2014 Ford Flex

Inspected vehicle, made a list of parts that needed to be replaced, and then acquired all of said parts by removing them from a parts car the customer had access to that was at a separate location.

2011 Ford flex being used for parts car.

Problems being addressed by experienced "shade tree" mechanic, (me) and how they were fixed are as follows.

Main Incident that brought the vehicle to my garage

Passenger Brake caliper was only secured with one bolt, which came loose, dropping the assembly against the rim, which catastrophically destroyed the rim, damaged rotor, strut, cv Axle, wheel hub etc.
Solution: replaced CV Axle, Knuckle, Hub, strut, sway bar link, brake assembly, etc. only parts that were not changed were the lower control arm and tie rod end

Secondary problems being addressed during the process:

Drivers wheel lug studs stripped out.
Solution: replaced with wheel hubs from donor car, and brand new Dorman brand wheel lug studs

Torn boots on rack and pinion (electronic power assist) causing terrible grinding noise.
Solution: removed rack and pinion from vehicle, removed boots and thoroughly cleaned out all dirt and grime. I then packed the boots full of grease and reinstalled it into the vehicle. Without hooking the tie rods up I then started the vehicle to test the functionality of the rack to ensure that it was no longer making any grinding noises. Steering wheel was straight on startup, and the rack was centered as it was center already when I removed it from the vehicle. I then successfully turned the wheel from center to full lock left, then to full lock right.

At this point, the steering wheel completely jammed, and has not moved even an inch ever since.

I was not aware of the fact that this vehicle had electronic power steering until I went to remove it. Parts car had a hydraulic rack and pinion, so obviously not compatible, which meant that I would have to make do with just cleaning up the original as best as I could.

At this point I am at a complete standstill because I can't figure this crap out. The only OBD2 scanner that I have is very basic, read only, and only covers extremely basic fault codes mainly related to emissions. It is also worth noting that the vehicle message center screen in the gauge cluster does not work, I cannot see engine temperature, mileage, fault messages, and cannot use menu controls etc.

What is the next logical step? Do I call someone with a programmer to come and re-calibrate the rack and steering wheel sensors? Is there anything that I may have done wrong?

Bonus question, what is a reasonable flat rate to charge the customer for this amount of work? I already know that I'm doing this job for dirt cheap but the customer keeps acting as if i'm overcharging her.

 

I charge 75% shop labor rate, plus parts.

Customers who attempt to nickel and dime me, are quoted “FU” prices. If I have to deal with them, I’ll make it worth my while.

Planning is key. You didn’t plan. Lesson learned.

Edit ** You can rent a bi-directional scanner from auto parts “loan a tool” service.


Personally, I would buy the service manual, and follow the procedures if you insist on working on it.
Otherwise, settle the bill for the work done and wish her well.

Edit ** late 2013 (October) is when major design changes took place between model year 2014 and the previous years. A significant portion of the vehicles may not line up. This is further challenged by trim model differences, and Ecoboost V naturally aspirated.

 

Without getting to far into it, what I mean by "incident that brought vehicle to my garage" is that my roommate was borrowing the neighbours car, and that's when the brake caliper came off and destroyed the rim, and he drove it here and parked it right in front of the garage. He then half assed tore it apart trying to fix it, then gave up on it after being told that he was to pay for all the parts. I then wrote up a contract with the lady to do the work. As such, there was no planning involved because there couldn't have been. I'm just trying to get this thing out of here. I have a vlinker USB interface coming tomorrow, and I purchased the licensing for forscan, so I'll hopefully be able to get it all figured out.

I am aware of this, kinda just hoping that everything works out once it's all set back down on the ground. As it sits, drivers side knuckle and strut are factory, and passenger knuckle and strut is from the 2011.


***Edit: also thanks for your response I really appreciate the insight

 

As you know , no good deed goes unpunished !

After we get burned once or twice, we learn switching parts between vehicles can come with problems so we are VERY hesitant of doing this unless the parts are from the exact same year and model..