2006 Monte Carlo LT Tie Rod Question

Hello,

What usually causes a tie rod to go on a car? My car has had a clunk in the front end for the last 10K miles and the dealer (Palmen Chevrolet in Union Grove, WI) could not find anything wrong with the car.

Well I just put new tires on this car as the Goodyear Integrity' are the worse tire I have ever come across. The Tire dealer (Waukegan Tire in Park City, IL) noticed that I had a bad tie rod so they replaced it. The good thing is, the clunk no longer exists. The bad thing is that I am 4k past warranty so it came out of my pocked. It is like I have a brand new car again. Why couldn't the dealer figure out what was wrong? Is there pressure from GM to stall warranty jobs?

Sure it was only an $80 Moog brand part and $30 in labor, but things like this make me lose respect for GM and their dealers. I have always liked GM vehicles, but lately they appear to be pushing their customers into maybe buying an import. No wonder the Big Three have been having problems lately. Customer support has gone down the drain.

Thanks, Jeff

Reply to
jeffraesjunk
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Well, before you get too upset, go back and show the dealer the repair. These things happen. And to be fair, problems rarely get better with time, they get worse, and it may have been a lot easier for the tire shop to spot it than the dealer miles ago. Also, the tire shop was in there in a limited area, where the dealer was looking everywhere.

You never know, the dealer may be good about it. Although I wouldn't count on it. If you bought the car there and they worked exclusively on the car till now, you'd have a good case, especially if you have 'history' there. Especially if you go to the sales manager or the owner.

Reply to
Mike Y

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Is this something that GM could resolve with me directly?

I didn't buy the car from that dealer.

Jeff P

Reply to
jeffraesjunk

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Not likely Jeff - your beef is with the dealer. Though having said that... the tie rod end should not have failed so early. That appears to be a case of too soft metal used in the end. Maybe GM will work with you - you won't know until you try. Go directly to GM - not here. This group has no power over GM or it's dealers.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

I know that.. :)

Reading the history it looks like a good group of people with great advise at times.

Thanks for the Time..

Reply to
jeffraesjunk

You are highly unlikely to get any satisfaction from GM. They typically throw shields-up when a repair was needed and done at a non-GM franchise facility.

Tie rod ends shouldn't wear out that fast, but it certainly isn't unheard of. My friend's Mercury Grand Marquis needed new ones at 37k miles and Ford was completely unhelpful about it. He put aftermarket ends on it with grease fittings and they are still in great shape even though the car is now up to 105k miles.

Hopefully your replacement part includes a grease fitting so that it can periodically be regreased. I think that many modern tie rod and ball joint failures happen because of insufficient fresh lubrications. Just about every new vehicle has "sealed" suspension joints which lack a grease fitting.

Reply to
John Horner

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