Pep Boys did it again to me!

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Awhile back I had posted about coolant problems in my wifes 97 Intrepid 3.5. I had the water pump replaced along with the timing belt ($550). Afterwards the car still ran somewhat hot, just alittle over half on the guage. Still leaked coolant. I noticed that the T-stat housing had traces of antifreeze leakage. They said they didn't change it when they did the water pump and didn't know why it would be leaking. After the visit to the shop, they didn't do anything with the T-stat and it still continued to leak (not bad leak).<br /><br />Yesterday she came home from work and wanted me to add some coolant. Tried to, but it would blast back out of the holding tank. Went to local parts store and got a new T-stat. Installed it, now the car runs cool, but there is steam vapor that is coming off the radiator? I think it is just water from all the cold rain and warm radiator. The car is not overheating at this time. The guage holds steady at about 1/4 of the way on the scale.<br /><br />I took the old T-stat and put it into a pan of water. When the water was boiling, the old stat only opened about 1/16 of an inch or less. I think maybe this has been the culprit all along.<br /><br />I would think that when they change a water pump, that the Stat should have been changed to. I always did on my other vehicles when I had the time to do my own maintenance.<br /><br />Removal of the old Stat did show signs that the gasket was allowing the coolant to seep through the gasket.<br /><br />I think I'm gonna get a new shop to do my major mechanincal needs. I will let my buds at Pep Boys know about what happened........SS

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

my little sister in Ca. had her oil changed at<br />pep boys. they drained old oil, but never added<br />new oil! she got about 1 mile b4 engine blew.<br />they rebuilt it at no charge, but car was never<br />the same after that.<br />I sure wouldn't trust them myself....

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

it's not just PepBoys, finding a decent honest car mechanic is like winning the lottery, you pays your money and you takes your chances, too many of these chain stores hire anybody that can tell a carb from a seat cover, too many of these guys repair and learn at YOUR expense and you never know it, but, it's not totally thier fault, good mechanics are hard to find,

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

And that my friends, is why this fat cat does all his own work.<br /><br />SS, don't worry about the water vapor you see, it is just old ant-freeze on the radiator getting hot as the radiator warms up.<br /><br />Maybe should rinse it off real good to get rid of any excess laying on it.

 

[miloman]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

a good mechanic is hard to find had an alignment done last week on wifes van guy tells here that the squek coming form the from l tire is a mount on the top of the spring, he wanted over $600 for repair So I had a recall with ford and they said it was the tie rod changed it for 140 goes to tell you a large I mean large dealer is more money but generally want screw you over and will fix it

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

Why didn't they look at the T-stat in the first place.. When I have cooling problems thats the first and cheapest place to look. Even if your pump is starting to weep, the t-stat would still be a good candidate..<br /><br />I do all my work, I just get real tired of dancing with the auto shop. Sometimes I don't get it right the first time, but eventually I come out ahead. <br /><br />A good example is that I was getting a CE light on my expedition. I bought the scan tool for about as much as they would charge to read it. I found my 100K plugs were failing at 80K. So I replaced the seven I could get out. The eighth and most difficult was the one causing the fault. I just could not get it out. so I went to the dealer and asked them to replace it. In the parking lot I used my handy dandy scan tool to wipe out the codes because I know they would not do anything if the CE light was on. They would have charged me $120 to read it..<br /><br />I agree the dealer is more expensive, but they usually get it right..

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

I would have done the timing belt/water pump myself, but this engine has twin cams. Since it has twin cams, there is two special tools used to clamp the gears in place so you won't get out of time. One for just water pump removal, and then the other for the timing belt.<br /><br />It just seems like the stat should have been changed with the pump. Almost like changing your oil and not the filter. DUH! At least it was easy to change, right up front on top.<br /><br />SS

 

[KennyKenCan]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

I would never ever go to Pep Boy's for anything.<br /><br />I do not appreciate going to one of their stores and having to wait 45 minutes for some one who can speak english!<br /><br />Then only to find that that person doesn't have a clue about anything in the store or cars!<br /><br />I go to the NAPA Car Care Center instead!<br /><br />Never had a problem.

 

[martyscher]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

It used to be that someone with some wrenches and a fair amount of common sense, could become a mechanic. Not any more, at least not on the new stuff.<br /><br />For good, certified mechanics, it's plenty of never-ending, complex training, in many ways, what aircraft mechanics go through.<br /><br />If the mechanic doesn't know what going on, you're screwed.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

I took momma's car in for a brake check and adj.by mr. goodwrench ,"every thing is OK, that will be $40" I was told. Tried to stop on the way home and thought the car was gonna bounce off the road.So I pulled it apart myself and found two bent drums.It seems every time I pay someone to fix something I end up redoing it myself.

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

sbn, I know what you mean about doing it yourself, my kids grew up thinking the old man could fix anything except broken hearts and the crack of dawn. BUT, I got caught this winter, wifes car had a no start no crank problem, I'm stuck at work so she had it towed in, a new starter and $342 later got it back, next day, same problem, back to the mechanic, found a loose ground at the starter, now this is after paying $103 of the $342 for troubleshooting the no start problem, next week, same problem, I took a look, you could turn the ignition key switch a 1/4 in both directions with the key in your pocket, replaced the ignition tumbler ($21) and 4 months later, no more problems. I stopped payment on the credit card and they sent a questionare to the mechanic, he stated what he did, I had to pay. MORAL, never ever again, next time, tow it home, rent a car, I'll fix it, no matter what it's still cheaper than dealing with these clowns.

 

[rwise]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

My oldest girl took her car to pep boys for a charging problem. (I had told her a month before the alt~ was going out, get one and I'll fix it). They put a new one on her truck, and about 1 mile down the road it died and wouldn't crank. She got a jump and took it back, they tried to tell her that the alt~ was not the problem. She called me, when I walked up to her the manager looked out and saw me (long hair and beard at the time with greasy hands) and he was heard to say "the Dxxn alternater is bad change it!" when they finished I stepped up to it with the hood still open pulled an amp gauge out of my pocket and tested the system. No more problems, but what if I had not been there? I gave her the name and number of a shop that I would trust with my truck, I do my own work also! there are many places like this and I could go on and on, just like that little bunny!<br />Richard

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Pep Boys did it again to me!

here's my pep boys story-<br /><br />went for a simple oil change because i was headed out of town and didn't have the time to do it myself. when they changed the oil, they broke the pressure gauge off. since they needed to order a new one, they said come back after the weekend. told me i would be fine, just couldn't get a pressure reading. so i drive 400 miles that weekend with no problem. that monday i'm driving down the road and start smoking. pull over and see all my oil pouring out of the hole where the gauge was. had to call pep boys and have them pick me up and tow my car. they replaced the gauge and filled with oil, but never took the blame for what could have happened during my 400 mile trek. great bunch of professionals! never bring anything to them!!!