Slipped LCA bent cam tabs, Dealer wants to replace frame $26k

Thanks the record is in agreement with the discussion. The mention of a tire mark is seemingly CYA as it is extremely minor.

PLEASE EDIT TO REQUIRED WORK ~|~CUSTOMER STATES FRONT COLLISION WARNING AND A FEW OTHER ISSUES ~|~PLEASE EDIT TO REQUIRED WORK ~|~25748 FOUND WARING LIGHTS ON PULLED CODES AND FOUND C1290 ABNORMAL ZERO POINT OF STEERING ANGLE SENSOR. FOUND DAMAGE TO ECCENTRIC TABS ARE BENT ON ONE SIDE AND FOUND DAMAGE ON TO RIGHT FRONT TIRE. WOULD LIKE TO REPLACE FRAME AND PERFORM ALIGNMENT AND RECH

 

Nah, I think he snagged a pic of @LarryDangerfield's truck.

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Finally returned home to look at it. Correction to above is only the two tabs for the front LCA bolt on the front right corner of the vehicle is damaged. The other 6 of 8 tabs are all normal.

Truck was turning to R when brakes autolocked so this would have created a torque that would have pulled the front LCA bolt outward as observed. As such it does seem reasonable this could have happened while driving with an undertorqued bolt and is probably more likely than a svc. tech stressing the tabs to cam the arm in during an adjustment, especially since the alignment went from good to failed immediately after the autobrake.

I will try to talk to the svc mgr Tuesday but sincerely doubt they will budge on this one. Seems like the argument should be 'You aligned 5k mi ago, it slipped upon braking at low speed. It is your fault, fix it'. I doubt that will go anywhere and already have the TC kit delivered and lined up to install next week. Am thinking to just have it installed and call it done since there is no do-over getting here.

Better pics of the only 2 of 8 tabs which are damaged:

 

See that rust? That didn't happen in a day or three.

 

Yeah, this is 100% on the dealer if they aligned it 5k miles ago
They either failed to report previous damage to the tabs or they caused it, by poor workmanship or improper torque allowing the cam bolts to move

 

Glad you mentioned that. I took a pic last week and will compare. I /do/ appreciate the thinking. Truck has been parked ~1/2 mi from the Pacific Ocean, which may accelerate rusting.

 

If that came through my work I wouldn’t even bat an eye. I’ve really only used Hunter alignment machines so I can’t speak for other brands but you could still align that truck no problem. I’d just use the function where you can “jack axle”. Then use the rolling jack to lift the front end completely or just enough where you can manipulate the bolt where you need it. You could easily use a pry bar to move the setting out and a ratchet strap or something to pull it in, if that much force is even necessary. Frankly when you lift the front end you can usually move those components by hand relatively easily, especially with the leverage of the wheel being on the car. Then set it back down and recheck my specs. Also, depending where you need to go as far as camber/caster you could make it perfect with the opposite bolt. I would have aligned the vehicle, took pictures and just told the client when I was finished that the last shop didn’t tighten it well, or in this circumstance it shifted under load and bent the tab.

 

Back in my day, we used to “swerve to miss a deer”. Nowadays, the car auto brakes for us. I guess it’s been than a 3 car accident.

 

Thanks. The info here has pulled me from the dealer story to realizing it is not that big of a deal, just bend those 2 tabs back and reinf with 1/4" stock as mentioned by several above. The TC kit may be overkill for my setup now that I realize the tabs shouldn't support driving loads for typical conditions.

Am thinking to ask the fab to loosen the LCA first and make sure it has the expected mobility, and if so, go for the 1/4" bar fix and keep it fast and simple.

 

The dealer guy needs to grow a pair. Just fix the truck, what's the problem? Good grief..

 

I've fixed a lot of problems with a case of beer and a little bit of cash at the local exhaust shop.
I mean, $26K or 24 beers and $100 bill?
I know what one I'm picking.

 

not sure what you mean. Have I ever had auto brake? No, I generally don’t pay more for things like auto brake that malfunction.

having a stock truck without upgraded bumper, but auto brake, doesn’t make sense.

do the cam tabs flatten? Yes. This frame has been largely the same since 05 with that weakness as a known issue.

they are easily flattened during routine alignments. That are generally recommended to check or adjust as often as every 1 or 2 years depending on drive and road use. Where instructions unnecessarily state to unladen the front during said adjustment to compensate for inadequate factory design, unlike any other car that does not have this problem.

that is why there are solutions to that such as total chaos tabs, Marlin crawler reinforcement, both, JD pivots, or SAS.
Or hiring a welder fabricator to work their powers.

they are all cheaper. And better. Which of the choices is your personal decision.

warranty is generally warranty.

weak flattening cam tabs known to be weak and flatten because of that, generally do that regardless.

it’s wise to address known weak parts before they inevitably fail because it is harder to repair after the fact rather than preventatively.

you do not have a broken frame. You have flattened cam tabs.

there are numerous positive aspects of JD Pivots that has people go that route regardless of the condition of their stock tabs.

 

Now would be a good time to pull the bolts and coat the sleeves with anti-seize too. Although I doubt many California trucks experience frozen cam bolts, it’s a good preventative measure if you plan on keeping the truck a long time.

 

Frames used to get replaced because of poor coating and rust, not cam tabs. Nobody does that and that is not the solution.

it’s up to you if you believe this was caused by them, or caused by brake assist and weak metal. And if they would pay for actual repair, not frame replacement. Which they are not capable to do because 1. The repair is not their parts and 2. Dealerships do not weld. Dealerships sell cars and do factory work.

if factory work is a bad part then dealer work is to put a bad part.

if they put a new frame that will have the same cam tabs and bend them again a month later.

Evaluate what truck you buy and what you buy it for. Cheaper and older is often better. Cheaper and older means more money to address stock weakness, which is often exactly the definition of stock. Including but not limited to factory suspension and much more.

factor in professional fabrication since that is different from home wrenching free labor with harbor freight tools turning hardware.