Well i got my car back from the mechanic today after 2 months in the workshop & just over $3000 in labour !! Had the motor pulled out, replaced the turbo's with reco T25's, new engine mounts, new hoses, new thermostat, new plugs, new coil packs, new timing belt, new reco auto TT gearbox, replaced all filters & oils, new sump gasket & had cat converters replaced with high flows. ( i supplied the turbos & gearbox ) Jumped in the car, got about 2km up the road, then the shit hit the fan.. Car started making a loud ticking noise from the from left side of the motor, had NO boost at all & when the turbo started to spool it sounded like it had a screamer pipe on it ! To add to that i was surrounded in a huge cloud of smoke & then noticed my water temp was sitting WAY over hot, i mean like vertical ! Immediately turned the car off & pulled over, smoke pissing out of the exhaust & steam pissing out of the bonnet Seriously how the f*** did this happen ?? It took over half an hour with the bonnet open before i could even put my hand on the plenum it was that hot.. raditor was completely bone dry. I got it towed home & rang the mechanic imediatly. He had closed the shop early & wont be back till next week.. So.. now i've had my rant & got it out of my system. How do i even go about diagnosing & fixing this thing ? I will be taking the mechanic to court & sueing for damages & demanding a full refund but in the meantime i need it fixed. I'm thinking the heat issue could be : no coolant, wrong thermostat, or a blocked radiator hose (maybe left a rag stuffed in it or something lol) Exhaust issue only happens when the turbos start to spool, it sounds normal at idle but when the turbos start spooling is sounds like a screamer pipe, could be disconnected at down pipes or cat maybe ? could maybe also explain not having any boost as well ? Any help, info or just some sympathy would be nice what a waste of $5000 hey.
does it have oil in it??? dumb arse mechanis could have forgotten to put fluids into the engine... if it has nothing then its a quiet apparent case of mechanic **** up so he will have to fix it chances are mechanic has neglected a major thing, provided you were driving nice and not booting the **** outa the thing straigth off the bat
sorry about the bad news, but getting money out of the mechanic will be tough unless he accepts liability. My friend took his wrx (highly modified by the way) in for a new clutch at a local shop. came back with a broken speedo. So in in went the next week for a replacement sender. What he got back was a blown head gasket and 2 bent rods! He saw exactly $0 from the mechanic. Hope you have better luck!
Shit man, that's he'll messed up. My advice would be to get it looked at by another mechanic/knowledgeable forum member prior to letting ur mechanic take a look... No oil maybe? Check the oil, water, belts etc... Man feel bad for u...
yeah and i was so keen on my nistune hey chilledpain Ive just been outside going over the z with a fine tooth comb.. just noticed a huge hole in the bottom of the coolant bottle the size of my fist so im guessing that would explain the no coolant.. Tried to check the oil.. cant find the dipstick. I mean i know where it should be but there isnt one there. not even the pipe that runs up from the tranny for the stick to go in ?!? Cant even see the turbos on it, so cant tell if there's any oil or water leaks from those. I'm not sure if i should laugh, cry or kill something. I think im in shock
engine oil... not transmission pass side of engine about 7 inches from back of engine bay... yellow topped rod is the dipstick
Now now, calm down. If it makes you feel as if your not alone, there's many of us who have sunk a wheelbarrow of cash on our zeds and still fall in a heap. I'm a wealth of threads at this place. Your at the rite site for expert help, now that has to be a good thing. It will be worth it in the end, I can assure you of that. Good luck. Chin up.
