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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 7, 2017 20:55:32 GMT -5
Why don’t we get off the notion that it’s out of malice? Here’s my scenario guy drains fluid out of transmission (which is actually our transfer case here) so that when he replaces lines he doesn’t get trans fluid everywhere. Bingo..... probably the only plug there was to take out.... a lot transmissions don't have a drain plug. Then he fills the Tranny up from where dipstick goes in! That would make sense with what happened. And mechanic never realized transfer case was drained. Definitely one possibility.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 7, 2017 20:59:27 GMT -5
Does any of the paper work say how much transmission fulid was added? I don't have the paperwork yet actually. They didn't have it done yet when I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and said they'd mail it to me. It hasn't come in yet.
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Post by greghopper on Nov 7, 2017 21:03:12 GMT -5
Does any of the paper work say how much transmission fulid was added? I don't have the paperwork yet actually. They didn't have it done yet when I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and said they'd mail it to me. It hasn't come in yet. What about the first time the cooler was changed... that paperwork.
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Post by duff on Nov 7, 2017 21:07:32 GMT -5
Geez, what is the difference between malice and incompetent? I dealt with an incompetent outboard mechanic before. It was an expensive venture. Needless to say I couldn't prove much and I just wanted to go boating...the next guy fixed it in 1/10th of the time and cost as this other dude was wanting/needing.
Same with an old ford truck I used to own. Took it into a franchise repair/exhaust shop and got a guy telling me it was a 5 day job worth more than the truck. Figured I would take it to my old stand by and they told me to go to another private specialty shop and I got the same work done they said would take 5 full days and a second mortgage down to 4 hours and a bit over 100 bucks...lucky for me I did not settle for the first quote. Hunger is important factor in selecting who to use
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2017 21:10:18 GMT -5
This may have been mentioned prior (I didn't take the time to read the whole thread, I'm lazy lol)
I would have your buddy write up an official statement of his findings, maybe even take it to a second mechanic you trust to do the same. I would then approach the dealership regarding this. You may have no proof, but I don't see how it could be anyone but the dealership. There is a chance they will comp you just to make a potentially larger headache go away.
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Post by nfalls116 on Nov 7, 2017 21:15:47 GMT -5
Transfer case was dry, with no evidence of any leaks according to the mechanic. I have no doubt it was drained. I don't think there was any malicious intent. Probably a goof that either they don't remember or don't want to admit to. What kind of car??
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 7, 2017 21:21:26 GMT -5
Transfer case was dry, with no evidence of any leaks according to the mechanic. I have no doubt it was drained. I don't think there was any malicious intent. Probably a goof that either they don't remember or don't want to admit to. What kind of car?? It's a 2013 Durango.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 7, 2017 21:24:29 GMT -5
I don't have the paperwork yet actually. They didn't have it done yet when I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and said they'd mail it to me. It hasn't come in yet. What about the first time the cooler was changed... that paperwork. I believe it's in the glovebox, at the dealership right now. I'll have to check tomorrow.
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Post by scrobertson on Nov 8, 2017 6:54:37 GMT -5
[ [/p] Current Issue
A few days after we got it back from the dealer, it started making some grinding noises under hard acceleration. This time I took it to a local mechanic I trust, who called me while ago and said that the transfer case has been drained. He said that you could tell the drain plug had been removed before, but the fill plug has never been out of the case. He says there are no leaks, it had to have been intentionally drained. The transfer case is destroyed.
From the picture you posted, why wasent the fill plug clean? If he did his job correctly the fill plug would be clean because he would of checked the fluid level at the fill plug??
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 8, 2017 7:01:26 GMT -5
[/p] Current Issue
A few days after we got it back from the dealer, it started making some grinding noises under hard acceleration. This time I took it to a local mechanic I trust, who called me while ago and said that the transfer case has been drained. He said that you could tell the drain plug had been removed before, but the fill plug has never been out of the case. He says there are no leaks, it had to have been intentionally drained. The transfer case is destroyed.
From the picture you posted, why wasent the fill plug clean? If he did his job correctly the fill plug would be clean because he would of checked the fluid level at the fill plug??
[/quote][/p]
He said when he drove it he could tell immediately that it was the transfer case, and when he saw the drain and fill plugs he figured he knew what had happened. He said he took a picture then removed the drain plug and only a few drips came out, he never did remove the fill plug.
From here on out I'll be taking my vehicles elsewhere for repairs. I originally took it to the dealer back in July because I needed it fixed quick for a trip to Florida, and they said they could get it in and out quick. So then I took it back in October because the original repair was warrantied.
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Post by greghopper on Nov 8, 2017 7:20:50 GMT -5
So is the car and paper work at the Dealership now?
Maybe I missed something....
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 8, 2017 7:27:29 GMT -5
So is the car and paper work at the Dealership now? Maybe I missed something.... Yes. I picked it up from the local mechanic and took it back to the dealership. They said they would look into it.
