hi all

I am completely new here and could really do with some advise.

my car had to go in to the garage with a belt slipping noise, the garage found out the pipe to my powered steering was split and the fluid had gone all over the belts, not to worry get the pipe changed and the belts (just to be safe). I go to pick up the car only to be told they had to remove some bolts from the steering box to reattach the pipe and in doing so has removed the thread from the box completely so nothing can be bolted back together. their answer was one part is aluminium and the other part steel so there couldn't be helped and now want to charge me for either a new steering box or an engineering firm to rethread it.

my question is - is this correct or have the garage possibly stripped the threads and are just trying to get out of paying to fix it ?

please help

Sounds like BS if you ask me, theres a bolt on it for a reason, to undo and tighten, theres also these little figures that are listed for every bolt in the car, torque figures, made to prevent damage from happening. Might be a struggle fighting it tho. their logic is somewhat flawed as well, they are happy to get someone to rethread it but also state that the aluminium and steel difference was the reason it broke in the first place, surely it would just get damaged again unless they tightened it too much or cross threaded it

this was my initial thought too, wasn't to sure thanks for that

Will be easy to get it re threaded or a thread insert put in, surprised the garage can't do it themselves, but if they've to send it to a machine shop tell them it won't be an expensive job and as they stripped it they should pay for it!

Sounds like BS if you ask me, theres a bolt on it for a reason, to undo and tighten, theres also these little figures that are listed for every bolt in the car, torque figures, made to prevent damage from happening. Might be a struggle fighting it tho. their logic is somewhat flawed as well, they are happy to get someone to rethread it but also state that the aluminium and steel difference was the reason it broke in the first place, surely it would just get damaged again unless they tightened it too much or cross threaded it

Quite a common problem where aluminium and steel parts meet - especially ones which have been affected by salt. 'Dissimilar metals'.

Something I am well accustomed to working on ships.

The garage should be able to come up with a fix, quite surprised they don't want to rethread it but will let someone else do it. That's part of being a fitter is it not? I'm an electrical fitter, would certainly be expected of me to carry out such repair.