Update on the LittleBeast, not good news.

So a few hundred miles after the complete rebuild of the 3.5L I noticed a small amount of coolant on the ground, so I took it back in and they said the water pump went bad. I tried to say that the chances of my 6 month old water pump going bad a couple of weeks after a rebuild and it not having anything to do with the rebuild is low. But they just gave me some stop leak to patch it up for now. I put that in and then about a week later I noticed water coming out the tailpipe, so I take it back over there and they said that there is no coolant in the radiator and the head gasket is probably blown and it probably over heated. If it overheated they said my 3 year warranty is voided and all repairs will be my responsibility.

They said they would look at it the next week and they would call me tues or wed and it is now the Sat after with no call.

I talked to another store manager and he said that since they took 5 weeks to rebuild and left the thermostat lying around and did not replace the $20 thermostat but put the old original one back on that the thermostat stuck and caused the seals in the new water pump to go bad and therefore caused overheating and to blow the head gaskets.

Regardless the shop manager said since they did not replace the thermostat they are not responsible for it going bad or the damage done by a faulty part. I know this is not right and to make me liable for their short sight on not replacing a 160,000 mile thermostat with a new $20 one is just wrong.

I will wait until they call me back and I am going to go talk with the owner, but I do not have a good feeling about this, and I had the means to pay for one rebuild, but I cannot pay for 2, so this may be the end of the LittleBeast.

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Originally Posted by LittleBeast

I am going to go talk with the owner, but I do not have a good feeling about this, and I had the means to pay for one rebuild, but I cannot pay for 2, so this may be the end of the LittleBeast.

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It may be time to seek legal representation. It sounds like the direction they gave...and directly the parts they used for the warranty -- should not preclude honoring what happened. Suggesting that the overheating is somehow your fault AND a loop-hole is what sounds wrong to me.

Consult the language of your warranty....and means to advertise what happened.

Ditto!

Make a stink over it. Any shop should have insurance to cover them and their work. I can't beleive any shop would try to do this after a overhaul.

Push them where they don't want to be pushed.

I'd say you need to check first heater pipes close to thermostat. If they not replaced seals that could be the reason. It flows from inside of V, so you can't tell where is the leak until look there and found coolant on top of engine.

Is there anything else wrong with the engine except of leaking coolant? If not, I'd say you have a big chance to fix it for cheap (two gaskets for intake manifold and 2 seals to the heater pipes).

Sorry to hear it, LittleBeast. I feel your pain. I just had almost the EXACT same thing happen on my recent rebuild. Had a local shop rebuild the motor, and ended up with coolant leaking and mixing in the oil as soon as I got the car home. Luckily I noticed it before driving any real distance, and immediately had the VX towed back to the shop who performed the work. The head gasket was found to be leaking and needs to be replaced. Incredibly disappointing.

I wish you luck. Attorneys fees can quickly exceed the cost of the work here, so I would guess your best bet would be filing in small claims court if it goes that way, and if you have the time and patience for such an adventure. Sometimes threatening to might be enough for them to accept some responsibility.

I would say that the fact the shop actually recommended "stop leak" to you and advised you to continue driving the vehicle after you reported a coolant leak puts the liability square in their court, given the fact that A.) their recommendation did not resolve the leak you reported to them following their work and release of the vehicle to you, and B.) led directly to the overheating and head gasket failure. Regardless of whether the thermostat was "bad" to begin with, no reasonable shop should release a vehicle leaking coolant following a rebuild, period. They should have identified the problem and recommended a course of action for repair when you made them aware of the coolant leak.

However, if they advised to you replace the water pump and thermostat at either the time of rebuild or when the leak was reported, and you declined to have this work performed, you may not have a ton of options here.

Just my opinions. I am not an attorney, and this is not legal advice. :-)

Anyway, I feel for ya. Sucks man.

All the best Ryan. I agree with Wintermute, especially the fact the they recommended stopleak. That is ridiculous. :noo:

Hopefully things work out. It would be terrible if you were forced to sell but I understand you can't endlessly dump money into the engine.

Sorry to hear this Ryan..total bummer.

