How Bad is This? Dealership...

It was explained to me that initial torque on a U-Bolt stretches it a veeeery minimal amount, and re-torquing on an already stretched bolt could yield inaccurate results. Now is that splitting hairs? Maybe…

OP might be able to get the dealer to cover the cost of the new u bolt if he tries appropriately.

 

You can't argue because you know that the transmission needs to be serviced, you also know that the manual, at no point, tells you to service it during normal operating conditions. This would make the information given to us bad information, given to us by engineers at Toyota, making your statement about engineers not giving out bad information wrong. So instead of admitting you are wrong you're just "not going to argue".

FYI the "Perform these service items only if you drive primarily under the conditions indicated" statement is footnote 2 on your manual, so you do have the same bad information I do.

 

If it makes anyone feel better.
I specifically asked if the service guy to be sure the tech double checked the torq spec when doing my leafs. Because I knew the FSM was wrong. The only reason I even mentioned it was because I literally watched some young guy torque lug nuts while standing in the service department.

When I picked the truck up. The service advisors words were , “My guy said, He just uses the air gun on those. He’s done a lot of them. He said he gets them good and tight”

To which I responded, “Sounds good to me”.
I’ve never once checked them. And probably never will.

Then again, I was definitely air gun man until joined this forum. Then you guys got me all paranoid about torque specs.

It’s a 1000 wonders my 1st Gen stayed together. I just cranked stuff down until I thought it was “tight enough”. Never gave it a 2nd thought.

 

LMAO, when these discussions go to the "Well, the engineer said x, y, z."

I promise, if you put an Engineer in a room full of 100 people, chances are the engineer is dumber than at least half the people in the room.

Engineers draw shit on paper, I build shit. At the beginning of a project, I literally spend half my days on the phone with "ThE eGiNeErs" telling them how their shit is stupid, and wont work in real life... then literally tell them how to draw a picture of how it ACTUALLY needs to be, so it's actually possible.

Engineers ... 53 ft pounds... fuck that, increments of 5 pounds.

Engineer ... Lower Control arm torque spec 85 Ft pounds... ya, that's dumb. That bitch is going as tight as I can get it. Same goes for leaf u-bolts, leaf shackles, and leaf hanger bolts.

 

Factory Toyota u-bolts are very high quality better then anything you going to get aftermarket. A lot of the aftermarket u-bolts don’t (hug) the top of the leaf pack on the bumpstop that good. Maybe some junky China u-bolts could be one time use. Unless there is some obvious damage or they don’t thread on smooth I disagree being a 1 time use. I’ve never seen a factory u bolt fail, or come lose on its own unless incorrectly installed. Also if you adding a bigger leaf pack or add leaf and want a high quality u-bolt a tundra one is the same profile and it’s longer

 

Do ceramics?

 

Yep, literally all materials.

 

That was a great post though. Undergrad bsme, never used it, but the only classes I ever made consistent "A"s in were materials, heat transfer, and calculus.
And Fortran lol.
(Millennials are like... "wtf is fortran?)

 

Stop it I'm blushing

 

Get enough rust on the nuts, and they aren't going anywhere anyway.
I swear, I read some of these threads lol, and I am completely baffled as to how my first Tacoma, a '99, made it to 350K+ miles, and I never did a thing aside from brakes, batteries, and tires.
"Periodically check the torque on the leaf spring u-bolts?"
Hmph. I guess the rust worked for me.
The ass end never fell off.

 

Haha, I've never had to use Fortran (and I'm definitely thankful), but I had a class on it—even though I am technically a millennial (born in '84).

 

When I had my frame replaced 4 years ago the dealership threw out my wheeler's leaf pack and installed the toyota junk. Here's what it looked like ..

I had to dig through the scrap pile to find my wheeler's springs and replaced them myself at home.
I was so pissed at the dealership that I drove the truck home just like that. Brakes lines were full of air and the master cylinder was overfilled. Fuck dealerships

 

Geeeezus. I’ve had one bad experience with a 4x4 “specialty shop” that effed the dog so badly, I easily got my entire labor amount of about $900 returned to me. I was the one to find and fix numerous errors after their work, including incorrectly reinstalled airbag sensors on both driver and passenger sides. To say I was heated was an understatement.

People must be held accountable for their work, especially if someone else’s safety is compromised due to their negligence.

 

Torqued my u-clamp bolts down today and it made a big difference on the drivability in general. 3 full turns and they were torqued down (all 8 bolts). Also tightened the center carrier bearing down.