I dropped it off after hours and wrote on the slip "no additional repairs authorized at this time." If they won't cover the cost then I'm going to source a used part from a junkyard and have the local mechanic fix it.
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Post by greghopper on Nov 8, 2017 7:46:03 GMT -5
Ok.... ask them about draining the tranny fluid and see what is said!
Did the other guy notice if tranny pan bolts where removed or not? They could've done the oil cooler install with out draining trans fairly easy also.... BTDT and yes your gonna lose fluid no matter how it's done!
The transfer case didn't need draining for sure...probably a oops on their part.
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Post by oldhoyt on Nov 8, 2017 9:29:04 GMT -5
Transfer case fluid may have been due for drain/replace, but not a good idea to do half the job. Hopefully there's a decent salvage part out there. I recall an issue with the wife's Mazda many moons ago. Had a wheel bearing go at 25K miles. Took it back to the dealer and they didn't want to cover any of it, said it was not under warranty. I told them the bearing was obviously defective from the get go, or installed incorrectly. The dealer wouldn't hear it. One thing they did say was maybe they would be more helpful if I had gotten my oil changes and other service done by them. That ed me off. So, I called the corporate office and spent a couple hours on the phone. Finally talked with someone that decided they would cover parts if I covered labor. Had another Mazda dealer do the work. Your situation may be worth half a day spent on the phone with Dodge HQ. Tell them the only folks that could have drained the T case is the dealer, and they won't own up to it (if that ends up being the case). You never know what they'll do until you ask.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 8, 2017 12:09:50 GMT -5
Well, I went in there today and talked to the service rep and his manager. They claim that no transmission fluid was drained for the cooler replacement.
On the transfer case, they kept going back to "we have no record of draining the transfer case." The service rep kept saying that he thought it all leaked out at the output shafts. After about 10 minutes the manager finally admitted that he believed the transfer case had indeed been drained, but said he didn't believe it had been done at their shop. They couldn't offer any other explanation of how the transfer case came to be drained, just that they had no record of doing it and weren't liable.
My local mechanic is sourcing a used transfer case and is going to do the swap for me. Chalk another lesson up to learning the hard way, I'm sure that place won't miss my business but I'll definitely be taking all repair work elsewhere going forward.
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Post by jman46151 on Nov 8, 2017 13:19:19 GMT -5
He pops the line on trans cooler and fluid goes everywhere and he says to himself dang I didn’t expect that cooler to hold so much fluid I know my trans cooler sits way higher than the pan and I have to replace the fluid through the dipstick hole. So that could explain why the fill bolt wasn't touched. Curious why they didn't have to replace any fluid. Would that be normal?
I hate dealers. The last time I went to the dealer for something the diesel tech was also the transmission tech.
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Post by SFC (R) B on Nov 8, 2017 15:44:48 GMT -5
I know this isn't really popular to say in some circles, but here goes. I have had none of these types of experiences at the dealerships for the Japanese vehicles we have owned (Honda and Toyota) but have had SOMETHING EVERY time I have taken the American cars we have owned (Chrysler and Pontiac)in. It truly seems to be a difference in philosophy about competence and customer service. The last American car we bought was a PT Cruiser while we were stationed in Italy (American spec through AAFES) and when my dad found out I had bought it he lost it (he had been a body man at a Chrysler dealership for 45 years). He told me then to never buy anything else that wasn't German or Japanese. I know this is anecdotal, but we have since put upwards of 600K miles on Japanese cars with zero problems and no issues at any of the dealerships. Other than the chance that I might buy a new truck above half ton in the future, I simply can't imagine dealing with any of the big three again.
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Post by nfalls116 on Nov 8, 2017 16:35:02 GMT -5
I know this isn't really popular to say in some circles, but here goes. I have had none of these types of experiences at the dealerships for the Japanese vehicles we have owned (Honda and Toyota) but have had SOMETHING EVERY time I have taken the American cars we have owned (Chrysler and Pontiac)in. It truly seems to be a difference in philosophy about competence and customer service. The last American car we bought was a PT Cruiser while we were stationed in Italy (American spec through AAFES) and when my dad found out I had bought it he lost it (he had been a body man at a Chrysler dealership for 45 years). He told me then to never buy anything else that wasn't German or Japanese. I know this is anecdotal, but we have since put upwards of 600K miles on Japanese cars with zero problems and no issues at any of the dealerships. Other than the chance that I might buy a new truck above half ton in the future, I simply can't imagine dealing with any of the big three again. Nissan and Toyota both make heavy trucks
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Post by featherduster on Nov 9, 2017 5:40:12 GMT -5
Have you checked the transmission to make sure it has not been over filled.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 9, 2017 7:21:47 GMT -5
Have you checked the transmission to make sure it has not been over filled. No.. the dipstick has a lock on it, have to have a special tool to check the fluid. It's parked now, I'm going to have the other mechanic check it when he puts the new transfer case in.
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