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So I've been taking my car to the same shop for the past couple of months for regular maintenance and what not. I was originally told the air filters needed to be replaced, some belts were cracked & needed replaced, and some fluids needed to be flushed & replaced.
Well over the course of 1-3 months I had all that done. While all that maintenance was needed, I noticed I had a small oil leak.
Well about a month ago it turned really bad so I had the engine steamed cleaned and took it into two different shops that both gave me an estimate in the $600-700 range because they said the cam shafts & seals needed to be replaced, a couple gaskets, and definitely the timing belt and water pump.
I went ahead and had the same shop do the work that needed to be done. Now even after all of that work, the areas that two shops told me needed to be done to solve the problem, I'm told that the oil leak is coming from another area and thus, the problem is not yet solved. Is this possible? I'm somewhat frustrated because I was told the work would take 4-6 hours and I received two estimates for the same identical work from 2 shops. I wasn't looking forward to dumping any more money into this problem. It doesn't seem like this sort of issue should be such an undertaking for a Toyota?
Also, last time after I had it in the shop to replace the belts & perform an alignment..a few times I had problems with the engine starting up when I turned the iginition (this never happened before, ever). Is this just because the belts were new and unworn? My dome light also quit working. Not to mention my car still pulls to the side a bit. I know I need new tires, but they don't look THAT worn, and the pull seems more than it was before I had the alignment. Also, after I had the vehicle inspected for the said oil leak, my brakes started squeaking and the break light on the dash came on. I knew my brakes needed to be looked at again even though I've taken them to the brake shop twice in the past year-year 1/2, but they never squeaked and the dash light never came on.
I hate to be pessimistic, because I've gone to this shop and have somewhat trusted them to do work on my car. But I am a young female and I don't want to be taken advantage of. This is my only means of a vehicle right now and I don't even have a job at the moment.
You're getting screwed over. Find a good mechanic.
Sorry to be so blunt, and I wish I could help you, but you're being screwed over.
Post a picture here of the oil leak I guarantee you someone will know what it is. Or go to Toyotanation.com forums and post a picture. That is your best bet if you don't know what you are looking at.
How much oil are we talking about here? Do you check regularly? My cars rear main seal is leaking about 1/2 quart per 3000 miles I just add oil. It's around a $800 job to fix it but I'm at the point of why bother? Oil leaks generally aren't a big deal if they are small and contained.
If you are willing to put up with an oil leak, no matter how minute, you aren't a mechanic....!!
That's not necessarily true. I do all my own mechanical work - always have. I also work on the vehicles of everybody in my extended family.
Whether you live with an oil leak, or fix it, is determined by how much oil you are leaking and how it would cost for the fix. I would NEVER spend $600 to have a "1/2 quart per oil change" leak fixed. There are also leaks that are not worth fixing, simply because the vehicle is a beater and isn't worth sticking any money into.
As a former Mechanic/Business owner now retired saw many small oil leaks that only needed a bolt snugged down on the gskt.
Installed a rblt engine in a customers car who later complained about a leak over the phone but never brought the car in for an inspection of the leak. He later sued me in small claims court for the entire price of the job. In court the judge asked the address of the cars whereabouts since the man said it could not be driven... man could not give an answer.
I told the judge that parking lots in shopping centers all have oil spots from various autos and the local Cadillac dealer had a metal pan under the cars engine in the showroom to keep the carpet from being stained.
The very next day I saw the car being driven by the owners wife (recognized the license plate).
That's not necessarily true. I do all my own mechanical work - always have. I also work on the vehicles of everybody in my extended family.
Whether you live with an oil leak, or fix it, is determined by how much oil you are leaking and how it would cost for the fix. I would NEVER spend $600 to have a "1/2 quart per oil change" leak fixed. There are also leaks that are not worth fixing, simply because the vehicle is a beater and isn't worth sticking any money into.
Some of you people mistake back yard shade tree mechanics with profession mechanics. There is a tremendous difference......
