Darn Dealerships!

woodtick · **Posted:** Mon May 26, 2014 8:33 pm

OK. So, everybody on this forum knows at least the following:
1. Dealerships Suck!
2. Jeep did not support this vehicle at all.
3. The stock Torque Converter is crap!
4. Dealerships Suck!

So, our story begins this January. I started the Torque converter recall claim as mine has bee shuttering. The original service manager I dealt with took another job at another dealership. :roll:

SO, I get to start over with the interim service manager. Apparently there was NO record (on paper anyways) of this claim being started. Humph!

Fine. I try to get things moving and 2 weeks later a permanent replacement service manager was started. Once again, starting over. :banghead:

Now, fast forward to May.

I dropped the CRD off on Thursday May 16, for a Friday appointment to havesaid work done, plus new filters and anti-drainback valve replacement. Straight forward 1 day job. I expected to get it back that Friday night. Apparently, NO ONE had the foresight to have the written authorization from Chrysler on hand! That was not in hand until Monday afternoon! :roll:

Really?!? This is proper planning? Are you kidding me? :5SHOTS:

Urge to kill rising. :evil:

Ahem. Sorry... Just had a couple nice deep cleansing breaths... OK. Onward.

So, they finally tear into it Tuesday. When I called for an update, I'm informed that the rear main seal is leaking. I did have a small oil leak. They said $235 to replace since the trans is already out. I gave the go ahead. Part arrives late Wednesday.

Thursday they try to remove and discover new bolts are needed. Of course they are not in stock. I am assured they will be over-night shipped and be there first thing Friday.

I am informed mid afternoon that they are having trouble. I'm told when installed and torqued per the manual, they cannot rotate they engine manually. But, I'm not supposed to worry because they have a call into Chrysler Technical support. :shock:

So, I still don't have it back. Urge to kill rising, confidence in the mechanics ability fading.

And to top it off, they make you feel like a stalker. Always having to keep calling because there is no returning of a phone call. I asked on Friday for an update at the end of the day and once again,nothing! When I called about 4pm, everyone is GONE. WTF?

Thank you for letting me vent.

I'm concerned that they have, or will, kill my engine. I will be arriving there unannounced tomorrow after work.

Hexus · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2014 8:22 am

geordi · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2014 9:59 am

You started off the post correctly, showing you have the knowledge. Why then, did you proceed to look for treasure in the bottom of a port-o-john?
All you have done since, is catch crap. :SOMBRERO:

Hope it works out for you. There have been some mention of this cannot-rotate problem here on the forum, although I don't remember the exact reason, I believe it has to do with the bolts being the wrong length spec in the book. Good luck getting the fools at the dealership to let you tell them that and have them believe it.

joelukex4 · **Joined:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:54 pm **Posts:** 386

Where did you end up taking it? Ewald, Wilde, Schlossmann, Braeger? I've had good luck for parts at Braeger & Ewald but don't know how their service is.

woodtick · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2014 11:28 pm

joelukex4 wrote:

Where did you end up taking it? Ewald, Wilde, Schlossmann, Braeger? I've had good luck for parts at Braeger & Ewald but don't know how their service is.

I'm not gonna name the dealer.

I did stop by after work (stage 2 stalker technique) and actually got an answer, and I saw first hand what was going on with the explanation. Turns out (according to them) there is a spacer that was not immediately noticeable on the original part, and no mention of it in the service manual. So they wrecked the replacement and a new one will be there tomorrow am. They are confident this was the problem.

geordi wrote:

You started off the post correctly, showing you have the knowledge. Why then, did you proceed to look for treasure in the bottom of a port-o-john?

Because it started out as a torque converter recall replacement. The rear main seal is a nuts and bolts type of job. Not diagnostic. I felt it should have been a straight forward job. As much as I would like to fault the mechanic, Chrysler was no help to him, and it wasn't in the FSM. He did finally figure it out himself. So I'm gonna cut the guy some slack... for now.

I'm still ticked that the common courtesy of returning a phone call and keeping someone updated is nonexistent.

woodtick · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2014 11:32 pm

Oh, supposedly I will get the CRD back tomorrow.

I will believe it when I see it.

profdlp · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 1:27 am

woodtick wrote:

...I'm still ticked that the common courtesy of returning a phone call and keeping someone updated is nonexistent.

It's amazing how far a little communication goes in making the customer happy, even if the news is not great. It is also amazing how few places realize this.

05infernoCRDL · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 2:01 am

They are correct about the spacer.. I f'ed that up on mine too when i did it.. I didn't put it in right and it locked the engine up.

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jws84_02 · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 7:11 am

So when changing the rear main to you take the spacer from original and put in on the new part?

65Corvair · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 8:54 am

I have replaced the rear main seal, I know the trouble the mechanic had. The bolts that were damaged were probably these Torx T-50 that hold the flexplate to the cranksaft hub adapter.

I am unsure of what spacer was damaged, I don't remember any spacer in there. There is the flexplate, hub adaptor, and the ring that holds the rear bearing and rear main seal in place. It has been well over a year and 10,000 miles later, I think mine would be ok then.

jws84_02 · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 9:23 am

Sorry if this has been mentioned but is it mandatory to use new bolts or can you re use them and not have this problem. I ask only because I'm gonna do a tc swap and noticed oil residue from there and figured I better change it since I'm already in there

Hexus · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 11:11 am

jws84_02 wrote:

Sorry if this has been mentioned but is it mandatory to use new bolts or can you re use them and not have this problem. I ask only because I'm gonna do a tc swap and noticed oil residue from there and figured I better change it since I'm already in there

Better question: It's a couple bolts, why wouldn't you replace them?

woodtick · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2014 10:39 pm

Well, I got a call around 5:45 this evening that the CRD is done.

By that time of course I was hard at work slow cooking a pork lion on the grill for dinner so I will pick it up after work tomorrow.

Woo Hoo.

05infernoCRDL · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2014 1:38 am

The spacer iirc goes between the inner seal ring and the adapter... I put mine on the outside of the adapter.. Bent something and it wouldn't turn.. It was 5 yrs ago... I reused the bolts

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Mike92104 · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2014 7:07 pm

05infernoCRDL wrote:

The spacer iirc goes between the inner seal ring and the adapter... I put mine on the outside of the adapter.. Bent something and it wouldn't turn.. It was 5 yrs ago... I reused the bolts

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Are we perhaps talking about the thrust washer?

jthomas999 · **Joined:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:51 pm **Posts:** 98

That's what I was going to guess, the thrust washer.

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woodtick · **Posted:** Fri May 30, 2014 9:42 pm

Well I got it back yesterday. So far I am pleased. :pepper:

We shall see how well the work holds up.

Now I can tell the rest of the story. :wink:

The biggest reason that I had to play nice in the sandbox for so long is I convinced them to give me the Euro TC for a vastly reduced cost. :SOMBRERO:

($200). No labor charge as this was a recall covering that. I also paid them to change both trans filters and the anti-drainback valve too. The rear main job was just a target of opportunity since the trans was already out, so that was a cheep labor cost. :BANANA:

And it appears to have cured the oil leak.

It took a ridiculous amount of time but in the end I had service done that will increase the durability of the Jeep for quite a while.

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:32 pm

I've heard similar stories of dealership service. Some do have a better reputation than others. I've known of people driving miles out of the way for dependable repairs and good customer service.

I'm glad you were finally satisfied with the end result. IMO transmission repairs aren't for amateurs. Best left to the professionals.

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profdlp · **Posted:** Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:12 pm

LibertyFever wrote:

...IMO transmission repairs aren't for amateurs. Best left to the professionals...

Sometimes not even then, though I'm not sure the guy who worked on my old Tracker at the dealership where I bought it qualified as a "pro". Took them five tries to get my 5-speed (kind of) right. The interval between picking it up and having it conk out again averaged about four days. To the dealer's credit, they did get rid of the guy after the third or fourth try.

Darn Dealerships!

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