Issues with repair shop

[Josef161]

Hi, i got a refurbished engine in my 05 explorer that comes with 6 months warranty. The guy that refurbishes them doesn't R&R then but he works together with a shop. So i let his partner shop put in the engine. I picked the explorer up about 2 weeks ago. It looks like a newby/young mechanic put my engine in. I have a slow engine leak between engine and transmission now, that really annoyed me but i thought that i could live with it (even though it's really bad for the environment and i hate that). Then i saw that the coolant reservoir was low, i tired it of with 1 gallon distulled water. A couple of days later i saw coolant under my car and checked what's the reason. I saw that the mechanic didn't unlock the clamb that holds the house to the radiator (at the bottom where the coolant leaves the radiator), it was barely holding on.i tried to unlock it but without pliers it's impossible. I wasn't at home but very close to autozone so i went there and bought a set of clambs that you can tighten manually without tools. Fixed it. Now about 10 days later I've engine oil in my coolant. I called the guy that refurbished the engine (i thought he didn't replace the head gasket even though he said he did). So i talked to him and first he thought it was coming from the oil cooler but then he said that the engine meat have overheated and that the head gasket is toast now. He said his 6 months warranty doesn't cover overheating if i didn't replace all coolant parts. I said they are all good, no need to replace something that works. Now i think that the shop should be liable? The engine comes with 0 miles warranty for labor but i think that they should still be liable if they made a mistake and that caused the engine to seize? (Oh btw the temperature gauge never said the engine was overheating).
I live in florida if you need to know my state.
Please help me, what would you do if you were in me place?

 

[Josef161]

Oh and it looks like if they have forgotten another clamb

 

[fordysenior]

Is the Warranty in writing? Does it mention you have to replace all coolant parts? Does that include the heater core (I doubt it)? Your legal rights start in the written warranty. Otherwise, I think they're trying to blow you off. I live in California, we have a BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair). If you have the equivalent in Florida, you might need to get in touch with them. And yes, I think your shop is liable for the repairs at their expense.

 

[Josef161]

Thank you for your help.

No he didn't tell me that i need to replace any coolant parts in order to get the warranty and it is also not in writing.
In writing is that i have 0 miles warranty for labor BUT i don't think that falls under warranty i think that falls under liability. Because they installed the engine in a way that sets it up to be destroyed within miles (it's like if you go for an oil change and they don'r fill up the oil, so they didn't ruin the engine but their mistake will cause engine damage). I'll look of Florida has a BAR too.

 

[transman304]

Sorry to hear this for sure. These outlaw shops (WV term) is what gives a legitimate independent shops such a bad rap. Just out of curiosity how were you recommended this shop? If you go to a shop that doesn’t have a full written warranty disclosure walk away. I know its kinda late now but 0 miles labor warranty!!! There is no competent technician that would even offer such a thing. What service performed on engine? Temperature indicators are a must for just this reason. I use them on every unit that leaves my bench. It’s going to be tough but the install shop needs to step up and cover warranty and builder should cover parts. Did you pay 2 separate invoices by chance? If paid with CC dispute the charge.
Brad

 

[Josef161]

The guy that refurbishes the engines weekend together with them so i guess usually he doesn't have problems with them.
I thought it makes sense that they will not but another engine in for free if the refurbished one was defect to begin with...
Yes it's 2 seperate invoices, does that make a difference?
Idk I've been thinking about it and my story is similar to "going to a mechanic to get a oil change and he forgets to re-fill the oil", an oil change comes without warranty too and theoretically the mechanic would just have to give you your 6 quarts of engine oil but I'm pedis he caused an engine failiure and is probably liable? What do you think?

I've also heard that the shop AND/OR the worker can be charged,is that right? Oh and shouldn't have the shop a liability insurance for things like that?

 

[fordysenior]

The more "armed with knowledge" you are, the better chance of success. Here's a link that might help you.
Florida Attorney General - How to Protect Yourself: Auto Repair Fraud

 

[Josef161]

Thank you all for your help. Does anyone know if the 2005 V6 can overheat (and blow the head gasket) if the coolant was only 1 to 1.5 gallon low? The gauge never showed that the engine was getting too how and i also didn't get a "low coolant" warning from the car.

 

[Josef161]

Hey guys i was busy this week but next week i will contact the mechanic shop and see what they have to say. My question is if they dont offer to replace the engine for free should i offer to pay somewhat like $600 (if they also give me 30days warranty on labor)?

Meanwhile i thought of what to do with the car right now, maybe i put some "head gasket sealer" in the coolant what do you think about that? (I've heard that in some cases it can fix the problem, in some cases it makes it worse,and i know that most people are against snake oil but without it my car is junk anyways). However i don't even know if i need it, because the problem could be smaller then i think it was, (i could drive it only for short distances and try not to get above 2k rpm)? Unfortunaelly the exhaust smells a little bit like coolant/sweet.

 

[fordysenior]

Putting head gasket sealer in might be just the excuse they need to deny any warranty -- right or wrong, legally or not. Now you see the problem with doing repairs in the way you did them -- the people that did the repairs are all pointing the finger at the other guy and saying "it's his fault". And yet, they're buddies.
My V8 overheated a couple of times, -- no notice before overheating, the engine just shut off (I think the gauge went from mid point to extreme, and then the engine shut off). And no damage was done.

 

[Mbrooks420]

How many times are you going to post this same issue?

Post your warranty paperwork. Technically, no one owes you anything for this. You are outside of the warranty period.

 

[Josef161]

Putting head gasket sealer in might be just the excuse they need to deny any warranty -- right or wrong, legally or not. Now you see the problem with doing repairs in the way you did them -- the people that did the repairs are all pointing the finger at the other guy and saying "it's his fault". And yet, they're buddies.
My V8 overheated a couple of times, -- no notice before overheating, the engine just shut off (I think the gauge went from mid point to extreme, and then the engine shut off). And no damage was done.

Ok so that means that it is more then likely that the guy that "refurbished" it screwed it up. If thats the case it is better not to pay another $600 to put another "refurbished" engone in From this guy. I appreciate your help.

 

[Josef161]

Update: good news. i did some Research and found that a bad oil cooler gasket could cause oil to mix with the coolant too. My explorer never overheats so i tested the coolant reservoir with an combustion leak detector and that test said that there is no exhaustion gas in the coolant. My question is if it is for sure the oil cooler or could the oil come from somewhere else (i don't want to replace anything that doesn't solve my problem). Thank you guys

 

[fordysenior]

I don't know about the 6 cylinder since I have the 8 cylinder, -- A common problem with these is the gasket behind the oil filter mount. There is a thick gasket with a passage for oil and another for coolant, and they're known for going bad. AGAIN, I don't know if the 6 cyl has that.