Caravan COLD Engine Oil Leak?? Help!!

So how much money have you saved with this guy?

Does it matter? Start over with the new mechanic and get it right.

 

I agree will Bill on this one. I would suggest starting with a
reputable shop. Since your name is Michelle, I am guessing that you
are female, and some shops take avantage of this. I am surprised that
he made repairs without your authorization. In most states this is
illegal, and you should not have to pay for the repairs, that you did
not authorize.

If your city has a news station with a reporter that specializes in
consumer issues, it by be worth referring the matter to them. If
nothing else, it will warn others so they hopefully won't fall prey to
this guy. There is also the Better Business Bureau, that you can refer
the matter too.

KM

 

yeah i called and got a quote on a radiator on the better half's car once. 2
days later she called them herself to confirm it. they quoted her a price
80 dollars higher. watch em like a hawk. some idiots still try to mess with
female customers. i hope you didnt pay him already. if you did, I'd get it
fixed at a reputable shop then maybe head to small claims court.


any number of things could be causing the hard starting issue, so we don't
know yet if its something he did on this latest visit. but while you are
having a reputable shop fix the oil leak, I'd ask them to check the timing
as well, to make sure he didnt get the belt out of time, or mess up the belt
tensioner causing the hard start.

I agree will Bill on this one. I would suggest starting with a
reputable shop. Since your name is Michelle, I am guessing that you
are female, and some shops take avantage of this. I am surprised that
he made repairs without your authorization. In most states this is
illegal, and you should not have to pay for the repairs, that you did
not authorize.

If your city has a news station with a reporter that specializes in
consumer issues, it by be worth referring the matter to them. If
nothing else, it will warn others so they hopefully won't fall prey to
this guy. There is also the Better Business Bureau, that you can refer
the matter too.

KM

 

I don't think he did anything on purpose, from the sounds of your story,
he appears to be completely incompetent. Fits in with the 'being cheap'
thing, he has low expectations of himself and charges accordingly.

 

I totally believe that this guy took advantage of me because I am
female. I mean like I said, I brought the car back to him for the third
time in less than a week, so that he can fix the oil leak, and he ends
up "topping off the fluids, cleaning the brakes, and changing the spark
plugs", all because he "had the car there".


Plus, like I said, shouldn't the oil filter have been changed the 1ST
TIME when he charged me the $850 for the "crank seal" and "timing belt"
repair???


He claimed that the "OUTSIDE of the filter looked clean", so he didn't
change the oil filter. Then when I told him that I wanted the oil filter
changed, he said "okay, but it's gonna be another $20 bucks".


Then he puts on some oil filter called "ProMotive" which I never even
heard of before???


Like I said, this guy is a mechanic at a used car dealership on the side
of the road. And its not some big name place, its a little used car
dealership with like 10 cars in the lot.


So I know the guy took me for a ride and ripped me off because I am
female. Heck, I go to pick up my car, and the guy is stuffing his face
with a party size pizza and a 6 pack of Miller Lite.


Stuffing his face and sucking down beers with my money!!!!!!

 

here's what i found


ProMotive OIL FILTERS (manufactured by Purolator / Bosch)

must be a no name budget line of filters they make

 

Well anyway, I am sorry to her that all this happened to you. Most
people like to think that they will be treated fairly and with respect
when doing business, but that's obviously not the case. Feel free to
ask this group questions before getting work done. I have been on this
group for more than 15 years, and I have picked up a lot of useful
information, that has really helped when I have had to do repairs
myself, or had them done by others.

KM

 

I would not have paid for the extra work that he claims he did. I would
have left and had an attorney threaten to sue him. He probably would get
nervous and would have returned you car for the twenty dollars he orginally
quoted.

If I was you, I would get the vehicle fixed at the new mechanic your aunt
brings her car to. Have them give you a itemized receipt of what they did.
If they have to repair what the so called shade tree mechanic worked on then
I would file a claim against this guy in small claims court. Use teh
itemize receipt from the second mechanic as your proof that he did not
repair what he said he did. I would go after not only the orginal repair
cost but also the cost of fixing his mistakes.

As some suggested calling an action reporter from a local TV news crew or
getting a newspaper to write an article on his buisness practices might put
some pressure on him.

One option someone else mention is the BBB. I find this organization pretty
much useless as if he does answer their complaint and you are not satisfied
with his answer through them, They will consider the case closed but
complaint would not accept answer given.


I would rather contact my state attorney general and speak with someone in
comsumer fraud division. They may be interested in checking thsi guy out if
he does not repair what he screwed up in the first place and he he does
repairs without authorization. This may put him out of business are at
least make him more willing to reimburse you for some of your cost.

 

UNLESS the mechanic pulled the engine and the oil pan, the "rear crank
seal" or "rear main seal" would NOT have been on the agenda--period.
When the front "timing cover" is removed from the engine to replace the
timing chain, that cover also has the "front crankshaft seal" (a lip
seal) installed in it, so THAT is the one that was most probably
replaced. By "front", I mean the end of the engine that has the belts
on it, usually facing toward the passenger-side front wheel.

Replacing that seal involves pressing the old one out and tapping the
new seal assembly in. Not a terribly time-consuming job, but it can
take a little while to do.

