Update to yesterday’s post regarding unsettling motion in rear suspension. DEALER LEFT BOLTS UNTIGHTENED

[n_123]

This is an update to yesterday’s thread. I decided that enough was enough and got under my car today. The FIRST bolt I put my torque wrench is on damn near finger loose. It was the outer toe link bolt circled in black below. Mind you there were several others that needed tightening too but that was by far the worst one.

I spent the last couple weeks not able to drive my car the way I wanted and potentially in danger due to someone’s stupid mistake at the dealer. Absolutely unacceptable. I took the car for a test drive and it drives perfectly now. Do not trust dealers, if something feels wrong it is. This would have been a nightmare to get fixed for someone not the least bit mechanically inclined.

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[Sofa King]

Dealers... or anyone... the alignment shop left my upper camber bolts loose (marked as 85 ft/lb in your drawing), same effect as you had.

 

[dusman59]

Are any of those bolts single use? There is no excuse for total incompetence. Bad review would be in order. This dealer needs a wake up.

 

[smurfslayer]

Hopefully you video taped your repair so you can take it back to the stealership and get the tech who worked on your car FIRED before he kills someone.

 

[Snakebyte]

Glad you got it figured out and fixed before serious damage or even personal injury occurred.

 

[Skye]

@Ford Motor Company

Enthusiastic, determined and tenacious Owner: 1. Dealer, and possibly, Ford: 0.

Stating the obvious: it is a significant finding. I'd have to study my car and the drawing above, to see if this is a design change. Or maybe a manufacturing or assembly process change. And if things like this are contributing to any of the drivetrain "clunk" sounds people are experiencing.

Related, I've read in several threads in the last few months of suspension loads and assembly. In general, the car needs to load the suspension at road height before tightening the items. If, if the dealer had the car raised on a rack, the suspension hanging, the pieces might have appeared OK. Just a thought. Certainly, the dealer might have visually inspected items without touching anything.

I'm glad the OP discovered the root cause, corrected the issue and brought it to our attention.

Thank You.

 

[Aegean]

I am glad you fixed the issue that the dealer could not find even after you returned following their repair.

I do not trust dealers and mechanics in general and that’s why I learned to do DYI everything on my car except oil changes which are low risk. However, I have an instance where my dealer did not change the oil and filter. I realized it immediately after picking it up cause the oil was dark and filter had months of road dirt. After confronting them, they denied everything at beginning, but finally gave me credit for 3 oil changes. I have absolutely no trust to them for anything more complicated.

I am sure you will inform Ford who paid the dealer for the warranty work. The dealer failed to complete the repair and Ford paid them. I would ask Ford Customer service and not just the dealer for credit points or other reimbursement for your extra labor to properly diagnose and repair the suspension bolts torque issue.

 

[steveo1960]

This is an update to yesterday’s thread. I decided that enough was enough and got under my car today. The FIRST bolt I put my torque wrench is on damn near finger loose. It was the outer toe link bolt circled in black below. Mind you there were several others that needed tightening too but that was by far the worst one.

I spent the last couple weeks not able to drive my car the way I wanted and potentially in danger due to someone’s stupid mistake at the dealer. Absolutely unacceptable. I took the car for a test drive and it drives perfectly now. Do not trust dealers, if something feels wrong it is. This would have been a nightmare to get fixed for someone not the least bit mechanically inclined.

I'm happy you got it fixed and you weren't injured if something had fallen off.

 

[JediMindTrix]

@Ford Motor Company

Enthusiastic, determined and tenacious Owner: 1. Dealer, and possibly, Ford: 0.

Stating the obvious: it is a significant finding. I'd have to study my car and the drawing above, to see if this is a design change. Or maybe a manufacturing or assembly process change. And if things like this are contributing to any of the drivetrain "clunk" sounds people are experiencing.

Related, I've read in several threads in the last few months of suspension loads and assembly. In general, the car needs to load the suspension at road height before tightening the items. If, if the dealer had the car raised on a rack, the suspension hanging, the pieces might have appeared OK. Just a thought. Certainly, the dealer might have visually inspected items without touching anything.

I'm glad the OP discovered the root cause, corrected the issue and brought it to our attention.

Thank You.

Spot on!

BTW I believe that's S550 being shown not S650. The geometry on the hub there with the vertical links is significantly different between the two platforms in the rear suspension. Everything else is the same as far as I've seen in my comparisons.

 

[DevilDog]

I had something similar happen on my C5 Corvette. Took it to an alignment shop and they forgot to tighten some bolts on the rearend. The first time I got on it the car veered sharply to the left and I nearly lost control of it. Scared the crap out of me. Took it to my Corvette tech at my Chevrolet dealer and he found the problem right away.

 

[RLE55]

Does this appear to be happening predominately with the Vert's or all? I've not run into this so far, but I only have 1500 miles on car, so will definitely keep an watch of it.

 

[n_123]

Spot on!

BTW I believe that's S550 being shown not S650. The geometry on the hub there with the vertical links is significantly different between the two platforms in the rear suspension. Everything else is the same as far as I've seen in my comparisons.

It is the s550. I couldn’t find anything s650 specific. As far as I know the torque specs are the same or at least similar given the similarity between the suspension components. I verified by checking the torque on the other side and the wrench clicked immediately at the correct spec.

 

[smurfslayer]

There was a Raptor owner on FRF who left dealer service without lug nuts on at least one wheel, I think it may have been 2 fronts. First turn was wonky, second turn was one wheel coming off.

Reagan said it best: Trust but verify.

 

[JediMindTrix]

It is the s550. I couldn’t find anything s650 specific. As far as I know the torque specs are the same or at least similar given the similarity between the suspension components. I verified by checking the torque on the other side and the wrench clicked immediately at the correct spec.

Yes, correct, those you pointed out haven't changed in spec.

 

[Sofa King]

I am glad you fixed the issue that the dealer could not find even after you returned following their repair.

I do not trust dealers and mechanics in general and that’s why I learned to do DYI everything on my car except oil changes which are low risk. However, I have an instance where my dealer did not change the oil and filter. I realized it immediately after picking it up cause the oil was dark and filter had months of road dirt. After confronting them, they denied everything at beginning, but finally gave me credit for 3 oil changes. I have absolutely no trust to them for anything more complicated.

I am sure you will inform Ford who paid the dealer for the warranty work. The dealer failed to complete the repair and Ford paid them. I would ask Ford Customer service and not just the dealer for credit points or other reimbursement for your extra labor to properly diagnose and repair the suspension bolts torque issue.

Even an oil change can be risky... I normally do them myself, but purchase a new car with 3 years free service, and continued service there after that time expired. I always tell them to NOT wash the car... picked it up one time and it looked like they washed my car with a bucket of dirt! The entire car was terribly scratched, you could see every stroke of the dirty wash mitt or brush that they used. Needless to say, they paid to have car buffed out, and I haven't gone back for service since.

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