Some of you people mistake back yard shade tree mechanics with profession mechanics. There is a tremendous difference......
Ahhh... Nice insult.
But you ARE right. I am not trying to frighten people into paying me $75 per hour to do work on their car that doesn't need to be done. Is that an adequate pay-back insult?
I'll continue to make my own decisions - and I will never spend $600 to fix a leak that is causing me to lose a quart of oil every 4-5,000 miles.
Some of you people mistake back yard shade tree mechanics with profession mechanics. There is a tremendous difference......
Sure is, all but 1 "professional" mechanic that has worked on my car or my wifes has done a half hearted job at best. Shade tree mechanics may take longer but we generally do things CORRECTLY the first time.
So I've been taking my car to the same shop for the past couple of months for regular maintenance and what not. I was originally told the air filters needed to be replaced, some belts were cracked & needed replaced, and some fluids needed to be flushed & replaced.
Well over the course of 1-3 months I had all that done. While all that maintenance was needed, I noticed I had a small oil leak.
Well about a month ago it turned really bad so I had the engine steamed cleaned and took it into two different shops that both gave me an estimate in the $600-700 range because they said the cam shafts & seals needed to be replaced, a couple gaskets, and definitely the timing belt and water pump.
I went ahead and had the same shop do the work that needed to be done. Now even after all of that work, the areas that two shops told me needed to be done to solve the problem, I'm told that the oil leak is coming from another area and thus, the problem is not yet solved. Is this possible? I'm somewhat frustrated because I was told the work would take 4-6 hours and I received two estimates for the same identical work from 2 shops. I wasn't looking forward to dumping any more money into this problem. It doesn't seem like this sort of issue should be such an undertaking for a Toyota?
Also, last time after I had it in the shop to replace the belts & perform an alignment..a few times I had problems with the engine starting up when I turned the iginition (this never happened before, ever). Is this just because the belts were new and unworn? My dome light also quit working. Not to mention my car still pulls to the side a bit. I know I need new tires, but they don't look THAT worn, and the pull seems more than it was before I had the alignment. Also, after I had the vehicle inspected for the said oil leak, my brakes started squeaking and the break light on the dash came on. I knew my brakes needed to be looked at again even though I've taken them to the brake shop twice in the past year-year 1/2, but they never squeaked and the dash light never came on.
I hate to be pessimistic, because I've gone to this shop and have somewhat trusted them to do work on my car. But I am a young female and I don't want to be taken advantage of. This is my only means of a vehicle right now and I don't even have a job at the moment.
Alright this is what happened.. When you got the flush, this was the start of the oil/transmission leak. There is no point of doing a flush because a new engine is too clean to need it, and a older car like yours the dirt and sludge actually become part of the seal to prevent oil leaks. When they flushed the dirt and sludge out fresh new oil now gets past part of the rubber seal or gasket that eroded over time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrettyMissAshley
$600-700 range because they said the cam shafts & seals needed to be replaced, a couple gaskets, and definitely the timing belt and water pump."
As far as this, you got ripped off and those guys belong in jail!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrettyMissAshley
Not to mention my car still pulls to the side a bit.
This means you need a wheel aliment but this is last thing you need to fix right now! You need to figure out where the oil leak is coming from and you need to know how much is coming out. So this is what I want you to do. Get a BIG piece of card board and put it under your car over night and in the morning pull it back out and if you can post a pic of it; if now tell us:
1 What color the oil is
2. How much fluid is on the card board
3. Where on the cardboard did the oil mostly fall.. Left side, right side ect.
Last edited by Morphous01; 04-11-2009 at 07:40 PM..
If you are willing to put up with an oil leak, no matter how minute, you aren't a mechanic....!!
LOL, so if you see a couple of drops of oil by your starter, you're going to have your rear main seal replaced?
I haven't worked on cars in 20 years (work on Detroit Diesels), but when I did I seem to remember small block chevy rocker covers with 1 bolt in each corner that wouldn't seal no matter what you did. For a small leak, I would recommend not messing with it.
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