Small claims court would be a cheaper way to go than lawyers..
.... if they dont step up and make good their mistakes.

Are they BBB members..that can be a way of applying pressure too.

Hope it all works out for you.

Jo

Try getting the local news involved too. They won't want that kind of attention.

I hope it works out,I was in your near exact position last year...

Replaced an engine only for the transmission to go the week I got it back.

Thankfully, my shop done good by me. I think they paid for half of the tranny replacement (iirc). It was a big question if they had any responsibility, but they gave me what they could and I'm a customer for life. Still really knocked the wind out of me financially, for a while. At each step i considered scrapping it all. I dont like thinking about the ridiculous amount ive spent on this vx over the years. It's gone way too far now. I have to keep her until i die. The biggest time that was in serious question was the engine then tranny debacle. Year of hell.

Did your temp gauge indicate overheating at any time?

this is like a reoccurring bad dream i have - seriously nothing gets done in my town unless someone dies or the news/paper is involved - very best of luck to you

I never had the temp gauge or idiot light come on at all.

I we t back to the shop today. Shop manager said he pulled the motor already, and the head gasket is blown, but they do not know why. So this leads me to believe that it did not overheat or they would have just said so I think.

Hope they make it right Ryan.

That sucks Ryan. I hope they stand behind their work and make it right.

Ryan,

I can sympatize. Hope situation starts improving for the both of us.

Tom

So, I think the shop is going to do most of the re-rebuild no charge. I went ahead and purchased a new water pump from Isuzu, so I know they will put that in for me, but I am trying to have them put new bushings on the front differential to frame mounts while the engine is out, much easier to replace this way then dropping the front diff.

Glad to hear they are doing you right!

Goodwill is good advertising.

But...but...but....How are you going to change the title of this thread!

:bwgy::smilewink:bgwo::bgwb:

Alright so shop says LittleBeast might be ready for pickup sometime tomorrow. We will see. They installed a new waterpump I bought from Merlin (just under $180) and a new thermostat, and they pulled the engine and resurfaced heads. Once I pick it up I think I am going to take it to my mechanic and have him install new front wheel bearings and replace front diff mount bushings so I feel like at least something got done other than getting me back to square one.

Kinda sounds like someone forgot to torque the head bolts properly if at all.

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Originally Posted by LittleBeast

Alright so shop says LittleBeast might be ready for pickup sometime tomorrow. We will see. They installed a new waterpump I bought from Merlin (just under $180) and a new thermostat, and they pulled the engine and resurfaced heads. Once I pick it up I think I am going to take it to my mechanic and have him install new front wheel bearings and replace front diff mount bushings so I feel like at least something got done other than getting me back to square one.

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As *I* always say when I step outta the massage parlor - "I LOVE a happy ending!":grino:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LittleBeast

I never had the temp gauge or idiot light come on at all.

I went back to the shop today. Shop manager said he pulled the motor already, and the head gasket is blown, but they do not know why. So this leads me to believe that it did not overheat or they would have just said so I think.

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I'd put my money on the part I've marked in bold. My guess is that they actually DID know why, were only SAYING they didn't, and are using that plausible denial in tandem with going ahead and rebuilding the engine as a way of saving face. They've not actually admitted to any mistakes, but the fact that they're rebuilding your engine again makes it seem pretty clear that they know some sort of mistake was made during the rebuild. (Then again, maybe I've become a tad overly skeptical in my old(er) age, and possibly see plots sometimes where there actually are none.) Or not. ;)

If that's what's happened, there's obviously no use in suggesting it now and taking the chance of putting the shop back on the defensive, so if this second rebuild goes well and you're both satisfied with the new outcome (and billing)...like it's always suggested, some things are simply better left unsaid (especially since I could also be totally wrong in having suggested that the engine failed because of an error on the part of the shop in the first place).

Whatever the case, sounds like things are headed back in a direction that will allow an acceptable outcome for both parties, so I hope that progress continues.

Nope, I think you're right on. They screwed up.

I know they should make it right and maybe try calling the local news channel or news paper to get involved. But worse case, don't sell it. Get a 3.2 and drop in it