If u can get another mechanic to diagnose no oil or something to that effect ie: negligence caused the failure, u have a leg to stand on... If not, unfortunately, you are at the mercy of your mechanics conscience... I hope for your sake it all gets sorted. And if u like, I can cancel the nistune? Let me know m8 and all the best with a speedy resolution.
just tried to check the engine oil, dipstick is stuck.. pulled as hard as i can, wont budge, took the oil cap off, cams look dry & couldnt see a drop of oil in it. Im still going ahead with the nistune chilledpain, i haven't lost all hope yet I just needed to let out some frustration, but what's done is done & now i have to look at what i've got. Worst case i still have a rock solid NA motor sitting in my donor car
if it looks dry then unfortunantly chances are it is dry.... get another licensed mechanic to check it all over, and get a WRITTEN report.. and do it asap so original mechanic cant say you had car for a week and broke it yourself etc
Shit Sounds like the engine may have been placed on the ground and squished the sump...? Can result in no oil pickup and also dipstick stuck... Check under the car... Have a look at the sump...
If you only got 2 km from the mechanic, and can prove it, you have a reasonable case. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING NOW! Write down a detailed description of everything that happened since the time you picked it up from the mechanics. Write it like a timeline, ie; Dropped car into mechanic on aa/aa/aa with problem of xxx, supplied items yy, agreed on work zz at xx cost to be completed by AA/AA/AA. Picked car up on bb/bb/bb after paying $XX. Approx xx minutes and yy km later, car stopped with BB problem. I pulled over, called mechanic at xx, and got the car towed home by towing company xyz at xx time. You will also have to be prepared to make the case that whatever you supplied did not contribute to the problem. Be prepared for this line of questioning. Approach your mechanic BEFORE anyone else. If he refuses to assist, approach your local version of the Motor Trades Association, and if no luck, Consumer Affairs/relevant Ombudsman. Good luck.
Thanks heaps guys, just when i thought i was all alone i have a whole forum to back me up. I just started freaking out & after sending myself broke getting this car done i was really hurting :zlove: I'll make a document about the whole event now, that's great advise & im sure will prove very handy if things dont work out with the mechanic. I'm going to give him a chance to fix it, could be just human error.. but seeing how there are multiple problems im thinking maybe negligence. I do have a whole donor car for spares so it's not like im short of replacement parts should i need to use them, is it worth me trying to fix it myself or just leave it as is ? Be back soon.. just ran out of beer
Don't do anything just take a heap of pictures with time stamp and try get contact your mechanic. I assume you got the car towed? Contact the tow company and try organise a statement from the driver as to where he picked u up and condition of car etc. Get all your shit together and prepare for the worst. Then all your surprises will be pleasant ones
These threads remind me why I do all my own work, even though I moan about it! The point that you only got 2km down the road should alert to any relevant other party that it was a problem with the mechanic. I really hope this gets sorted and in your favour! As already stated in a previous post, document everything and get statements from all involved, especially the tow truck company and do not attempt any repairs yourself as this may go against you.
thanks guys.. i have just managed to write a 6 page documentation/timeline of events. I have also contacted the tow company & they will be sending me a copy of the invoice. So far everything is in order.. now just have to get hold of the mechanic & go from there. At least there isn't a huge space in my carport anymore, it's good to have her back even though it's running like crap Oh.. just noticed this was in the "technical" section, should really be "non technical" or maybe just make a new section "Z graveyard" lol
id say this is a case of fitting the sump without removing the dipstick first. The dipstick jams and it cant be removed without taking the sump back off again. In addition to that perhaps the mechanic didnt put any oil in it? or at least the wrong amount since he cant dip it [TIS] If its a proper business he should be covered for poor workmanship so you willbe compensated but your car will be off the road for a few weeks
I had no idea that if u installed the sump with the dipstick in, it jams... Thanks for the tip! This definitely sounds like what has happened then... And will also bet no oil, especially considering there is no way he could have checked the oil as you mentioned...
Managed to get hold of the trainee that works at the shop, he gave me the mobile number for the owner of the workshop I explained the situation to him & he agreed to pay for the car to be towed back to the workshop & cover the cost of repairs. He said it sounds like the sump may be damaged or it doesnt have oil in it. Looks like i may have dodged a bullet this time, i guess i'll find out when the car gets fixed.
