Car/Mechanic Issues - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

raeanna74 · 05-24-2011, 05:33 PM

We took our Chevy Lumina in for an oil change this past winter. The shop called us with bad news - Transmission fluid in the oil. Their verdict - new engine needed. They took two months to put in a new engine. Their excuse was they couldn't find one (which is partly true). The nearest junkyard that had one was 2 1/2 hours away. We picked it up and brought it to them and it finally got done.
We got it back and I rolled down the drivers side window. They'd left it open and it got snow inside while it sat waiting for the engine. The window would not go back up. We took it back and they fixed that.
We also discovered the emergency brake would not depress at all. It had worked previously so this was definitely their problem IMHO.
We also noticed a slight vibration when we went over 45/50 mph. We figured it could be out of balance wheels but it wasn't constant so we didn't take it back immediately. Tonight the drive shaft fell out - or at least that's the tow truck's verdict.
In my female brain, if they replaced the engine, wouldn't the drive shaft would have at least been looked at. We've only had the car for 3 weeks and here something else serious goes. We live in the middle of nowhere so finding a mechanic requires at least some driving. Which is difficult when we only have a truck that runs.
Any tips? Ideas? Advice? Are we getting scammed or ripped off? How much is THIS going to cost???

SuburbanZombie · 05-24-2011, 06:25 PM

Sounds to me like they just did exceptionally shoddy work. The drive shaft should be their problem too.
Question is do you want them to still work on the car after all this.

Still trying to figure out how tranny fluid got in the oil but I don't know a lot about Luminas or Chevys for that matter....

raeanna74 · 05-24-2011, 06:58 PM

Sorry. My bad - not tranny fluid - coolant. Duh. They said it was a cracked head I think.
As far as having them continue to do the work. They're the second shop we've used in 2 years. The next nearest is almost 20 miles away. The car was already towed to this shop since it was the nearest.

SuburbanZombie · 05-24-2011, 09:51 PM

That makes more sense.

They should fix the drive shaft issue. They obviously didn't put it back in properly.

raeanna74 · 05-25-2011, 02:27 PM

Well, they're saying they'll fix the drive shaft for $80 because it was worn and not their mistake. My husband told them to make sure they check the motor mounts, fix the E-brake (since it worked before they touched things) and find out the vibration problem.

I'm not completely happy with the outcome but we're a little afraid to create a big issue if this will fix it, since we live in a TINY town. I can guarantee we won't be going back to them. On to search for our 3rd mechanic in 3 years...

telekinetic · 05-25-2011, 02:35 PM

Is the vibration present when you are just reving the engine? The motor could be improperly balanced, which could have vibrated out the drive shaft. Even so, if they put it together properly, a driveshaft shouldn't be able to fall out, regardless of wear, so I'd question them on that.

raeanna74 · 05-25-2011, 08:50 PM

That's kindof what we figured. Even if it was worn. It's an AWEFULLY bad coincidence to happen so soon after they REPLACED an engine.

No the vibration is constant at 50+ definately.

If nothing else, we have insisted that they fix the E-brake since they did so much work on the brakes (sensor, pads, & rotors) and there was no problem with the e-brake prior.

All said and done... I think our next investment is a garage. We'd do our own work but it's not fun without a garage.

05-24-2011, 05:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	Car/Mechanic Issues We took our Chevy Lumina in for an oil change this past winter. The shop called us with bad news - Transmission fluid in the oil. Their verdict - new engine needed. They took two months to put in a new engine. Their excuse was they couldn't find one (which is partly true). The nearest junkyard that had one was 2 1/2 hours away. We picked it up and brought it to them and it finally got done. We got it back and I rolled down the drivers side window. They'd left it open and it got snow inside while it sat waiting for the engine. The window would not go back up. We took it back and they fixed that. We also discovered the emergency brake would not depress at all. It had worked previously so this was definitely their problem IMHO. We also noticed a slight vibration when we went over 45/50 mph. We figured it could be out of balance wheels but it wasn't constant so we didn't take it back immediately. Tonight the drive shaft fell out - or at least that's the tow truck's verdict. In my female brain, if they replaced the engine, wouldn't the drive shaft would have at least been looked at. We've only had the car for 3 weeks and here something else serious goes. We live in the middle of nowhere so finding a mechanic requires at least some driving. Which is difficult when we only have a truck that runs. Any tips? Ideas? Advice? Are we getting scammed or ripped off? How much is THIS going to cost??? __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

05-24-2011, 06:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	Sorry. My bad - not tranny fluid - coolant. Duh. They said it was a cracked head I think. As far as having them continue to do the work. They're the second shop we've used in 2 years. The next nearest is almost 20 miles away. The car was already towed to this shop since it was the nearest. __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma. Last edited by raeanna74; 05-24-2011 at 07:01 PM..

05-25-2011, 02:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	Well, they're saying they'll fix the drive shaft for $80 because it was worn and not their mistake. My husband told them to make sure they check the motor mounts, fix the E-brake (since it worked before they touched things) and find out the vibration problem. I'm not completely happy with the outcome but we're a little afraid to create a big issue if this will fix it, since we live in a TINY town. I can guarantee we won't be going back to them. On to search for our 3rd mechanic in 3 years... __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

05-25-2011, 02:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
telekinetic zomgomgomgomgomgomg Location: Fauxenix, Azerona	Is the vibration present when you are just reving the engine? The motor could be improperly balanced, which could have vibrated out the drive shaft. Even so, if they put it together properly, a driveshaft shouldn't be able to fall out, regardless of wear, so I'd question them on that. __________________ twisted no more

05-25-2011, 08:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
raeanna74 I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot! Location: Upper Michigan	That's kindof what we figured. Even if it was worn. It's an AWEFULLY bad coincidence to happen so soon after they REPLACED an engine. No the vibration is constant at 50+ definately. If nothing else, we have insisted that they fix the E-brake since they did so much work on the brakes (sensor, pads, & rotors) and there was no problem with the e-brake prior. All said and done... I think our next investment is a garage. We'd do our own work but it's not fun without a garage. __________________ "Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

05-24-2011, 06:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
SuburbanZombie Upright Location: Suburban Bliss	Sounds to me like they just did exceptionally shoddy work. The drive shaft should be their problem too. Question is do you want them to still work on the car after all this. Still trying to figure out how tranny fluid got in the oil but I don't know a lot about Luminas or Chevys for that matter....

05-24-2011, 09:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
SuburbanZombie Upright Location: Suburban Bliss	That makes more sense. They should fix the drive shaft issue. They obviously didn't put it back in properly.