This is a "lip seal" which constantly contacts the front nose of the
crankshaft. Unless there's a deep groove worn (from the earlier seal)
in the area the seal would contact, there's usually not a leak there
with a new seal. If a "wear groove" might exist, there are "sleeves"
which can be placed over the area on the crankshaft so the new seal will
work well. Also, some brands of replacement seals move the seal itself
back a small amount to get to an "unworn" area of the crankshaft nose so
the possibility of leaks will be diminished.

If the fuel pump for your vehicle is in the tank, it can be a much more
labor-intensive job than many might suspect. Gasoline weighs about 6
pounds/gallon, so a 15 gallon tank (for example) can be pretty heavy to
deal with, in addition to the weight of the tank itself. Want to try to
deal with a 100 pound bulky item, even with an appropriate transmission
or fuel tank jack? Not to mention getting into where the fuel lines
attach, or the electric harness going to the sending unit! $500.00 for
labor might equate to 5-6 hours of work, just to get the tank out of the
vehicle. Having to deal with the gasoline already in the tank,
siphon/drain it out, store it, then possibly reinstall it can easily
take several hours just for those things!

On many middle 1990s GM Suburbans, to replace the in-tank fuel pump and
the related sending unit, it could easily be $800.00 for parts and labor
. . about 10 years ago.

What makes the fuel pumps go away is the fuel filter that slowly clogs
up and makes the pump work harder. On many Chrysler products, there is
no inline filter as it's part of the sending unit in the tank. Keep the
fuel filter changed and it should delay any future problems.

Be MORE concerned that your long-time mechanic is doing you a good job
on these "first time" maintenance items. NOTHINGS cheap to fix anymore,
especially if you pay somebody to do them.

The value of the vehicle compared to what you've spent on it is
irrelevant. They might not increase the resale value, but having them
NOT done can certainly decrease it when you might want to sell it.

Now that you've had these things done, be sure to TAKE CARE of your
Chrysler product and it'll continue to take care of you. Sure, there
will be some maintenance issues as time progresses, but they'll sure be
less expensive than monthly car payments and higher insurance rates for
a newer (and higher value) vehicle!

C-BODY

 

And engine oil and oil filter change are NOT part of the front
crankshaft seal replacement labor operation--they're extra.

When you checked the oil and found the "debris" on the dipstick, whether
such items are "hard" or "soft" can determine where they came from and
what they might be. Disintegrating gasket parts, of which there should
not have been many, considering where the only gasket is in that
situation, will usually be larger than what you have described OR would
come up on the dipstick. It's probably engine deposits from the front
cover breaking loose from the engine block, which should be generally
"soft" rather than otherwise. If you press them between your fingers,
they should smush out.

As for the other unapproved services he performed, your local
municipality should have some laws about "unapproved repair work" being
performed. In some towns, the shop can go 10% over on the actual cost
of the repair work, from the prior estimate, before approval is needed
to do further work. IF they don't get the approval, the customer is not
liable to pay for the additional charges.

Naturally, in your case, you didn't have time to press the issue, with
no paper estimate being offered, just verbal, so you paid and felt
fortunate to be through with that deal that day. Still, though, you
might check with the municipality the shop is located in to verify any
further course of action you might have.

Might it be possible that this whole oil leak issue might have been
because the crankcase was too full to begin with, and especially
afterward?

Generally, it's better to look for an oil leak on an overhead lift.
Where it drips from might not really be where it's coming from.
Usually, though, wet oil on the engine comes from somewhere and where
that trail might originate would not be revealed by the cardboard
method. Similarly, though, there should have been oil drops on the
concrete or other surface where the vehicle was parked--the cardboard
just made it easier for you to see.

It looks like your normal mechanic was trying to do you a favor for
recommending another mechanic "on the cheap",but "cheap" is not always
better . . . in the long run.

In general, the more substantial the repair shop is, the greater
recourse you might have in getting poor repairs fixed. Most will not
take jobs they can't do or don't have people trained/experienced to do
them. Smaller private shops can just as easily tell you to get lost,
but chains or dealerships can't do that nearly as easily if a repair has
been poorly done.

ALSO, with all due respect, a used car dealer's used car mechanic is
probably going to be more experienced in "flat-rating" repairs than
taking a little extra time to do them "as specified". If it's a smaller
dealership, there probably can be more "patching" being done rather than
"fixing", many times.

On many of the front and rear crankshaft seals, there can be some
"knurling" on the inner surface of the seal to help deflect oil back
into the motor before the actual lip on the seal would come into play.
If the seal is put in backward (usually can't be done as it looks wrong
compared to how the old one was installed), then oil leaks can happen.
But it might be "cocked" rather than "square".

End result, you'd better find somebody else at a reputable shop . . .
even IF they might be more expensive . . . to get you a written estimate
of what it'll take to get your vehicle repaired so it acts correctly and
doesn't leak oil. THEN use that estimate should you go to small claims
court as your "real damages". If you had to rent a vehicle to get
around while your vehicle was under repair, bring those receipts too!
You might also be able to get a reasonable "pain and suffering"-type of
award for the time you didn't have your vehicle. Unfortunately, the
total amount might exceed what some small claims courts might have
jurisdiction over.

When a mechanic charges you for looking at a vehicle, that's called
"check out time" and is a valid charge. Usually, if they repair the
vehicle, that charge is waived. Still, their time is valuable and is
worth something, even if they might be a shyster.

I concur with Putney that the transmission issue might not have been a
"replacement" issue, but it could have been. No way to know that, now,
though.

Regards,

C-BODY

 

Thanks, but that was 'Daniel who wants to know' who said that.