So 3 weeks ago I dropped $300 on a new power steering pump. Last week it started acting up again and this morning I had no steering at all, so I took it to the shop this morning.
The mechanic calls me back around lunchtime and says “Yeah, the hose is shot. We couldn’t tell at the time, but the new pump puts out more pressure than the old pump and it ruined the hose. That’s gonna run you about $150 for the hose plus labor”. I told him I would get back to him.
I think about it and it sounds fishy. If the new (actually, remanufactured) pump were at the OEM’s specs, then why would it ruin a hose designed for those specs? Why was the hose fine until the pump had to be replaced? Wouldn’t I have noticed this problem a lot sooner?
So I run my thoughts past a couple of mechanically-inclined friends and they both agree he’s full of shit. I call the mechanic back and he tries to argue with me and I get angry and he rolls over like a kitty cat. I tell him, “I want it fixed and I want it fixed today and I’m not paying you anything to do what should have been done the first time.” He says “OK, but you’re wrong” and I say “I’ll see you at 5:00”
Man, I am PSYCHED! Johnny will not be pushed around!
I’m not too sure about this. If the old pump needed to be replaced…wouldn’t it stand to reason that the output could be attenuated to some degree? If it weren’t broken, you wouldn’t have needed to have it replaced. With the remanufactured part in place, the output could very well be higher.
Hoses age. That’s the fact, Jack. Goodness knows mine’s getting old and weak, but that’s another thread. If your hose had aged or dry-rotted, when the new pump was installed, bringing system pressure up to speed, it could very likely spur a leak.
And that hose is a pain in the ass to change, I never want to do it again.
Reminds me of the time a mechanic tried to charge me an extra $30 for my battery. He said my 12-volt battery had a problem, and he was going to have to overhaul all 12 volts.
But I had him there–I had already had that done a week earlier.
My thought was the same as Manservant Hecubus. I’m not very mechanically minded so I hope this comes out making some sense. Me and my SO had a really old car when we first got married. A water pump went, (everytime we stopped the car steam would come belching from the hood, very embarrassing!) and had to be replaced. Anyhow, after the new pipe was replaced all the old pipes went one by one, apparently, being old and worn, they coulden’t take the pressure coming through the new one.
“Sure, if he’s got X-ray vision. Worst Post Ever.”
What kind of idiotic reply directed at me is this? You don’t even know what year the car is let alone the make or model. So inform me just how you would know where on earth the hoses are!
There is no way on the earth you would know that you would need XRay vision to see the hoses. DUH!
You two stop it! It’s like watching two children squabble. Ye gads you two are missing the humor. This is like sending your food back at a restaurant. Guaranteed to be spit in.
The hoses of a car should be changed regularly. So, if you are changing the pump, the hoses should also be changed. I know that this is not always done, but IMO should be.
Now the two of you go sit in the corner for 15 minutes and no looking at the computer during that time.
::deb walks away brushing hands together and shaking head::
I’m no mechanic, but it doesn’t seem weird at all to me for a professional to check the adjacent hoses when a waterpump goes south. I know my dealer replaced all of them when they changed a water pump on my first car.
In short, handy’s post -whether you agree with it or not- was nor inaccurate, nor off-topic. If you chose to flame posters, we have a designated place for that. And it sure as hell isn’t my forum.
I’ve had my way around cars and handy pretty much nailed it. If he doesn’t notice that the hoses are bad when he initially changes a part (in this case a pump) then he doesn’t have business getting under the hood of a car. He should have checked the hoses and made sure whether or not they were starting to dry rot or crack or anything along those lines while he was working on that particular area of a car. And yes I hope you did ask for the old part.
And about the new pump putting out too much pressure for the hose? Ehhh I highly doubt it. That just doesn’t really happen. I’ve changed many a different parts in my car and changed many of the hoses in my car and never did putting on a new part cause my hoses to go bad. That is just my opinion though.
Johnny will not be pushed around!
