My rant for the last few weeks

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:30 pm

Just bare with me..................

When you bring your vehicle in for work at a shop,please inform the shop of any prior work done on the vehicle,prior problems even if you do not think it is related to the current problem and lastly tell them of any prior recommended work that you have decline,and talking about major work.

4 weeks ago a older guy brought in his '97 Buick LeSabra complaining the low oil pressure light would come on at idle.So I pulled it is the shop,1st I noticed the JiffyLube sticker that stated 5w-20 oil was used,well that generation of 3.8's need 10w-30 oil for correct oil pressures.Opened the hood and checked the oil level,it was at the full mark.I noticed that the upper intake plenum and lower intake gaskets where leaking rather good.I opened the radiator and yep it was low on coolant and had oil in the coolant.Tested the oil and found traces of coolant in the oil also.I recommended the intake gasket replacement,t-stat,coolant flush,and oil change with correct oil.He agreed to the $1200 repair,I also noted on the ticket(which he has a copy of) that possible engine bearing damage could have been done for having coolant in the oil since bearing do not like coolant and if damage was done the clearance where out of specs causing low oil pressure that no oil pump could fix.One week later he came back stating the low oil pressure light started coming back on,rechecked the work done and found no leaks,coolant and oil tested fine.Removed oil pressure sensor and hooked mechanical gauge and read oil pressure,it was low and not in spec.Then the guy fessed that this intake leak was noticed over 18 months ago and he never got it fixed until I fixed it.Well thanks for that info now idiot,you just spent $1200 so I can now tell you your engine bearings are shot and you need a rebuild or replacement engine.He was rather mad,I was getting flak over it by my boss,his boss,and so on till they dug up the original ticket and read my statement about possible bearing damage and let's try fixing the leaks and hope to save the engine.Well all is good now since after that my boss and his boss are backing me and told the guy to piss off since his failure to fix a major issue like that in a timely manner is all his fault and I got to keep my job,HURRAY!!!!!!!!

So to sum this mumbo jumbo up do not let major repairs go undone for a long period and please tell all about your vehicle when going to a shop,it will save us and you major headaches and money.Thanks,that's all till the next idiot customer has a hissy fit :twisted:

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JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:21 pm

so typical of customers

thats one thing that i always hated about working for the public,, they get pissed when you make educated decisions based on information that they supplied you knowing full well that they weren't giving you the whole story

Albert · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:31 pm

I read that twice.......tjkj one........b-hole customer 0 .....haha

In my opinion, he should have been mad at himself for not taking care of the problem asap.......and then not telling you the whole story. He should not have been mad at anyone but himself......period.

Also, that is one of the dex-cool gasket eating - well known issues with certain engines/model years GM cars.....3.1L, 3.4L. 3.8L GM motors.....as you know.

That story also goes to prove that you always need to completely document what the customer says when they bring in the vehicle to you like you did. Had you not done that you would be in "the dodo". The written documentation that you did is your absolute best protection. The written documentation is also best for the customer when he brings his vehicle to the same place all the time as the vehicle history is on the computer.

So they all owe you an apology for giving you the flak before checking your documentation..

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:19 pm

Thats part of the reason I quit walmart when I did. I saw to many good techs fired because of a previous failure that they got blamed for... :evil:

KJ kyle · **Posted:** Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:29 am

doesnt GM have to pay for the replacement because of the dexcool causing the lower intake gasket to go? there was that big billion dollar settlement early 08'

Albert · **Posted:** Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:31 am

KJ kyle wrote:

doesnt GM have to pay for the replacement because of the dexcool causing the lower intake gasket to go? there was that big billion dollar settlement early 08'

Yes but it is over now. There was a class action lawsuit that was won against GM and you had until 10/27/08 to file with the suit administrator, The Garden City Group, in Dublin Ohio and you would get a check Dex-Cool Litigation Fund for the repair that you paid for. You had to have a legitiment repair on a vehicle/motor/MY (mostly between 1995-2000) that was covered under the lawsuit and have the documentation/repair bill and ownership proof for the covered vehicle at the time of the repair and proof that you paid for the repair. The problem was confined to certain motors and vehicle model years. Part of the lawsuit was that GM never admitted fault of the Dex-Cool eating through the gaskets (and they did not make the gaskets). But they were the vehicle MFG and held responsible. This is an abreviated version of what happened as I understand it.

As far as the Dex-Cool and gaskets go, GM is still using the Dex-Cool as far as I know and always maintained that there was nothing wrong with it. But I am pretty sure the gasket material was changed in 2001 (not exactly sure of exactly when - to something the Dex-Cool would not eat through).

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:15 am

Albert wrote:

KJ kyle wrote:

doesnt GM have to pay for the replacement because of the dexcool causing the lower intake gasket to go? there was that big billion dollar settlement early 08'

Yes but it is over now. There was a class action lawsuit that was won against GM and you had until 10/27/08 to file with the suit administrator, The Garden City Group, in Dublin Ohio and you would get a check Dex-Cool Litigation Fund for the repair that you paid for. You had to have a legitiment repair on a vehicle/motor/MY (mostly between 1995-2000) that was covered under the lawsuit and have the documentation/repair bill and ownership proof for the covered vehicle at the time of the repair and proof that you paid for the repair. The problem was confined to certain motors and vehicle model years. Part of the lawsuit was that GM never admitted fault of the Dex-Cool eating through the gaskets (and they did not make the gaskets). But they were the vehicle MFG and held responsible. This is an abreviated version of what happened as I understand it.

As far as the Dex-Cool and gaskets go, GM is still using the Dex-Cool as far as I know and always maintained that there was nothing wrong with it. But I am pretty sure the gasket material was changed in 2001 (not exactly sure of exactly when - to something the Dex-Cool would not eat through).

It's still eating intake gaskets,even seen 2 '08 Impala's with leaking intakes on the new 3.5's that that problem was supposed to be "fixed".Actually one of those Impala's is coming in for the gasket job since it's a salesman and his Impala has 100,000 miles on it already(past warranty).

FelPro has come out with a updated gasket set(3rd GEN) intake gaskets that are metal coated with rubber that seems to be working better then the plastic gaskets used before.

My rant for the last few weeks

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