03MBC320

Well, not sure if many of you recall my topic a while back about some craiglist mechanic willing to install my vogtland springs for like $100, too good to be true, and it sure as hell was
First off, to anyone in that thread that told me to suck it up and save the money to get them properly installed, you are a wise person and I should have listened to you, but I couldn't sit still and stand having new springs laying on my floor rather than in my car, I wish i had heeded your warnings. Now for the fun part

So, the guy turned out to be terrifying, he had few teeth and had gotten out of jail recently, unfortuntaley i found that latter piece of info after he had jacked up the car and began working. What made me secure in his mechanical ability though was his own car, a nissan 240sx that was well done, body wasnt in that great of shape but the engine was beautiful, built by him, and he installed his own coilovers on it, so i say whatever, he probably needed money badly and made a bad choice, doesn't mean he doesnt know how to work on the car. He installs the front left spring, with my help (i have no idea what is going on when it comes to this kind of stuff, yet I was helping him get it all together) and I had to leave to get something to eat after he began working on the right side, but after seeing his method on the left, i figure, eh, not too much can go wrong. So my buddy picks me up, we go get some food, I had to stop home to get some things done, called him to make sure he had it under control, etc. He calls me a while later, says i only got the front done i cant get your lower control arms off without my air tools which got stolen, come pick it up i'll charge you 50. I get there and pull away, and he pulls out behind me to go to a friends house or whatever. Immediately the noise begins, a loud clunking on the left side which i made a video and post about. Easy fix, the sway bar linkage bolt to the strut assembly was loose, as said before, he had no air tools. Took it to a shop and they tightened it up for free. Still, more noises. I knew the axle boots were broken, so i got those replaced (by Euro Image, good workers), still a noise, wtf. So i call Euro Image tell them i want it looked at to see what the noise is, and they're backed up until next week, which is no good because i had to make a 4 hour drive to my parents this weekend for Moms day, and wanted to make sure my car would make it, so i take it to a shop i noticed our own Laneshift recommended, Zots Garage

First off, some of the most beautiful porsches i've seen were up on the lifts, one of them especially looked like a monster (again idk much about engines but this thing loooooked like it was fit for track) and i ask him to take a look.
He tells me my inner axle boots arent put on properly, theyre loose, and the noise is them flopping around. I call euro image infuriated, and they let me bring the car there, skip the line of people waiting and get the car up on the lift to fix their mistake
Low and behold, their mechanic claims the axle boots are fine, and began to probe around a little, and came out laughing to explain what he found

THAT ******* PUT MY RIGHT SPRING ON UPSIDE DOWN.

Long story short, and quoting a sign i saw recently
"Cheap Labor Ain't Good, Good Labor Ain't Cheap"
First, to anyone who thinks i should call the guy who put them on upside down and have him fix his problem, i'm sorry, its not that i'm scared, but I'd rather pay this man another 50$ to never touch my car again than to fix what he did. I'm going to take the hit and have Euro Image flip the spring for about $100, but I just figured i'd let everyone else hear the lesson i learned the awfully hard way, I've had the car in the shop about 4 or 5 times since putting those springs on, and it took them all this long to figure out what was up because its such a stupid thing to have happen. I've been scanning about broken and worn bushings, axles, everything, and it was something this stupid.
Please don't think less of me for this happening, I wish i was more mechanically inclined so i could've done the job myself but, I'm broke, I wanted the springs installed, and at the time I said "what a deal"

so please, don't cheap out on labor, get jobs done right.
Just happy to report that i can laugh at myself about this, could possibly be the worst luck i've heard of, i mean afterall... dude had a 50/50 chance right?

thx for reading!

aac85

lol if it wasnt for ur hunger, you probably would have caught it!

laneshift

Glad you learned your lesson without any health hazards to you or the car! I would be wary of driving my car knowing of bad suspension problems.. losing control when you intentionally turn off traction control and losing control when your suspension blows up in your face (exaggerating here!) are two very different concepts! haha.

Just had akebonos and new rotors installed at Zotz. Done right, as you recommend!

EDIT: One of these days.. we need to haul all the local guys into one place and host a mini-meet in CFL. I saw 2x coupes yesterday within two streets of distance, and I see a sedan every day. Too bad the majority are driven by grandmothers. I saw one in a c230ss. AMG body kit suits her lack of driving skills well.

03MBC320

^^ unfortunately aac85, i probably wouldn't have. as i said, i have very little knowledge of suspension components and what goes on under the hood, i know every FACT about models and brands of cars, a year ago i could rattle of 0-60 times of some of the top sport sedans etc, what kinds of engines they had, what neat features they used, etc. But couldnt tell you a shock from a spring (well, actualy i couldve because i had a bicycle, adn a spring well... looks like a spring, but you get the jist). If i'd been helping him on the right like i did the left, i wouldn't have seen it and helped him install it improperly lol

So what i'm left with is the top of the spring not seated properly into the perch, and when the wheel turns the coil slides a little bit, Euro Image said it won't be an issue for a little while, that i'm experiencing the worst of it with the noises, but that if its like that for a long period of time it could wear through the perch, so I'll be getting it replaced as soon as i get a free day (got a job, so that helps to pay for it, but makes finding time to put my car into the shop hard)

and laneshift, thats what i was terrified of, i was on I-95 south for about 3 1/2 hours praying that it wasnt gonna fall apart lol, although Euro Image assured me that they'd hold up, she said if it wouldve fallen apart or popped off or something, it would've done so when i was leaving the guys place. Still scared outta my mind, had to pass up on many people looking to play around on the long open stretch of highway, and it was quite depressing =(

OH!, and to top it off, the money i've spent figuring out whats wrong, fixing things that didnt need to be fixed, and now fixing the actual problem, for installing the TWO FRONT SPRINGS, will now surpass the amount that i was unable at the time and didn't want to pay for properly installing ALL FOUR.

nrg_mike

I'm just glad you've gotten it fixed properly before you swapped out a ton of parts that didn't need to be swapped out.
Lesson learned.
Honestly, we all come across this situation one way or another. One time, while doing insurance work on my car, the painter left my windows open (without masking anything) and sprayed the repairs on the car. Needless to say it was a mess inside. The shop was owned by a client of mine and was certified and did a ton of insurance repairs too. I only let him do the work so I could save some money from the check and help my buddy a bit. I should have listened to my gut and let the right people do the job.

bdgdl08

I'm glad everything got sorted without any major problems. I would have probably done the same in your position, so don't feel bad.

splinter

Takes some guts for a man to admit when he has victimized himself with seemingly questionable judgment.
We’ve all done it, it’s just all too seldom when we read of any such lapses in this sub-forum.
Seasoned members know I’ve shared several of my self-induced predicaments.

Certainly wasn’t my intent to come across as a jerk in your two previous threads on the subject… #1 & #2.
Rather, only to help you avoid a potentially dangerous and frustrating situation.

Pleased you’ve at last gotten things squared away and found a competent shop with professional technicians.
Happy motoring.

TVT_DESIGN

Sorry to hear about the inconvenience, at least it was a small problem to fix.

I've had numerous customers get quotes from us, bring the work somewhere else, and then end up coming to us anyway to fix what went wrong. In the end it costs more, is more aggravating, and takes twice as long.

Glad to hear it all worked out in the end though!

timmynabenz

sorry to hear dude! that really sucks, glad you and your car are physically ok though!

AdidasC230

thats does suck and I dont know your comfort with working on cars or what your doing, but if you come to the orlando meet, and want to I can go to your place and do your suspension if you have a few tools and rent a spring compressor. I have done so many spring and suspension swaps I feel I should open a shop just doing that. Or if your ever down here I can help you at my house.

timmynabenz

can one of the mods ban this guy already??

M-bENZ

shopping mall

Andy

TemjinX2

You should've just diy'ed. I installed all four coil overs with a jack, jack stands and hand tools. You don't need air tools to install the suspension.

slammer111

I didn't know springs had an up or down. Unless you're talking about progressive ones.

When I put mine in I just made sure the lettering was right side up.

Nothing wrong with cheap labour. The important thing is that the guy knows what he's doing.

Glad to hear you got the problem fixed though.

zerocover

There is something not right with you.

You left your car in the hands of a total stranger, and an ex-con to boot. While you went to go hang out with your friend... And you saw no problem with this? What was keeping him from stripping down your car and selling the parts right there. Not being mechanically inclined is no excuse for doing something so reckless.

When you use cheap labor you need to hover over them, because they do not have any reason to do anything right. So far I've gotten lucky, and have dealt with very good respectable people. But I still make sure I know everything thats being done to my car, and I do not leave their side.