Our AC quit in our jeep, so my wife took it in to have the core replaced at a local repair shop on Monday.

The tech made a big stink to her about how hard it is to pull the dash and do the work.

We drove it to the state GOP convention Friday night, and I was on the freeway doing standard Michigan cruise speed, 80 mph, the whole way.

In the parking lot of the convention the steering wheel goes into freewheeling mode with no connection to the wheels at all.

AAA gold saves the day, a tech (not from the first shop) come out and fixes it. The problem? Instead of placing the bolt in the hole properly to tie the collar and shaft together, the bolt was just placed in the threaded part of the shaft and was friction fit on the shaft... until it loosened up enough to freewheel.

The tech said it was quite easy to do it wrong if you just thread the bolt without looking, and that the first guy was lazy because it takes a minute to get down there in position to look.

Motherfucking asshole! My wife and I would have died because some piece of fucking shit couldn't be bothered to put forth a fucking minute's worth of effort. I sort of know the shop owner, and I am going to tell him exactly what I think on Monday.

Ask for money before you toss the F-word.

Let em have it!

Feel free to IM the name of the shop.

Only use mechanics you know and trust.  One of my old friends works at a small garage and after seeing the work they do there I'd rather go to my mechanic who charges $80 an hour than my friend who charges me less than one third the price.

Quoted: The tech made a big stink to her about how hard it is to pull the dash and do the work. ...........HE WAS RIGHT AC CORES ARE DIFFUCULT TO REPLACE We drove it to the state GOP convention Friday night, and I was on the freeway doing standard Michigan cruise speed, 80 mph, the whole way. ..........IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TECHS FAULT YOU WERE SPEEDING? In the parking lot of the convention the steering wheel goes into freewheeling mode with no connection to the wheels at all. .......GOOD THING IT LET GO THERE HUH? The tech said it was quite easy to do it wrong if you just thread the bolt without looking, and that the first guy was lazy because it takes a minute to get down there in position to look. .......IF IT WAS EASY TO DO WRONG WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO UPSET? Motherfucking asshole! My wife and I would have died because some piece of fucking shit couldn't be bothered to put forth a fucking minute's worth of effort. I sort of know the shop owner, and I am going to tell him exactly what I think on Monday.

..........THE POINT IS YOU DIDNT DIE AND YOU ARE GETTING UPSET BECAUSE YOU PRESSURED SOMEONE TO DO A RUSH JOB . THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE OVERSIGHT AS MUCH AS THE TECH NOT DOING HIS JOB.    

   BTW........i think your thread is a joke. even if the shaft bolt falls out the shaft is splined or notched so no freewheeling will happen. they will not slide off either (the bolt is a safety feature but not the only feature that holds the shaft together).    

Quoted: Quoted: The tech made a big stink to her about how hard it is to pull the dash and do the work. ...........HE WAS RIGHT AC CORES ARE DIFFUCULT TO REPLACE We drove it to the state GOP convention Friday night, and I was on the freeway doing standard Michigan cruise speed, 80 mph, the whole way. ..........IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TECHS FAULT YOU WERE SPEEDING? In the parking lot of the convention the steering wheel goes into freewheeling mode with no connection to the wheels at all. .......GOOD THING IT LET GO THERE HUH? The tech said it was quite easy to do it wrong if you just thread the bolt without looking, and that the first guy was lazy because it takes a minute to get down there in position to look. .......IF IT WAS EASY TO DO WRONG WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO UPSET? Motherfucking asshole! My wife and I would have died because some piece of fucking shit couldn't be bothered to put forth a fucking minute's worth of effort. I sort of know the shop owner, and I am going to tell him exactly what I think on Monday. ..........THE POINT IS YOU DIDNT DIE AND YOU ARE GETTING UPSET BECAUSE YOU PRESSURED SOMEONE TO DO A RUSH JOB . THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE OVERSIGHT AS MUCH AS THE TECH NOT DOING HIS JOB.        BTW........i think your thread is a joke. even if the shaft bolt falls out the shaft is splined or notched so no freewheeling will happen. they will not slide off either (the bolt is a safety feature but not the only feature that holds the shaft together).

Next time you step on an airliner, ask yourself if the airlines mechanics have the same attitude as you!
Then have a pleasant flight

Not a joke at all. I was very very upset when I realized what could have happened.

FYI Michigan freeway speed is 70mph, and most folks go 10 over.

The midnight tech AAA sent out said that this happens sometimes, because the tech is too lazy to properly install the bolt in the jeeps because it requires that your wiggle your body into a tight and odd position in order to look in the hole.

Oh, that bitch was spinning free.

Quoted: We drove it to the state GOP convention Friday night, and I was on the freeway doing standard Michigan cruise speed, 80 mph, the whole way. ..........IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TECHS FAULT YOU WERE SPEEDING?

This is as dumb a thing as I've seen posted here. No, it wouldn't have been the tech's fault he was speeding. It would have been the tech's fault he had no steering. It is the tech's fault he spent a week driving a death trap. It is the tech's fault that he risked killing himself and other people every time he got behind the wheel for that week. The tech would be looking at a manslaughter charge had someone died as a result of his immense negligence.

In the parking lot of the convention the steering wheel goes into freewheeling mode with no connection to the wheels at all. .......GOOD THING IT LET GO THERE HUH?

I guess that lets the tech off the hook. His murderous incompetence was revealed in a relatively safe manner.

The tech said it was quite easy to do it wrong if you just thread the bolt without looking, and that the first guy was lazy because it takes a minute to get down there in position to look. .......IF IT WAS EASY TO DO WRONG WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO UPSET?

I guess it's no big deal if the electrician wires the knob on your stove for 220, as long as nobody's killed. It's easy to muzzle-sweep the guy in the next lane at the range. I guess you don't get upset when it happens to you. Hell, it's easy to cause a ND. However close the bullet comes to your head, you won't be upset if you're not hit, right?

Motherfucking asshole! My wife and I would have died because some piece of fucking shit couldn't be bothered to put forth a fucking minute's worth of effort. I sort of know the shop owner, and I am going to tell him exactly what I think on Monday. ..........THE POINT IS YOU DIDNT DIE AND YOU ARE GETTING UPSET BECAUSE YOU PRESSURED SOMEONE TO DO A RUSH JOB . THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE OVERSIGHT AS MUCH AS THE TECH NOT DOING HIS JOB.

What is the basis for your claim that he rushed the mechanic? You seem to have pulled that out of thin air. Even if he had rushed him, it is still the mechanic's responsibility to reassemble the car correctly. Or do you see some unwritten "I'll do it as quick as I can, but since you asked for a prompt repair, you assume the risk that your whole family may be killed"  disclaimer in every conversation with a car mechanic?