lot at LS..more than once.

 

IMO, they should've taken it in and pulled off the tire and at the very minimum replaced what was on there with something that resembled stock and made sure what DT had done as a temporary measure, was done to LS standards since they took on the job initially.

 

Very unprofessional and completely against what I grew up when it came to their customer service. 10 years ago, they'd of brought it in, put it up on the rack and checked everything to make sure it was right before sending me on my way.

I still haven't posted the review. I'm still lamenting if I want to deal with the aftermath when I do. Being a small town, I'm sure they'll try and contact me in an attempt to save face. Is it then worth my time to even deal with them

Before posting a poor review, are you dealing with the appropriate level of management at Les Schwab? 

 

I tend to agree with you that they have not taken a proper level of acceptance of their negligence. 

 

Whoever at Les Schwab that blew it off and sent you on your way seems to be the problem. I would expect more from the appropriate level of management.

SierraStorm21 Enthusiast

SierraStorm21

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4 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

Before posting a poor review, are you dealing with the appropriate level of management at Les Schwab? 

 

I tend to agree with you that they have not taken a proper level of acceptance of their negligence. 

 

Whoever at Les Schwab that blew it off and sent you on your way seems to be the problem. I would expect more from the appropriate level of management.


So to be clear and maybe I wasn't, when I called from Discount Tire, I did ask for and speak to the Manager who told me to bring it down when I got done getting the tires done.

 

When I arrived, the guy that met me at my door, was aware of my issue already. So that tells me that the manager told him about what'd happened and that I was coming in shortly. However in all my experiences with that local LS over the past several years, I've NEVER had anyone meet me at my truck. They seemed to have stopped that practice many years ago. So that tells me that the manager instructed him to come out and talk to me prior to going inside and telling the story to the front counter person where the rest of the waiting customers could hear.

Bottom line, in my view, is if they were interested in making sure it was done right, they'd of been told to bring it in and put it up on the rack to make sure it was. At this point I honestly have no interest in wasting anymore of my time dealing with their management for something that should've been done right the first time and shrugged off a second time.

asilverblazer Senior Enthusiast

asilverblazer

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On 6/14/2024 at 3:42 PM, SierraStorm21 said:

Bottom line, in my view, is if they were interested in making sure it was done right, they'd of been told to bring it in and put it up on the rack to make sure it was. At this point I honestly have no interest in wasting anymore of my time dealing with their management for something that should've been done right the first time and shrugged off a second time.

Seems reasonable enough to me.

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