Doghouse almost gets it Doggy Style from Transmission Shop

[Doghouse]

Its a never ending load of garbage every single time I let somebody else touch my truck.

When they put the truck back together,..the speedometer, cruise control were not working (they smashed the end of the sending unit) and they didn't tighten the bolts that hold the carrier bearing cradle to the frame. One bolts was missing, the cradle was hanging on by the other loose nut/bolt,.. I was 20 miles down the road when I noticed a noise that I felt shouldn't be there. I went back to the garage and told them what was happening and they fixed the speedo and cruise control, but the vibration was not fixed,...There were two mechanics trying to figure out the vibration,..and they couldn't"t figure it out. I asked them if I could use their creeper to go under my truck. In less than 10 seconds I found the carrier bearing cradle is what was causing the problem. The drive shaft was two turns of a nut from falling out and destroying my truck,that was stopped because I found the problem,... but,the drive shaft being out of alignment ruined the new transmission.
The garage owner actually had the balls to tell me that rebuilt transmissions all make that grinding noise , and that it will go away after a few thousand miles. I just looked at him and had no response to such BS. After 5 hours of BS he decided to R&R.
So,.....here I am sleeping in my truck outside the garage and they are putting another transmission in tomorrow, and I am going to watch the entire process this time,..they're not happy about my being there,....but I'm not real pleased with their incompetence,...so as far as I can see,....we're even, and I'm not letting my truck out of my sight ever again!!!

[Rev.Vassago]

Wow.

It sounds like you need to seriously reconsider where it is you take your truck, and when you find a place that does good work, use them exclusively. Trust me - if you develop a good relationship with a shop, it will reward you in the long run.

But I'm sure you already knew that.

[Sonny Pruitt]

what sucks (as a fellow old truck owner)
is that it does not add to the value of your truck
you have to keep driving the old heap
to justify the repair
but if some else is considering an old truck....
stay near your home 20 for a while until the bugs are shaken out
then you can limp to your regular mechanic
old trucks have a lot of hand grenades with their pins pulled

[allan5oh]

Definitely with big ticket items, take it to only quality shops. Small shops are ok for small repairs.

[Doghouse]

Thats one thing that burns my *****,..the transmission shop that sold me the rebuild has been in business for over 40 years, and they are the ones who recommended the garage that did the work.
The garage is no small 1 or 2 bay shop,..this place has 10 bays, 3 lifts, and a full staff, and has been in business for over 15 years.
The transmission was a lower price,...but at $2,300.00 thats all a transmission for a 13 year old truck should be worth,..just like my DD60 will be much less than a later model DD60.
I payed $1,300 for 7 hours of labor,..which included a new clutch set, and the seals between my diffs., also a rear main crank seal.
It just seems to me that this has been a pattern for me every single time I let someone touch my truck/car/motorcycle.

[Mandilon]

,....but I'm not real pleased with their incompetence,

...according to statistics: 80% incompentency IS THE NORM !

...80% of truck mechanics , 80% of doctors , 80% of (owner-operators?) US !

Stick to the TOP TWENTY! :idea:

God Bless all!

[Rev.Vassago]

,....but I'm not real pleased with their incompetence,

...according to made up statistics that I pulled out of my butt: 80% incompentency IS THE NORM !

...80% of truck mechanics , 80% of doctors , 80% of (owner-operators?) US !

Stick to the TOP TWENTY! :idea:

God Bless all!

Fixed.

[enobeenob]

Definitely with big ticket items, take it to only quality shops. Small shops are ok for small repairs.

Come on, if you believe that statement you must not take your truck to too many big shops.

Any repair shop big or small is only as good as it's mechanics and their management.

If they want to screw you over they will do it no matter what.

[Doghouse]

I have had my share of mistakes when other people work on my vehicles,..here are a few.
1.2005 Yamaha YZF-R1, the dealer overfilled the crank case with oil,....it cause engine damage. The bike was getting it's first oil change after I bought it. The dealer offered to put a new engine it it from a salvaged bike,...yeah right,...here please speak to my lawyer. They refunded me the entire price of the bike,..which I only rode for 600 miles and owned it for two weeks.

2.1996 GEO Tracker,...a quick lube oil place while changing the oil,..
gotta go guys my truck is ready,...I'll finish my rant later.

[Mandilon]

...according to made up statistics that I pulled out of my butt: 80% incompentency IS THE NORM !

I like this one ! You're an artist !

I read this statistic about 20 years ago, and U know things don't change much with time.

It is 'also said' that ANY plan (or statistic?) is better than NONE.

The reason it stuck with me is that it's been my personal experience and I've read/heard of similar figures all along.

What HAS been YOUR experiencies with incompetents?

