Garage Woes

Peter450

Peter450

Peter450

Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2008
Posts
557
Oil is leaking out of my Engine.....well more dripping out, to cut a long story short my Excel was all fine and dandy and then one day i took her down to the garage for a C service, they replaced the whatever replaceable bits go under the cam covers and the result was AA man and Oil literally gushing (and i do mean gushing everywere) and smoke pouring out the bonnet:(

It goes back to the garage and they bung loads of sealent under there to stop any more stuff coming out, except about a year and bit later it starts to leak a bit again :(

I decide it's time to tackle the problem head on, but decide on a differant garage as Failure to fix leak aside there were a couple of other issue's that had me question there attention to detail

So take it down to new Garage, explain problem > oil leak > please fix, in my basic not understadning much about engines laymans terms.

I also need a MOT so arranged for that to be done too. After a bill of over a grand and being assured it's fine all fixed prev garage had done it all wrong, used wrong sealant, exhaust cam on the inlet and vice versa so cams wrong way round etc, i'm sure was not the prev garage no mention was made of any cam work....

Anyway driving home and a puff of smoke from the bonnet rudely interupts my journey :( however i carry on as i'm almost home and frankly i been here before, oil leaking from the cam covers on to the exhasut manifold and making nice smoke hurrah

I had a word with the garage today and was told that a lot of oil came out when the work was being done and this oil around the cam covers etc could be left overs of that and no more is leaking out, or it could be the metal is not flat enough and not making a proper seal:confused:

So used the Rag to get rid on any excess Oil and after a quick drive i smell burning..... so more :( is on the way as it's clearly not fixed

So after that rather long tale, what i want to know is were do i stand if the problem is not cured

From my simple minded view I had a problem, went to the garage, asked for it be fixed, paid, picked my car up, and the problem is still there:mad:

What is reasonable here? if it turns out metal is not flat and needs yet more work, were do i stand on my original bill is it unreasonable of me to expect these things to have been checked beforehand?

To my simple mind i have currently paid over grand for a MOT cos the problem remains any advice would be greatly appreciated......
 
Hyundai Excel I assume.

Anyway, it sounds like the rocker cover gasket is the cause (or at least that's what they've been messing with). It could be they've used instant gasket instead of a genuine one from Hyundai or a pattern part (if available at all) which is just failing for whatever reason (not enough contact patch, not cure properly, cover not put back on at right time etc.).

It could be a sign of a more serious problem and that both garages did the right thing, they just didn't test drive it or anything for it to fail on them (do they even bother anymore?). I'd just take it back again and explain the whole history of the job. What did the AA guy say it was, same?
 
That seems an expensive bill (assuming no massive mot bill) for a rocker cover gasket.

Or have they changed gasket and camshaft seals or something. (If that car has them...lol)
 
GeX said:
what's the car, and what's the problem, and what was their fix?
Click to expand...

It's a Lotus Excel

The problem was oil leaking out from the Cam Covers on to the manifold, the quote on the work was originally 400 quid

However on fixing it...it turned out a lot more work was required, sorting out the cam's inlet on the exhaust and vice versa and tidying everything up, i was ok with this i was just happy to have the problem sorted

The Fix was correct seal, new Gaskets and everything put back together how ut's supposed to be done

Except it's still leaking....I expect this is going to be down to something not being as flat as it should be, as this job has gone wrong 3 times now, the very first time very badly with so much oil comming out and burning off the manifold i thought i had a engine fire, this first time however came up as a result of normal servicing that involved whipping off those cam covers, pre this service it was fine and oil tight since i bought it 3 years prevously so i did not think there was a problem

I guess my issue is, this time i took it the garage not just for normal servicing, only to get a shock:mad:, but specifically to sort this leak out

I expect it's going to need further work, probably more big bills lie ahead:( however i guess what i'm asking is should i be pushing for a discount on any future remedial work? i dont like the idea i've paid a grand and got just a MOT and now am back to square one, i want the problem fixed but understand being reasonable is the best way to achieve this, so i dont want to get peoples backs up with unreasonable demands that then leave me stuck with a big bill and a leaky car as ultimately i doubt i have a leg to stand on re getting any money back
 
The way I see it, they charged you £1000 to fix the problem. It didn't fix the problem. Cue money back or them fixing the problem again, free of labour charge (although it may be within their rights to charge parts, not entirely sure).

Others may disagree, but I think that's how it works..
 
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