Flattened bearing / Am i about to get screwed? / How big a mistake did I make?

[nemeses7]

I took my 86 grand national to get the oil changed and the attendant noted that I had a small leak from my oil pan. A few weeks passed, and I got around to taking the car into a auto repair shop that has GM performance expertise & mgmt. to get the oil pan gasket replaced. The shop later called me that day and told me that there were additional leaks, coming from more than just the oil pan gasket. It was just a little bit from the valve cover gaskets and also from the front and rear main seals. I went to the shop and concurred, even though my garage floor was only accumulating a drop or two a week. I didn't want any leaks so I gave them the go-ahead to replace the oil pan gasjet, the rear main seal, the front crank seal and do a full up oil change. I'd already ordered in Eaton posi carriage because I have one of the grand nationals that did not come from the factory with a posi. When I took the car into the shop even though it had high mileage and minor leaks, it ran fine, didn't have any real noticeable problems out of it and all of my Scanmaster numbers were where they should be, no smoke, no noises or knocks.
Today when I called the shop to see what the holdup was on them getting the car ready he told me that during the test drive there was a flattening of a bearing, bearing number five to be exact. They replaced the bearing, took the car back out and it flattened again.
$1250 later I have a new posi upgrade, replaced rear main seal, replaced front crank seal, replaced valve cover gaskets and a full up change, and an engine with a flattened bearing (knock).
I'm so pissed. I don't know if it's dumb luck, nor do I know what to do next other than let them take it apart to investigate the root cause (it was high mileage but running well when I brought it to the shop).
I have 2K-4K to spend but want to spend it right. ALSO, I don't know where liability is.
Nemeses

 

[novaderrik]

find a different shop- and call a lawyer.. i bet that if you take a good look at the quarter panels, you will see chunks of tire stuck to them. if they were smart, they cleaned the rubber off the outside of the car, but i bet that there is still some stuck up inside the wheel well.. if they still have the car, go there and take pics of both quarter panels and inside the wheelwells, noting if there is any rubber stuck to them.. don't tell them what you are doing- just do it.. then get your car the hell outta there...

in other words- they beat the crap out of your car on the "test drive", spun a bearing, tried to cover it by replacing the bearing, and now they want you to pay them to fix what they broke...

 

[novaderrik]

double post..

 

[HouTX87]

If they actually replaced the front crank seal they would've had to pull the front cover as it is installed from the inside. Probably never reprimed the oil system.

 

[nemeses7]

I'll investigate that first thing in the morning. On the back end, how much am I looking at to I guess rebuild never opened engine (160K) with some mods?

 

[nemeses7]

I know where there is a local GN expert that I'd planned to take car to when it was time. I just wasn't planning on this "maintenance" action to turn bad.

 

[nemeses7]

Is there a sure fire way to determine if they reprimed the system or not? What else should I look for?

 

[87chrisss]

Where are you located? second of all why did they do a test drive? Test drive for what? If your changing gaskets they can turn on the car let it set for 5 min and see if its still leaking. They had a field day with your car and blew it. NExt they told you they changed the bearing? WTF>? Just one bearing? They are lying to you. If you spin a bearing the motor has to be taken out the crank has to be cut all bearings have to be changed and made sure its all in parameter's. How the hell are you going to believe they changed a bearing and flattened it again. Playing games....

Where are they located name please, If you brought your car to that shop without a main bearing/rod knock you need to be a bit more aggressive with these people!! They need to compensate you for damages.

 

[bogies87]

Unfortunately I have to agree with the above post..... all of them. One of the reasons we dont take our cars to a shop that is not familiar with these cars is they treat them just like a naturally aspirated car. Anybody that owns a Turbo Buick will tell you they are very very temperamental. I worked at a new car dealership and had (imo) the best technician in the country. I still believe this, but with that said would not have him work on my car. I have had conversations with him and he doesnt know anything about them (25yrs as a master tech).
With that said just find a reputable Turbo Buick shop and have them do your work. Lesson learned.... the hard way. Good Luck.

 

[TurboBuRick]

What a nightmare..

Where are you located?

 

[Paul Lohr]

Don't sweat it too much - worrying has not added a single day to any man's life.

Even if you have to trailer the car a bit, find a reputable technician who has been known to take responsibility for his actions. Good technicians never make mistakes, right? Wait until one does who carries with him a weighty ego. I will take humble ignorance over egotistical competence.

We would appreciate it if you could let us know what city the car is in and what shop you had trouble with. Others would like to avoid the same issue. I don't want to get into vengeance here but hopefully the shop will one day come clean about what happened.

Make the best of the situation. Good things can come from situations that seem to be ugly.

