Oilpan bolt stripped

[J-hop]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

they're not paying for anything and charging me $30 to put a helicoil in.. if you've ever seen those things they are really cheap looking and pretty sure they will not hold for long.. the manager isnt very helpful and very defensive. He's feeding me stuff about honda's and vw's having crappy oil pans (that may be). since they know the aluminum pans on VW's are so soft I don't see why they wouldn't be more careful. Im going to go through BBB with this.

good plan, that is complete bs.

Ask them why they didn't inform you of this prior to doing the oil change on your car. If they didn't have the tools and/or knew there was a chance they couldn't handle it they should have notified you and given you the option to go elsewhere for an oil change.

I mean they can't claim this was the first time they had a vw shop up

[darkmanCANADA]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

No doubt, I know I always go tot he same place for oil changes. Mr. Lube on 16th Ave.

2x. When I used to go there for my TDI the only guy that did my changes was one of the guys that had a TDI as well.

[Turbo_NV]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

Sorry to thread jack but.....
where is the DIY'er spirit here????

[Kordain]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

Sorry to thread jack but.....
where is the DIY'er spirit here????

The thing that puts me off DIY oil change is getting rid of the oil afterward

[MusicalGenius]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

Same here, not having the facilities to dispose of it is my deterrent.

[Stonewall]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

You mean other then the oil recycling at the landfill?

[MusicalGenius]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

See you're missing one golden part of the equation, I'm also too lazy to drive out to Spyhill. Hah. It's really just the price of convenience really.

[J-hop]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

See you're missing one golden part of the equation, I'm also too lazy to drive out to Spyhill. Hah. It's really just the price of convenience really.

yea not to mention having an oily container sitting in the trunk and not being able to drive your car until you've cooked in the shower for a half hour getting the oil off your skin that is bound to get all over your hands either when you initially pop the plug off or when you're fishing around for it in the burning hot catch pan because you fumbled and dropped the plug

and the $5 charge plus gas to dispose of the oil, DIY oil changes lost their appeal pretty quickly

[Kordain]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

especially as your not allowed to bury it in the back garden anymore, not that i ever did!

[stefan]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

2x. When I used to go there for my TDI the only guy that did my changes was one of the guys that had a TDI as well.

That may be.. but the one time I used that shop on 16th, I had to get out and show the guy where the oil filter on my TDI was cause he couldnt figure it out.....

Where is the shop in this thread? If its the one by my office just south of glenmore... I'd like to let a few guys at my office know......

[BaggedGLI]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

The thing that puts me off DIY oil change is getting rid of the oil afterward

Theres a thread on here that contains all the firehalls you can drop it off at free of charge, or search on google something like "firehall hazardous waste locations"

(sorry to thread jack)

[Red90]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

Yah, firehalls.

Wear latex gloves and get a drain valve. No mess. It is done correctly.

[onepointeightdub]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

That may be.. but the one time I used that shop on 16th, I had to get out and show the guy where the oil filter on my TDI was cause he couldnt figure it out.....

Where is the shop in this thread? If its the one by my office just south of glenmore... I'd like to let a few guys at my office know......

The said shop is Minit Lube on the corner of Mcleod Trail and Hull Avenue S.W. Adjacent the Co-op and Scotiabank.

Address
Minit Lube Ltd 8511 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, AB T2H 2W3, Canada - (403) 255-3255

I brought the car in to George. So apparently the car isn't actually leaking oil but problem with cam tensioner and ps fluid..

BBB complaint still on. I like my drain plug/oil pan..

[onepointeightdub]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

This is what the BS'er is resorting to..

"On June 01, 2009, the business provided the following information:
Contact Name and Title: Paul Robinson
Contact Phone: 4035399370
Contact Email: paul@minitlube.com
Unfortunately, Mr Serafico's issue is not related to services provided by Minit Lube; hence falls into what we call a "pre-existing" condition and is not something we are able to cover under our warranty.

In the interest of accuracy, let me correct some details:
- This vehicle, based on VIN code, only appears in our records twice. Feb 2008 and Jan 2009. 18,000kms apart.
- Mr Serafico indicates we "tried to put the plug back improperly" this is simply not the case, it is very difficult to put a plug into supposed good threads improperly using only fingers or a hand wrench.
- The vehicle is not currently leaking from the drain plug, the leak is from the transmission and possibly an upper engine leak. This was physically shown to Mr Serafico by a licensed mechanic.
- Mr Serafico was told the Heli-Coil works very well "7 or 8 times out of 10", not that it fails 7/10. We have the tools and expertise to do it properly so the success estimate is conservative. We will charge our regular rate for this service since Minit Lube did not damage the pan threads.

As "Raf" explained to Mr Serafico, Minit Lube is fully aware of the issues surrounding this oil pan/plug and is very careful with them. In general, the oil pan threads on this vehicle are not as strong as most cars but if treated carefully can have a very long service life. The most frequent cause of early failure of the pan threads is over-tightening. Threads like this can be over-tightened with a hand tool and we are very aware of this.

Since Minit Lube clearly did not perform the last one or two services on this car based on the 18,000km interval since we last saw it, combined with the fact the damaged threads forced us to use a "Pan Saver" plug (which we billed the customer for), we obviously could not have over-tightened anything. Threads are not damaged by removal.

For the record, Minit Lube uses only hand tools to tighten any drain plug but we are particularly careful with cars where pan threads are a known issue including VW's.

Unfortunately we can not help with this pre-existing condition."

It never fails to amaze me how customer service in the city has crapped out... So I petition to not use Minit Lube and their services..


My response to these wankers:

- This vehicle, based on VIN code, only appears in our records twice. Feb 2008 and Jan 2009. 18,000kms apart.

Response: Irrelevant since this is about the Jan 2009 visit not the time in between. If the previous shop placed the bolt on then the threads were not stripped See your comment below.

- Mr Serafico indicates we "tried to put the plug back improperly" this is simply not the case, it is very difficult to put a plug into supposed good threads improperly using only fingers or a hand wrench.

Response: As you mentioned earlier you are implying it was another shops fault. Well since you have disproved that with your comment that was not the case. You even mentioned it is impossible to place the drain plug in worn out threads, in which case if the the previous shop stripped it, they could not have placed it back.

- The vehicle is not currently leaking from the drain plug, the leak is from the transmission and possibly an upper engine leak. This was physically shown to Mr Serafico by a licensed mechanic.

Response: Yes it is no longer leaking because Chuck tightened the Pan Saver. The complaint is not just about the leak but because of the damage the company has caused. As a side note I have gotten the car checked by a licensed VW mechanic and the upper engine leak is minor and would not cause a puddle of oil to be leaked from under the car.
[/COLOR]
- Mr Serafico was told the Heli-Coil works very well "7 or 8 times out of 10", not that it fails 7/10. We have the tools and expertise to do it properly so the success estimate is conservative. We will charge our regular rate for this service since Minit Lube did not damage the pan threads.

Heli coils require drilling that introduce debris in the engine block. If the engine block gets damaged and I return this company is again going to be defensive and put the blame elsewhere. If I fall under the 30 % that it does not work for I will be taken through this process again due to the lack of their customer service. I will also not sit on a heli coil plug waiting until it fails on me down the road. I want it done right the first time just like anybody else.

[stefan]

Re: Oilpan bolt stripped

"it is very difficult to put a plug into supposed good threads improperly using only fingers or a hand wrench."

not if he's an idiot, which you've confirmed.