Distrusting your mechanic

Automotive
#1

Continuing the discussion from Example of parts price gouging…

So, I got my brand-new, shiny starter in last week and finally had some time to install it today. Pretty straightforward, as one only has to move aside the air filter and coolant reservoir (which it is made to do during burping the system).

We begin by looking at the starter to see where we stand:

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Hmm, looks like it is in there at an angle. That’s strange, but I guess Toyota knew what they were doing, right? Wait a second … that looks an awful lot like the flywheel teeth through that opening.

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Yep, the flange broke off (probably that crunch I heard when I tried to start it). How the hell does that happen?

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There’s the missing bit stuck to the transaxle case.

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How did that happen? And where is the top bolt?

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You can’t see it, but the top starter bolt threads into the starter, while the bottom one goes through a hole and threads into the transaxle case. The threads in the starter side were stripped out smooth.

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This starter still functions, but is useless to me as I don’t have the case parts to repair it nor the inclination to try welding it.

I’m guessing that the mechanic stripped the threads out and then, instead of owning up to it, just put the bottom bolt in and thought “that’ll hold”. It did, for about 3 years.

Time for a visit to a shop so they can cut me a check for parts. Irritating.

2 Likes
#2

is it just me?
Nope. Everyone who wasn’t on that PM. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#4

i get the same error on that link

@zmetzing, on the topic of the thread, this is why I prefer to do my own work. I’m a mediocre, youtube mechanic at best, but I trust myself to not lie to… well… me.
Wife took her car in to a dealer a while back. They brought her out to the bay to show her that there was oil in her spark plugs. I had her wait and bring the car home cause something didn’t sound right. Fun fact: if you’re trying to scam someone using oil, don’t show them fresh oil in the problem location when the car is due for an oil change. Jokers poured fresh oil into the spark plug recess, which was all sorts of fun to get out.

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#5

$40.00 will get you a used starter, the case of which you could rob, if you just wanna tinker to keep your “original equipment” on the road…

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#7

As bad as this is in general repair shops, I’ve found it’s unfortunately the same story in specialty and speed shops. I just had my 240SX tuned at a total cost of $1,260. Here’s my list of grievances:

  • It’s about 100hp down from other identical builds, run in on the same model of dynamometer
  • Identical engines to mine are happy to rev past 8000rpm, but mine dies at 6500
  • When questioned about this, the tuner suggested the intake manifold’s runners were too long (note “identical” above)
  • He further claimed that there must be an exhaust restriction because the turbo won’t get past 15psi (I’ve logged 17psi driving it, and as much as 21psi just prior to having it tuned)
  • I was charged an hour of labor for setting the Cam Angle Sensor timing, and adjusting the base idle bypass screw. The CAS was not adjusted, per witness marks left on the timing cover, and the IAC body that contains said bypass screw was deleted in favor of a stepper valve IAC body, ie no screw exists.
  • When I got the car back, I found that the IACV stepper mounting bolts had apparently backed themselves out, causing the valve to fall out and completely unscrew its plunger. Don’t know how he missed that while working on the idle issues, but there was my boost leak, anyway.
  • Rather than setting up the PID control properly for the boost control scheme, he set up quick and dirty open-loop boost controls and a hard fuel cut setting, so the engine cuts out completely (and jumps to super lean condition) at 5000rpm with 32lbs of absolute pressure in the manifold
  • The wideband O2 sensor value was not calibrated in the ECU, despite requesting it be done, causing the AFR data that the tune is based on to be completely bogus.
  • The knock sensor was not set up at all, and nor were any of the knock protection schemes
  • The fuel pressure regulator was never adjusted, despite telling the tuner it hadn’t been set up, which has caused a lot of apparent lean-out
  • The tuner had disabled datalogging while he tuned it (which is an extra step) so I have very little data to actually go on

The end result is a tune that is basically undrivable, and a total loss in all confidence in speed shops. (The car sat for 2 months at another shop prior to being towed to this one, due to a clutch engagement issue, which set me back $800 and still ended with the transmission in the back seat of my Focus, rather than in the car; it’s previously spent 4 months sitting at yet another shop awaiting work that never got done)

#8

That sucks. What ECU are you running?

#9

ECUMaster EMU. It’s a surprisingly capable little unit from Poland, built to take on the likes of Haltech and AEM, at a third of the cost. Not through any apparent cost-cutting measures, but through reasonable margins.

1 Like
#10

Disappointing when the standards of quality at a pro tuner shop can’t manage any better than your typical tire shop chimps. Personally, I’ve realized that the combination of my general knowledge and actual interest in conscientiousness puts me way ahead of most of the quality-of-work I can expect to get out of typical pro mechanics. Outside stuff requiring highly specialized tools (belt timing, alloy wheel balancing, etc) I avoid going to shops.

1 Like
#11

I’ve been on the professional side of this, and there’s a lot of pressure to get a job done quickly so it doesn’t screw up profit margins- flat labor rates mean you get paid the same no matter how long you actually spend doing the work. And it’s tough to work quickly and deliberately. But that’s only true at general work flat-rate shops. Most speed shops (including all 3 I’ve had my car to) charge by actual labor hours, regardless of how long the book says a job should take, which is a reasonable way to deal with the amount of custom work that rolls through speed shops. So why, then, do I get the same lacking quality of work? What a damn pain.

As an aside, most timing belts don’t require any specialty tools to replace. Even Hondas only need a special harmonic balancer puller.

#13

I prefer to pull the engine to do a timing chain, especially at those intervals, your engine is due for a full consumable replacement lol

#14

I said “belt” didn’t I? Timing chains are considerably more involved, but also don’t usually need to be replaced with any kind of frequency.

#16

I worked in a Honda shop. Not a lot of timing chains in the Honda world, and even fewer Toyota timing chains. Maybe I’m biased, but I’ll take a K20 over a 1ZZ any day. :wink:

#17

Some suggest that the oil pump, timing chains/guides/tensioners, and cam phasers on a 3V 5.4 Ford should be considered 100K service interval parts. Thankfully there is more than average space to do it in vehicle.

#19

I’m guessing <$40.00…
Good work n getting SOME reimbursement.
(And on letting the shop know they have a problem)

#21

overall not bad after three years…

the fact that you received a refund at all is a miracle in today’s market from a “shop”

a refund after 3 years …wow

My bet is it wasn’t a franchise / chain type of service(dis-service) shop…

3 Likes
#23

yes,

He is a “Mom and Pop” I suppose?

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#24

Smart man, everyone makes mistakes. It’s how you handle those errors that really shows character.

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#25

Absolutely!

The “Mom & Pop’s” stand behind their work typically. They also tend to have a lower turn over of techs.

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