Ilovemountains

This is great, I just checked the oil and coolant in the 88 because Ive been using it alot with all the snow, coolant bottle, empty... Oil cap, white and milky!! Im sure some of you remember my head gasket / Stealership mess from this time last year. I just got off the phone with them, They did the job 1 year and 10 days ago, Ive put just about 8,000 miles on it... Im really really hoping they work with me on this one or I will be going to Toyota corp, especially since the service manager assured me they used Toyota parts, they didnt they used Car Quest and they admitted to NOT milling my heads when they put the new gaskets in! Im sooo freaking pissed, I just got my new Geolanders, just paid for a new set of D Thorley headers and last night bought a used rear drive shaft out of the classifieds for it!!!!!!!!! Im trying to keep my cool with them but I paid $1700+ last year for a head gasket job and Im sorry, 8,000 miles is pretty bad that its obviously having issues, it feels like its loosing power and starting to miss a litte to. Any words of advice to give the dealership service manager if they try to tell me that its been over a year???

92 TOY

I like the words... Better Business Bureau / Attorney General etc...


But maybe they will do the right thing too, in my opinion. Also with the PR nightmare they are having, accusation of shoddy repair jobs won't do them well either.

Good luck and be optimistic.

Ilovemountains

Good call I didnt even think about the better business bureau... I wish I would have thought about this more last year, I should have bought a Titan Engines, rebuilt long block and swapped it in myself, it would have been cheaper and would have come with a 3 / 36 warranty! Im pretty irritated, I do have my claim # with Toyota Corporate from last year when they gave me a hard time about the repair job... Ill keep you posted!

Ilovemountains

Im taking it to the dealership now.... This could get interesting!

92 TOY

Good Luck.

eighty5yota

how do you know when a HG is 'going'? if you notice the oil/coolant are hanging out.. doesnt that mean its 'gone'?


i wanna know cause i think mine might be goin

CappyKD

Good Luck.

CappyKD

Depends on your engine. The 4 bangers also sometimes have the timing chain wear through the timing cover and into the water pump compartment which will mix Oil and Coolant that way.

mt_goat

Hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm, subscribed. Good luck.

Wrenchinjoe

Sorry to hear about your situation, good luck.

Ilovemountains

I took it in this afternoon and got into a slight argument with the service rep, he really has nothing to do with anything and has to go through the service manager, the guy that I had it out with last year... Long story short I called them out once again for not using Toyota parts and telling me they did... Then I called them out again about their lead mechanic telling me that he didn’t mill the heads after I took it in for an oil leak, his exact words were " well had I milled the heads I would have replaced your cam plugs"... For what I paid to have the dealership replace my head gaskets $1720 to be exact I expected a quality job.. BOY was I wrong! If I could do it all over I would have bought a remaned long block and put it in myself, which may end up happening now, Ill see what the service manager says. Luckily I filed a claim with Toyota HQ last year when they put the car quest parts on it so I may have some leverage there... I just want it fixed, the fact that I’ve fed it gallons of water and 50/50 antifreeze this year and only put around 8,000 miles on it blows me away, its my 2nd vehicle and at $2.80 a gallon really only gets used when I need it or just want to drive it... I’m sure Ill have some more details this time tomorrow once the service manager calls me! ~Matt

Ilovemountains

Well, its got a slight miss forming, smells sweet like burning coolant though its not steaming out the tailpipe just yet and is getting hard to start, and the oil cap is milky and nasty, which I KNOW wasnt there a week ago!! exactly what it did last year right before the gasket went and it started steaming like a freight train!!

92 TOY

Here's a line I used years ago when I had a problem. I called the TOYOTA Ombudsman and after arguing my point, I said "My local Television station has a consumer advocate segment and I would LOOOOOOOVE to see me on TV." My problem was resolved shortly thereafter.

Good luck. Be persistent but don't lose your cool. Arm yourself with knowledge and the leverage of who you should contact next if you get no satisfaction.

AzStorm

X1
Negative Local media attention or the threat of such may be helpful.
Especially with the PR clusterf*** Toyota is dealing with now.

Ilovemountains

After a few days of being yanked around by the dealership I finally got a hold of the service manager... He claims that they have been waiting for the mechanic that did the head gaskets to make it into work so he could be the one to diagnose the issue... He told me that if it is a head gasket that they would honor the warranty and it would be repaired, Im keeping my fingers crossed and think I'm going to start saving my pennies for a re manufactured engine, I just have a sinking feeling that its only a matter of time even if they repair it, its sad that I put 180,000 miles on the truck and only engine work it ever needed was a water pump and now all this madness... I wouldn't have hesitated to drive it to Cali from here, now I'm hesitant to take it anywhere, that's a crappy feeling.

Ill fill you guys in as soon as I hear anything more from the stealership!

mt_goat

Good luck with it.

Having owned a 95 Taurus now for 3-4 years I know that feeling. Having a AAA card helps, plus you get discounts on hotels and parts at NAPA. I've used them so many times I'm surprised they even want me to renew.

92 TOY

I would say that if they yank you around and you don't have a satisfactory answer by the end of the week, take it to the next level. I realize they are busy, but this is your vehicle that you NEED and what if the mechanic didn't work there anymore? Pretty much I wouldn't care who fixes it, just make it right (on their part).

good luck, keep us posted.

Lumpy

Subscribed...Wanna see what happens here.

Good luck!!!

highway

wonder if the coolant did any damage to the rod bearings ?

Ilovemountains

I never thought about the coolant and the bearings, the oil level hasn't changed, luckily and its only been M1 oil and an M1 filter changed every 5k, the oil in there now only has about 2k miles on it so hopefully the bearings and all are OK.... We shall see, what a mess!! I really wish my truck had a 22RE, the 3.0 leaves a lot to be desired, especially with these issues!