God Bless!

[Kranky]

Its a never ending load of garbage every single time I let somebody else touch my truck.

When they put the truck back together,..the speedometer, cruise control were not working (they smashed the end of the sending unit) and they didn't tighten the bolts that hold the carrier bearing cradle to the frame. One bolts was missing, the cradle was hanging on by the other loose nut/bolt,.. I was 20 miles down the road when I noticed a noise that I felt shouldn't be there. I went back to the garage and told them what was happening and they fixed the speedo and cruise control, but the vibration was not fixed,...There were two mechanics trying to figure out the vibration,..and they couldn't"t figure it out. I asked them if I could use their creeper to go under my truck. In less than 10 seconds I found the carrier bearing cradle is what was causing the problem. The drive shaft was two turns of a nut from falling out and destroying my truck,that was stopped because I found the problem,... but,the drive shaft being out of alignment ruined the new transmission.
The garage owner actually had the balls to tell me that rebuilt transmissions all make that grinding noise , and that it will go away after a few thousand miles. I just looked at him and had no response to such BS. After 5 hours of BS he decided to R&R.
So,.....here I am sleeping in my truck outside the garage and they are putting another transmission in tomorrow, and I am going to watch the entire process this time,..they're not happy about my being there,....but I'm not real pleased with their incompetence,...so as far as I can see,....we're even, and I'm not letting my truck out of my sight ever again!!!

The owner of the shop should have terminated the "mechanics" that allowed the truck to leave the shop in that condition.

[heavyhaulerss]

my condolences to doghouse!!

[Darin Younce]

You know , that is just plain crap. How in the world could they be so incompetent. I dont' blame you, I'd get me a chair pull it up an watch
every move they make . The thing that really bothers me about this story is that when you told the shop owner about the gringing , he went strait into defense mode with his "all rebuilt trans grind" crap without even checking out. Seems he has probably had this conversation before.
I may be new in trucking but I have been mechanicing for years. I even rebuilt a few manual trannys and have never experienced a trans that grinded for a while then fixes iteself .

[heavyhaulerss]

The thing that really bothers me about this story is that when you told the shop owner about the gringing , he went strait into defense mode with his "all rebuilt trans grind" crap without even checking out


i think the reason for the shop owner saying this was normal was to get you to drive the truck for a while & if & when you made it back to his shop latewr he can then say the warranty is over, youve drove the truck -x-x amount of miles. it must have been the way you were driving.

[Doghouse]

I hear ya darin,.....well I'm headed back to Charlotte Monday morning to drive my truck up somebody's *****.
Here is what I have found out,..
1.The power divider has been engaged for the last 200 miles on dry pavement,..I can't disengage it,..it's stuck.
2.There is an air leak on top of the tranny that drains my tanks in 30 minutes.
3.The speedometer moves in a jerky motion, is 3mph off..and my cruise control won't stay engaged when the trailer is hooked on,..it works when I bobtail though.
4.There is gear oil coming out of a cover on the back of the tranny just upper left of the outlet shaft.

Either the trans shop assembled this wrong, (I noticed that air line goes into a valve on the back of the tranny before it goes to the front differential),..or the shop assembled it wrong.
The tranny saga continues......................................... .................

[Orangetxguy]

OUCH

[Doghouse]

Well I got it all fixed today.
I went to the International dealer in Charlotte for a second opinion. It was there that I found out that the noise was being caused by the wrong ride height, It was set at 10" and was supposed to be 12 1/2".
So those mechanics that install tranny's actually wasted thier time by replacing the first tranny,..because it made the same exact noise the second one did. A simple phone call could have told them the ride height, and that whole thing could have been avoided.
I bought a new height valve and put it in today.

The air leak was coming from a gasket between a cast cover and the tranny that has a bunch of hoses going to it. It was losing air quick (it would drain my tanks in 30 minutes),..and now its back to normal. I kept telling them I heard an air leak,..but they just wouldn't believe me untill I sprayed the whole tranny with soapy water and WALLA bubbles.

The oil leak was coming from a cracked cast cover just left of the output shaft. When they took it off,..one of the four ears broke off,..so that is fixed also.

The speedo was simply set wrong,.the tech admitted to not setting it properly during the install. The sending unit needed to be screwed in untill it stopped and then backed out 1/4 to 1/2 turn.

When I first got there the owner pulled an attitude with me. I asked him to go outside,..then I punched him in the face and all went well after that.
At least that how I expected it to happen
He was a dick at first,....but after a short talk he saw things my way and understood that these things needed to be fixed, and it was his responsibility to complete the repairs.

So now the Dog is back in money making mode,...I sure spent enough during the last two weeks!!

[no_worries]

It's never enough