Talk about thorough - They even replaced the dust.

Oh, wait. I think they might have fixed the tailgate latch. Let me check...

The tailgate latch needed to be adjusted... I'll be right back after I check if they fixed that... Can't tell. If I slam it, it seems to stay shut. Maybe they did fix something, but I'm not going to count on it.

Did the dealer actually tell you that your Avalanche had a "steering gear box"? That should have raised a red flag. On the other hand, maybe the dealer feels that its customers won't understand what "rack and pinion" steering is all about. The rack and pinion on my 2004 Silverado failed after only 6800 miles, and the Chevrolet dealer fixed it promptly and properly. I will give them a top rating when the customer satisfaction survey comes in the mail.

There are three types of GM dealerships: Good, Average and Incompetent. The one that you have described falls into the latter category. I have been victimized by an incompetent GM dealership and these are some of the warning signs to look for:

The service writers will be interested only in writing up the biggest customer-pay repair orders possible. Legitimate warranty work is to be avoided at all cost. These customer care representatives are carefully trained to be uncaring, arrogant and detached. Typical greeting: "Hi. Did you bring your checkbook?"

The service manager will be an ignorant, tyrannical clown with absolutely no social skills. He knows how to kiss the owner's ass alright, but he has no control over his mechanics and he does nothing but alienate his customers. This man's job consists of nothing more than keeping his job. To him, a customer with a legitimate warranty complaint is nothing more than a whiny asshole. This manager will fight a customer every step of the way. "It's a new engine. It's going to run hot for a few thousand miles, until it loosens up." (The service manager of a local GMC dealership actually told me this.)

The confused and disoriented service dispatcher will keep his mechanics jumping from one job to another, often pulling them off uncompleted jobs to jump on a series of rush orders. Then, when the mechanic finally returns to the uncompleted job -- after his marijuana break -- he may not remember where he left off. "Lets see, did I torque these bolts yet? Who gives a shit! If the customer had wanted this job done right, he wouldn't have brought the truck here."

It will be difficult for most people to find out just how bad the mechanics are at an Incompetent dealership. However, if you know any local mechanics, they all know each other and will be able to give you the inside story on most local dealerships. A mechanic friend of mine has been working for the Incompetent GMC dealership that I have described above for 8 years. This man is an excellent technician and his skills are used mainly to fix the screwups caused by other mechanics. He told me that two of his fellow mechanics are so bad that the owner of the store will not let either of them work on his personal vehicles. However, the owner has no problem charging unsuspecting customers $120 per hour for the services of these two Mr. Badwrench idiots.

Typically, an Incompetent dealership service department will attract the most incompetent mechanics. The GMC dealership that I am talking about is a halfway house for most of the mechanically-inclined, hard core drug addicts in the area.

Why? Unless it's a two wheel drive Avalanche...(which I don't think exists), it will have a "steering gear box".

I'll take an educated guess....your Silverado is a two wheel drive vehicle...right? Since the advent of the new truck body style, the two wheel drive vehicles use the rack and pinion, the 4x4's use a steering gear box.

He may be good, but he's stupid if he allows the management to make him fix the screwups of the other techs. This is typical behaviour in a dealership.....the management attempts to cover up the "incompetent" technician. I've learned over the years that if you are good, you must resist the temptation to become the "go-to" guy in the shop. I force the comebacks back to the original tech whenever I possibly can, this way they have to deal with their own screwup (losing time, often) and I can get on to better work. The reverse scenario works too, I prefer to look at anything that I've worked on that can be construed as a "comeback". I want to both learn what I did wrong (if that's the case), or figure out what's "really" wrong with it.

Ian

To my embarrassment, you are absolutely right. Before making my original post, I did a Google search and now I find that I should have given a more through check to the references which contained "Avalanche" + "rack and pinion." A quick look at some of the results provided these misleading summaries:

... 2002 Chevy Avalanche Now that's a truck. ... Adding to the improved steering is the use of a new rack-and-pinion steering box that's more precise and complements ...

Chevrolet Avalanche Rack & Pinion Welcome to the Chevrolet Avalanche Rack & Pinion section. You can find nearly any Chevrolet Avalanche part by using our partner. If you need Chevrolet Avalanche Rack & Pinion, use the link below.

... Highlights Chevy Avalanche. ... On the ground, standard 17-inch wheels, along with standard rack and pinion steering, contribute to responsive handling, while ...

Once again, you are absolutely right. However, my friend has a secure union job and enough seniority that he has graduated from the night shift to the day shift. When he hired in, the GMC dealership had a

24-hour service department. Later, they stopped at midnight and started up again at 6 AM. I think this change this had something to do with the=20 fact that there was a lot of trouble with the work being done by the = night shift.

There is one thing that he does that I think is smart. Whenever the other mechanics borrow his tools, he writes down the guy's name and the tools that he borrowed. Then, he turns the list over to the Snap On man when he comes by.

To my embarrassment, you are absolutely right. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Scot, in the future, when Ian corrects you on the accuracy of your GM technical posts, remember........Ian has yet to post an inacurate statement. But then again...he does have all that insider info, and probly is accessing the OEM technical site at home. And....remember, when he says "educated guess"....he means dealer educated, which is the best source for system specific info.

By the way, you can access that OEM site too. It's down to around $20 a day now i thunk. if i'm wrong, i stand corrected. :)

~:~ MarshMonster ~has been spanked by Shiden on more than one occasion~ =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Have to be honest, this Avalanche is a 2WD, but since its my wife's truck and its under warranty I really hadn't paid much attention to it. It may be rack and pinion, but it has something that looks like a small gear box at the end of the pitman arm. There is what looks like a steering shaft coming into the top of it. So I take it the rack and pinion is up high in the engine cavity?

If your 2WD Avalanche is similar to the 2WD Silverado, you will see a metal cylinder, about 2 inches in diameter and about 24 inches long, which is located directly under the front of the oil pan, between the two front tires. This rack and pinion assembly is connected to the wishbone part of the frame with two bolts and its ends have large black, accordion-like vinyl boots where they hook into the tie rod ends. You can look down in the engine compartment and see both of the tie rod end boots.

If you don't see any of this, you probably have a steering gear box.