If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself

pwrwagn · **Joined:** Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:40 am **Posts:** 192

I posted here some time back about my serpentine squeaking. Not just squeaking, but downright hellacious squalling. I don't know what was on it, but it definitely was contaminated with something, and trying to clean it was not successful.

I have about 10,000 miles since I had someone put in a head gasket and Suncoast converter. It was all done at once, by the same guy.

Since I finally had some time and warm day and sunlight, I dug into it. The back of the belt was worn more than it should be. And when I pulled off the belt... The tensioner flopped all around. No, it's not worn out. IT WAS LOOSE. The bolt that goes through it... had no nut on the backside. He left the bolt that goes from the bracket to the bottom of the turbo off... Punched a hole in the radiator... I still have a tiny coolant leak... And now I find that the tensioner was loose, with no nut on the backside of the retaining bolt. And, I also found that the bolt that holds the dipstick in the transmission is not there, either. And a couple days ago, the vent hose for the transfer case ( I think that's what it is) flopped down and drug the ground.

New bolt and new belt (and a lot of dirty skin and clothes and an hour later) and it's darn quiet...

Oh, yeah... he helicoiled the oil pan... and it leaks at the plug, I don't think he got the helicoil straight.

Arrggghhh... To think this guy got 1400 dollars in labor for 2 days of work...

geordi · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:35 am

Did you pay with a credit card? Charge it back, you contracted for work to be performed, and it wasn't done to any acceptable or successful standard. The burden will be on him to prove otherwise, and you will get a credit back in 24 hours while they start their investigation. Any documentation you can get that shows what needed to be redone will help your case.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 10:04 am

I'm sorry for your :furious:

experience, and this is why I refuse to let anyone touch my vehicles. I get nervous when I get tires or alignment done, because I'm convinced they will mangle something. After all, it's not theirs...

pwrwagn · **Joined:** Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:40 am **Posts:** 192

Mountainman wrote:

I'm sorry for your :furious:

experience, and this is why I refuse to let anyone touch my vehicles. I get nervous when I get tires or alignment done, because I'm convinced they will mangle something. After all, it's not theirs...

I know what you mean. I never used to let anyone touch my rigs, except for a few folks who did alignment and and machine shop work. And I didn't trust any of them until I saw it done myself. I had one teach me the fundamentals of engine machine work and learned the alignment stuff myself.

I will pay someone to do differential setups, as I have no time to learn it...

Except now, I have no shop, nowhere to work, and I can no longer crawl under a vehicle for more than 5 minutes in a day.

I did the serpentine and fixed the tensioner... Was in agony trying to sleep.

My dad was a mechanic part of his life (own shop) and I was 13 years as a diesel injection tech (I also worked on the vehicle, as well).

My last great project was to convert a slant six W150 to propane. High compression, distributorless ignition (and had to build my own advance curve), I even chose my own cam profiles.

Far too many are parts changers, and few intimately know the technology and fundamentals.

flman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 11:42 am

My son recently needed control arms on his Volvo V70. I told him he can do it in my shop as long as he was the one laying on the ground doing the work. He decided to let a chain called Mavis tire do the work.

They bolted the lugs on his tires so tight, that I broke my 1/2 Craftsman MUSA breaker bar with a pipe on it, now I got a cheap Chinese CrapsMan replacement under warranty.

He went back to Mavis and they spent another 5 hrs trying to get them loose, ended up using a torch. And my son lost his lower engine splash shield on the interstate because they tied it on with nylon electrical ties instead of the bolts they removed.

He regrets not doing it himself. :furious:

So yeah, I will be getting my hands dirty till the day I die.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:16 pm

Yeah, I have some arthritis and am really worried about the day that I can't do the wrenching myself. I'm going to try and pay one of my sons, or nephews to do the work someday under my supervision. Or, even a guy that can listen well and needs a job. Hopefully this works out...

papaindigo · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:33 pm

flman - I wonder what torque they managed to put on those lug nuts. Back in the day I twisted the head right off a Montgomery Ward MUSA 1/2" breaker bar with a cheater trying to take the flywheel nut off a VW bug motor not being aware that nut's torque is ca. 254 ft. lbs. Bought the bar, drove to the house, destroyed the bar, returned for warranty replacement (total elapsed time like 30 min); dragged the block down to local shop for impact wrench use. I would have thought the lug nut bolt would have failed long before the amount of torque to wreck a 1/2" breaker bar. Sigh.

I will admit crawling under is no longer as easy or fun as it used to be.

flman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:12 pm

papaindigo wrote:

flman - I wonder what torque they managed to put on those lug nuts. Back in the day I twisted the head right off a Montgomery Ward MUSA 1/2" breaker bar with a cheater trying to take the flywheel nut off a VW bug motor not being aware that nut's torque is ca. 254 ft. lbs. Bought the bar, drove to the house, destroyed the bar, returned for warranty replacement (total elapsed time like 30 min); dragged the block down to local shop for impact wrench use. I would have thought the lug nut bolt would have failed long before the amount of torque to wreck a 1/2" breaker bar. Sigh.

I will admit crawling under is no longer as easy or fun as it used to be.

I am not sure, but it was highly torqued, Mavis worked at it with breaker bars, and a heavy, I assume 3/4 drive impact wrench to no avail. The were supposed to be torqued to 100, and Volvo says do not use impact wrench. The boy learned a lesson that the easy way is not the easy way. :dizzy:

synthetic-oil · **Joined:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:03 pm **Posts:** 140

papaindigo wrote:

I will admit crawling under is no longer as easy or fun as it used to be.

If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself

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