So called documented shop service on new truck purchase...

[skylark]

ASE really seems to stand for Ask Someone Else anymore.

 

[df2x4]

ASE really seems to stand for Ask Someone Else anymore.

The guys at the shop I go to don't even bother to renew their ASE certs anymore. According to everyone I've talked to about the subject it basically means nothing these days.

Sorry for your misfortune OP, always sucks to hear about stuff like this. Makes me glad that I have a family friend mechanic that I can trust.

 

[sewlow]

ASE really seems to stand for Ask Someone Else anymore.

They send you a randomly generated test from their files, which is done @ home, with no supervision & virtually no time limit. Can you say 'GOOGLE'?
'Tempted' was ASE certified. That should be an indication of the standard right there!

 

[skylark]

They send you a randomly generated test from their files, which is done @ home, with no supervision & virtually no time limit. Can you say 'GOOGLE'?
'Tempted' was ASE certified. That should be an indication of the standard right there!

No kidding! I have a buddy of mine who is an ASE master tech, he is very good but he knows so much that it can be tough to remember everything.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

i guess that is where being able to "read" people comes in handy. i don't farm out much of my work, but when i do it's a local guy that i know personally. don't even get me started on tire shops! i'm also getting tired of showing "parts house" guys how to use a book and not the computer.

op, looks like you've got a great start on a good driver.

 

[sewlow]

Me & bodymen/painters. Grrr!!!

 

[Ironhead]

The first car dealers were guys who started out as horse traders, and horse traders, as a group, had a terrible reputation. The old saying "never look a gift horse in the mouth" comes from the fact that horse traders would paint the teeth of an old horse to make it look younger. Only a savvy buyer would know.

The same kind of guy moved over to the car industry, first in sales, then in service. I won't let my wife or daughter take their cars in for service, as I've seen shops (allegedly reputable new car dealers), try to rip them off.

And, like others have posted, I really don't like getting under my truck to grease it, change the diff oil, or anything else like that, but that's really the only way to know that the job's been done, and done properly.

The OP's story just shows how pervasive this attitude is in the industry, and how the crappy attitude of this kind of shop literally endangers the customer, with things like seriously rusted brake lines, and worn out steering parts.

 

[Rich Jacob]

I've been enjoying the truck some 3000 miles now after all the proper repairs were completed and continue to teach my son to drive it.
Replaced the door pins to get the doors to shut nicely.
Shocks, axle seals and bearings, pittman arm, idler arm, fluid flushes, all out of the way.
It seems Meineke in Melbourne went to school with Malabar RV and Truck, I went to them for an alignment after replacing the steering parts. They told me the wheel bearings were bad, so they couldn't do the alignment without replacing them, $60 per wheel. I knew I can knock this job out for $10-20 so i left and went to the parts store to get the bearings, seals, and grease. I thought this would be good opportunity to show my son how easy it is to replace. I find not only are the existing bearings just fine, they're NEW (the one thing Malabar did do) and freshly greased. The crown nut could not be tightened up to the next notch, so it was right and not loose at all as I put it on a stand and wedged a 2X4 under it to give it a bump. It's tight. I pushed the wheel left and right, again, tight.
I then too it to Firestone, and $70 later, I got my alignment and no story of bad wheel bearings.

The truck runs, drives, shifts, and steers great. A little resistance in the steering from what I get on the 99 Yukon, maybe the fluid, maybe the pump is getting old? I found $30 set of new tail lights off Ebay and they fit great, and that faded red lens is now gone.

But more importantly, today I smelled coolant and opened the hood to investigate. I found the hose from the heater core going into the intake, leaks at the intake fitting, some plastic tabs in the inside of the threaded fitting, a seal in there apparently has failed. It all looks like plastic? So I'm sure this will be a lot of fun to see that crack / break when I wrench it?

Anyone know what I'm getting into here? My son loves the truck, he's waxing it and keeping my finger prints off of it.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Cokeman95]

Most people switch to a barbed fitting as described below

http://www.gmt400.com/threads/heate...barbed-fitting-and-hose-clamp-swap-fix.23434/

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[ZachT]

A heads up be very careful with that fitting. It's a common part that fails. They make a "tool" to help take it out but it has never worked for me. The first time I took one out I put a hairline crack in the intake manifold, and had to cut the fitting out because it was seized in the manifold. It's best to take that replacement really slow and be cautious


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk