Lube-X Screwed Up?

[CGDoig]

Hey guys, I went to the local lube-x for an oil change a couple weekends ago and after they were done they informed me my drain plug would not thread back in properly. It goes in just doesn't tighten up properly. So they put a replacement in with a rubber washer on it to try and seal up the space. Needless to say it didn't work, there's a very slow leak, but a leak none the less.

I went back today as they said they'd take a look again, he came back up and said that it's been an ongoing problem with more than 6 mkiv VW's this year alone, all around the same mileage or a little more than mine. Now for some reason I find this hard to believe, I'm sure the pans are different on the different engine type for one, for two, VW is pretty good at putting recalls out, especially on things that eventually are a high ticket items. On top of this why wouldn't he mention that upon the first visit?

Did lube-x **** up my pan and neglect to admit fault? What should I do?

[Slamtastic]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

It's a common problem that quicky lube shops f*** up like this. They either use a pneumatic impact to "torque" the drain plug on or just over-tighten it with a wrench (sometimes they won't even thread it in by hand first). The oil pan is aluminum and the threads will strip very easily if over-tightened.

I honestly doubt that they will do anything, but there was a thread on here a long time ago when someone had a brand new pan that a shop did this to and they replaced it.

This is why I do everything myself.

[stefan]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

Pretty sure there is more than one thread like this on here. These lube shops are careless, or just have staff with no experience. No doubt they did it, but it's super hard to prove. As for the "6 this year alone"... this just shows they don't learn from mistakes either....

[JPO]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

^

Good news is it may be fixable by a helicoil. I had this issue with a mkiv an tunedub fixed it for me.

[CGDoig]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

Not cool, thanks guys. I'll give george a call next week.

[Kor]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

This happens almost every time at places like Lube X. Why did you go there?

[CGDoig]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

Because I live an hour and a half away from the city, and they have the right oil for my engine. To book an oil change with George or a dealer I'd have to take a day off work.

[Mattie]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

or take an hour out of your weekend to do it yourself?

[CGDoig]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

lol sometimes it's hard to take an hour out with two kids. But from now on that's what's happenin.

[[Cronzy]]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

A friend of mine worked at lube-x before, he quit because he didn't like the care-free attitude everyone had. A co-worker of his forgot to tighten the drain plug and the individual came back to pick up her car being yielded at she was about to leave. They did tighten it in the end but the manager simply told him not to do it again and went out for a smoke.

[Lo)2enz0]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

I've see way to many cars where lube shops have stripped oil pans. All from cross threading. If its spinning freely once fully depressed on the pan its fubar'd. You can helicoil it but this just seems to be a temp fix

If I were you I would drain the oil, check the drain plug, take pictures and document it. They will try anything to make it sound like this was not their fault and if you have previous records of oil changes from them this improves the chances of your pan being replaced.

I know you said you don't have much time but this is a costly job and the last thing you want is to cover the costs.

[bitskyline]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

*sigh* guess i can mention what happened to me.

i went to the lube x in leduc cuz i needed it done that day and i didn't have everything needed to do it myself on the shop floor. plus they did my boss's supra and did a good job on that so i figured meh might as well.... FML

about 1 and a 1/4 hour later its finally done. kid couldn't get the skid plates back on. so i get back to the shop (work) and i pop the hood to see if there it any drips from them filling up and what not... there is oil EVERYWHERE oh you could say i was a liiiitle pissed. went back there and didn't tare a strip off them or swear at them just was very stern and told them i will be down in the pit watching every move or i will do it myself. turns out it was the new o-ring for the filter housing that had an "imperfection", put the old one back on and i haven't seen a drop from it

the manager gave me one of those big fuel injector cleaner bottles for my troubles and offered to wash it all to get rid of the oil that was every where but i declined and did it myself back at work.

Life lesson #522 don't go to a lube x or any other kind of "10 min" oil change place

[vee_dubbin]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

To the OP....from when I used to be an apprentice at VW, I know how easy it is to strip the threads on the aluminum oil pan if overtightened. You do it once and learn to never do it again. A helicoil fix is kind of sketchy for two reasons. 1 being that its an oil plug, it will be removed and tightened multiple times throughout the life of the oil pan....not sure how sturdy and durable a helicoil is after multiple loosening and tightening, and two, to install a helicoil you need to use a drill and bit to clean the original hole and make new threads, then screw in the helicoil. The problem with this is that you might get some metal shavings inside the oil pan. There is a screen on the oil pump, but still. I would request a new oil pan to be honest with you. They fucked up, they should be responsible for there non licensed mechanics fucking up. End of story.

Those quick lube joints are only there to get your money and the cheap oil change is just to lure you in. They make there money from upselling you all of the services they say your car needs. ie. fluid flushes, injector cleaning( which is a bottle of **** you put in your fuel tank and does nothing), etc., etc.

I went to one on 4th street NW last week because of time constraints, and got hosed. Here's how......I told them I was in a hurry and not to check my transmission fluid, diff fluid, and all the other BS they say I need. The one guy who stays up top of the pit says I'll just check your fluids in the engine bay while we wait for the oil to drain. So I said thats fine. My coolant was low and so was my brake fluid. He told me he was going to top them up and I said ok. (Now as the brake pads wear down, the fluid level will also get lower in the resevoir....this is normal. The coolant thing was low from who cares...its a 95 yukon. But it wasnt empty and I have never topped it up in the year that I had it, so never worried about the level). I get my bill and it was suppossed to be a $55.00 oil change which magically turned into 85 bucks. So of course I'm like "WTF???". Apparently they charge outrageous for topping up the fluids which I didn't care about or at least not to concerned with. The brake fluid is normally low with wearing pads and the coolant I would of topped up with water or coolant I have at my shop for free. So being inherently of Dutch decent, I complained about the price and forced them to remove the extra top up fee. They never disclosed the cost of this service, (which we dealerships do complimentary to our customers), so therefore its unauthorized work. Had a battle but I won and got the extra charges removed.

So I learned never to go to another `quick Lube`place again and to do it myself next time if I can. My advice as a technician to the public would be; If possible, network through friends and co-workers to find a reputable garage to do minor stuff like an oil change. They will have trained technicians who went through 3-5 years of school and on the job training. Stay away from quick lube joints as they do not have class A certified technicians nor the required skills to do any work on your car other than, and this is a stretch, top the air in your tires.

[CGDoig]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

I was thinking about calling Volkswagen as well to ask if I could get a statement from them. See if it's actually an "on going problem" or maybe get them to help. What if I take it to George or a dealer and explain what happened, would it strengthen my case if they wrote up an explanation with photos? I'm going to go after them for sure.

[Lo)2enz0]

Re: Lube-X Screwed Up?

Like I mentioned, was it serviced before by them (was the previous oil change done there) if so take your records and show them. They will try to cover themselves on this and if this is your first time there they will give you the run around about how it was crossthreaded and stripped before they even touched it.

Talk to the manager see where this complaint will get you. Hopefully he is a decent guy and he admits to the problem and is willing to pay for the new pan.

I only mentioned helicoiling as a quick fix (max sure you get a new pan and not just a crappy helicoil job). Like vee_dubbin mentioned it won't last past one oil change.