IRON MAIDEN

Some of you may have seen that I just got new wheels and tires. I have not been happy with the look because there is so much gap in the wheel wells. So I decided to lower it on the stock bolts and see if that would be enough. I made some stepped ramps out of 2"X12" to drive the wheels onto so I can get my floor jack under the damn thing.
Worked well for what I was doing.
No problems with lowering the car to its max. Still not enough so longer rear bolts for sure, but Im clueless for the front. C6 bolts or these???
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-for-19-a.html

Now on to my rant!!!! Keep in mind that I have only had this 97' for maybe a month and a half. 3 weeks ago, I took the car to the dealership where it was originally sold. My friends dad, (who I bought the car from) had me take it there to have it gone over before I bought it. $1000+ later, it had the brake fluid changed, oil and filter, ........
with only 27K miles, they just brought it up to speed on the sevice.
Since then, I have put maybe 800 miles on it. Even drove 1.5 hrs out of town to a wedding a couple weeks ago. With all that, let me show you what I found while lowering my front end yesterday.




The brackets that hold the front leaf spring were not too secure if you know what I mean. One bolt was gone, the other was almost ready to fall out!!!! HOW IS IT THAT THE DEALERSHIP CAN HAVE THE CAR UP ON A LIFT TO CHANGE THE OIL AND NOT NOTICE THIS??? It is right next to the drain plug! I noticed and I wasn't even under the car!
Almost makes me think they didn't even change the oil on the thing! I looked at the filter and it is a little dirty on the outside but I can't tell if it has been changed recently. Dealerships suck! So much for a visual inspection! Never again will this ride see their service center!
I ran up to the hardware store and picked up another bolt and torqued them down so the problem is solved. Not sure what could have happened if the leaf came loose but I'm sure it would of been bad.
Rant over.............

dodriven

I wouldn't expect anything less. Glad you caught it before it was too late.

I don't understand why anyone would ever take their car to the dealership. We hear story after story and people still go spend twice as much as an independent shop with half the quality of work.

BobbyG123

Need make sure they are the right grade of bolts and those China made bolts and screws that a lot of places are selling are substandard
Also used blue locktite on all suspension parts

Fire 22

I don't get how a mechanic could miss that, I hope you take the pictures to the dealership and ask to speak with the person that changed your oil.

csexton

Glad you caught it

Chuck

IRON MAIDEN

I'm going over there tomorrow to chew them out.

hotwheels57

The person who changed the oil/filter isn't necessarily a technician or even a "mechanic"...

AU N EGL

Bolts loosen up over the years.

My guess is it was that way for a while

and the dealership, I bet all they did was hook up the tech II to check the On Board Diagnostics

0Double D Mods

how does the car look now with it lowered

most the dealers dont have a clue what to look for i have found out over the years.

Toque

Maybe the mechanic thought that the leaf bolt was the correct bolt to remove to drain the oil ? ... When the first one did not drain oil he asked another mechanic whats wrong.... The second mechanic started to take out the second leaf bolt and before it was out fully, they finally figured out there mistake. Guess they forgot to put the bolts back in the leaf after though. They must have been in a hurry for lunch...

Toque

JohnTheStigGalt

This was my first thought too... I don't think it's too much of a stretch, actually.

Dave concrete

I can understand a mechanic missing it at a routine oil change but when your paying for a inspection as the primary reason for the visit that is unacceptable.

renegad44

Dang, a $thousand bucks+, for a brake fluid flush, oil change, and inspection, and they missed that? That's sad! Good luck when you get there tomorrow, hopefully you get some satisfaction.

IRON MAIDEN

The $1000 included a new sideview mirror and some other service.... I think??? Now after seeing this, not sure if they even performed any of the labor they charged me for.

The car sure didn't lower much with the stock bolts. It does look a tad better so it must have dropped a little, but not enough to look lowered. I need 3/4" more to get it right.
The car sure drives smoother now. Not sure if it is the non runflat tires, the leaf spring actually being tightened down, or all of the above. The car absorbs the bumps in the road much better now.

hattitude

MIKE-C5

WoW ! You are lucky! !

Unfortunally, Dealerships really dont take care of customers cars like they should !

IRON MAIDEN

I replaced the missing one with a grade 8 bolt and washer. I'm gonna see if I can get a replacement bolt at the stealership when I go in to raise some hell.

642buteo

give us an update,I know at my local dealer,the oil change is done by some younger kids,not mechanics. They service advisor also said they wont install the cags device on my tranny to . I go to a corvette excluse private shop,more of a hassle but theyknow their stuff. Glad you checked your car and fixed,nobody cares like the owner.

hotwheels57

Did you use a metric bolt?

250racer

well just to elaborate on how bad dealerships can be i took my car to a chevy dealer to get a simple inspection done and i watched the "z06 certified technician" sit in the parking lot for several minutes trying to get my car into reverse ...the **** has no shift pattern then about 45 minutes later i see my car again and says he cant inspect it because he couldnt get it in the air!