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 :roll: , 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!!!

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.

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

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

Thats one thing that burns my a$$,..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.

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

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

Stick to the TOP TWENTY! :idea:

God Bless all!

Fixed.

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.

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.

I like this one :lol: ! You're an artist :roll: !

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!