What do you think about this

[taraker]

I am looking for this groups input on what I believe was a bad service experience, but I'm not sure if I am being unreasonable, or the garage is truly obligated to correct what was an ineffective service job.

We put our 99 GMC Suburban in a local shop for repairs because we found radiator fluid on our garage floor. Close inspection seemed to indicate that the fluid was coming from what appeared to be weep hole in the water pump, but not being sure & lacking the tools & time to do the repairs myself I decided to use a local shop repairs. The shop called me later that day & said it was a bad water pump & the ticket was going to be $550, not to bad since I have an extended warranty, so my out of pocket was less than $250.

Within in two days of the repairs being completed we again found radiator fluid of the garage floor so my wife took the suburban back. The shop pressure tested the system, but said everything was fine. I later called and explained to the shop owner than everything was not fine since we were still radiator fluid on the garage floor. We again took the suburban back in & they let the vehicle sit over night, & sure enough they found radiator fluid on their floor.

Here is were it gets sideways.

The service manager calls me & says that they will need to fix the intake gasket to correct the problem and this is going to cost me an additional $70. The shop is also billing the warranty company another $390.00 for a total second service job of $460, on top of the original $550 service charge! I explained to the service manager that I am not happy about this and don't think that I think that I should not have to pay the second charge of $70 since they missed this in the first place. He says that there is no way they could have detected this & I would have to pay. I then speak with his manager and the shop owner but only get the same story from them also.

This are the facts as I see them. How would ya'll handle this?

 

[YZ165]

First off, I'm a mechanic, and I own my own shop. That said, I may be slightly biased.

I don't think that the shop is responsible for repairing your vehicle.
Given the fact that it had to sit overnight(within two days) to show visible sign's of leakage, it must have been a very slow leak. This type of leak is hard to diagnose. Especially when the water pump was leaking. When you pressure test a cooling system, you have to fix the problems as they make themselves apparent. The system will not hold pressure long enough with a leaking water pump to show a slower leak somewhere else. However, any good mechanic would double check the system after the water pump was installed and could have found the problem then, mabe. Small leaks are hard to find at times and not always easily visible. Especially if the engine has to heat cycle for the leak to occur.
I completely understand your frustration over having to make return trips to the shop, phone calls, and such. Keep in mind that the mechanic that worked on your Suburban didn't want it to come back any more than you did. It looks bad on him and the shop.

So to answer your question, "how would I handle this", I'd have to say, thank your lucky stars you have the extended warranty and pay the man. It cost you $320 for a $1000 dollar job. Even though you had to go back and all that, that's still a better deal than most people could ever get.

BTW, I own a '98 Chevy truck, I've put two water pumps on it and replaced the intake manifold gasket. Both of which are typical problems on those trucks. If you keep it long enough, you'll be doing it again. It's the nature of the beast.

One last thing, a new water pump with gasket is around $50 from AutoZone, add $20 worth of coolant to that , a $20 dollar manual, and an afternoon of tinkering, and you could have done it for under $120. There's a grand total of around 20 nuts and bolts to remove, the belt, and some gasket scraping. That's it. You need a 1/2" wrench, 3/8"rachet, and three sockets (10mm,1/2",9/16") to do the whole thing. And mabe a little friendly help from DRN! :cool:
Feel free to PM me with any vehicle related questions. I'm always happy to help a rider. YZ165

 

[kmccune]

I'm with YZ165 on this one. If the water pump was leaking, the manifold intake gasket may not have been, but after fixing the water pump there would be more pressure available to cause a marginal intake gasket to leak. I know it sucks, but I think that mechanics get a bum rapp some times. If they check everything and replace everything suspect, then they are accused of replacing perfectly good parts. If they try to be sensitive to the bill, then when things go wrong after the fact, they are accused of being poor mechanics and the customer wants it all for free.

 

[WaltCMoto]

I had an intake manifold gasket leak on a car I used to own and it ran over $600 to get it fixed. I would have been thrilled to pay $322. And my water pump was fine.

 

[Mike's 2003 YZ250]

I agree with YZ165. Me and my older brother own a repair shop, actually its family owned. The water pump was probably the major leak, so they fixed it. When they were done they probably called you and said its done, come get it, and never rechecked their work or rechecked for anything else that maybe they didnt see. I have a Chevy pick up truck myself, and we did the waterpump once and the intake has been done once as well. GM vehicles seem to knock out intake gaskets, especially the 3.1l cars. :ohmy: I dont think you should hold the shop responsible, however, that vehicle would have NEVER left our shop, still looking coolant when it was brought in for a coolant leak, no way no how. We always double check our work, and double check for any other leaks of the same fluid, once the major leak was fixed. If we find something else we will call the customer and tell them what else was found. It is not impossible for a vehicle to have more than one leak at a time, whether it be oil or coolant, etc. I would let them do the pressure test in front of you and show you whats leaking now. It is "possible" the new water pump leaks or wasnt put on 100% properly. When you buy a waterpump, you can buy a rebuilt or a new one. We only use new ones, Airtex usually, but just because its a new one doesnt mean you cant get a bad one, been there, done that. And you wont know its bad until the job is all done and you fill it with fluid. :bang: Good luck. Mike :)