Needless to say, a connecting rod subject to heavy or lots of detonation needs to be rebuilt. The rod journal probably need attention as well. Most people don't rebuild one connecting rod or resurface one journal of a crankshaft. I'm sure you know this.

If you are not in a rush, you could watch the Parts section for a decent short block.

Paul Lohr

 

[TR Custom Parts]

If they actually replaced the front crank seal they would've had to pull the front cover as it is installed from the inside. Probably never reprimed the oil system.

x2

 

[SHADOWII]

Sorry for your situation, but "Heed" the warnings, My brand new "T", (83 )not but a few months old, and I took it to the buick dealership due to a "retard problem". After explaining the problem, they assured me they knew what they were doing and didn't need any advice. 2 hours later the wife(!) not I got a call from the dealership laughing about a slight problem that arose while out road testing the car. The engine blew up! 2 months later no engine and no car. The wife finally caled the buick hind-quarters, who stated they would look into it and we would have an answer w/in the hour. Good to their word, the wife received a call from the dealership, w/in the alotted time(or the dealership was going to have to supply us w/a new car or lose it's franchise.) From that day forward I stood over every mech's shoulder until the warranties ran out. You would not believe how ignorant the mech.'s are about these tr's back in the 80's and 90's. Not bad mech's just never trained. All these years later have not improved things. Go w/the reputables only and save the aggrivation and loss of money.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Get out the BS flag... The "road test" moron beat the crap out of your car.! Since the pan had already been off, there is no way to tell if it was off twice. The 2nd "flattened brg" is pure bull$hit!
Also, there is a sure way to confirm the ft cover was off...The "OEM dirt" is disturbed, edges of the gasket will be clean, old parts, etc, etc.
Time for your lawyer to kik this guys a$$.

 

[bison]

Post pics of corner of timing cover. If timing cover was off it will be evident. Also if bearing was shot it would've been evident immediately upon pulling the pan when re-sealing. At that point the owner should have been called. I've seen plenty of junk engines come through and the owner had no clue. I've been blamed plenty of times for the service engine soon light coming on in obd II cars. Yeah I served your brakes because the linings were gone and now you have a p0420 code so it's my fault. Look at the pic below. A friend sent me this yesterday. The only complaint was that the abs light was on! This type of thing is so common these days.

 

[bogies87]

Bison after reading your post it made me chuckle. Same here. Change oil and the SES light is on, my/our fault. I have heard it all. Also I have seen rotors like that. I would say that person got there moneys worth out of them.

 

[Buick Mark]

Being a "Master tech" "ASE" or "I-Car" certified, doesnt mean squat. Experience matters the most, obviously, these "certified master techs" havent any!

 

[nemeses7]

I went by there this morning and took a few pics. The oil pan is off and they're standing under the car looking at the thrown rod. I looked for rubber/tire in the back and it was as clean as when I took it in with the exception of some rubber on the right tail pipe which should be there from the the half throttle burns I do before they put the Eaton posi. Wheel wells were clean and free of rubber debris.

One thing I did notice is that my detachable face plate on my Pioneer DVD was on so someone at least turned on the radio when they should have been focusing on the car itself.

Bison, I was thinking the same thing and while I was there this morning prior to returning home that, "If bearing was shot it would've been evident immediately upon pulling the pan when re-sealing. At that point they should have called me." I'm waiting on the owner to arrive and call me after I coach son's basketball game.

 

[bison]

I went by there this morning and took a few pics. The oil pan is off and they're standing under the car looking at the thrown rod. I looked for rubber/tire in the back and it was as clean as when I took it in with the exception of some rubber on the right tail pipe which should be there from the the half throttle burns I do before they put the Eaton posi. Wheel wells were clean and free of rubber debris.

One thing I did notice is that my detachable face plate on my Pioneer DVD was on so someone at least turned on the radio when they should have been focusing on the car itself.

Bison, I was thinking the same thing and while I was there this morning prior to returning home that, "If bearing was shot it would've been evident immediately upon pulling the pan when re-sealing. At that point they should have called me." I'm waiting on the owner to arrive and call me after I coach son's basketball game.

Looks like they used a nylon abrasive wheel on the pan rail. That's a no no. The small pieces of nylon will enter the crankcase. Absolutely no abrasives should be used anywhere near an open crankcase or air intake ever.

 

[cdsttype]

How many miles on engine?
Did you realize you had oil
Leaks?
How long has it been leaking?
Do you have a oil pressure
Gauge?
Did the shop inform you that
There is no warranty on rear main
Seal leaks due to crank & bearing
Wear?
I can tell you in my shop if we saw
It leaking everywhere and the car
Was modified we would have inspected the bearings when the
Pan was down