So, I took the truck to the Midas close by for a safety inspection.

Was waiting in the waiting area and the manager came out and pulled me back into the work bay. He told me that my front sway bar was cracked on both sides. I asked him how something like this could happen, he responded by saying wear and tear. Reasonable I figured since the truck does have 162k on it. Well, next thing out of his mouth was that he had already called several GM dealers and could get me the part for $550 plus labor. I told him I'd fix it myself.

So I went to a yard and got me the bar yesterday for $65. I jacked up the front end today, pulled the skid plate off and lo and behold I saw nothing wrong with the sway bar whatsoever. I examined it as closely as I could and could not find a single crack or anything.

Granted, I'm not a mechanic, but I think that shop was trying to screw me over. I did think it was odd that the tech never had the truck up off the ground, how could he have examined the sway bar that closely from the engine bay?

 

Swaybar cracked??? That thing is solid steel and is under very little load except when cornering and even then its just some torsional twist. Never seen or heard of one cracking. Pull it off and go ask him to show you the broken places. He would have had to put it in the air to inspect it that closely and quickly. I wouldn't be going back there. Stuff like that is the very reason I do 100% of my own work.

 

Yeah, that's the first thing I thought when I picked up the swaybar from the yard, heavy and solid as hell....how could it break.

Now, my front tires do rub on both end of the bar and there are visible rub marks, but by no means is the bar cracked. I have a feeling this is where they were trying to screw me....unless you can fail a safety inspection for tires rubbing on suspension components. But a new bar wasn't going to fix that anyways.

 

Wow what a shitty shop. X2 on doing everything myself.

 

Sounds like a load of bunk to me...I'd get the truck inspected by a state facility and report the Midas to the Better Business Bureau...

 

Since when does the suspension get inspected for safety inspection?

 

suspension pretty much has nothing to do with the inspection. only thing that it would affect is the headlight/brake light/ etc height as they can only be so high/low. Now if the steering rubs or catches on anything that doesn't allow a lock to lock turn of the wheels...it can fail. but hell i think mine rub on the sway bar and I'm not even lowered. just running bigger tires/wheels.

 

Take it back and make them show you.

 

As much as I dislike S Fl, the one thing i will say is I'm glad we don't have inspections. I can only imagine how in this economy those shops are scammin people left and right. report thos sorry sumbichs asap and I would have to go back and tell that **** in person what a crook he is.

 

If that Midas is like the ones around here there are usually three types of people that work there. Dumbass, Liar, or a combination of those two.