splap20 Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 **edited again. too long before and too angry. my car got broken into and trashed as it sat on the side of the road till monday morning when i could get it to a mechanic. real bad day.** **update** i spoke to the manager at the dealership that replaced my short block (Gold Rush Subaru Auburn, CA) and they will not consider talking resposibility for the problem. they told me that they did not replace the spark plugs and that they never touched the plugs at all. I asked if they removed the wires attched to the plugs and they said yes- but that when they sent the heads off to a machine shop to check if they were warped/cracked they never tightened or lossen any of the plugs. The dealership i'm talking the car to now tells me that the other 3 spark plugs were loose too. **update** If a Subaru dealership breaks down an engine, sends the heads to a machine shop to check if they are warped, determines that they are not, and installs a new short block with the old heads, would they have taken out the spark plugs at some point? Is it reasonable to expect them to have checked that the plugs were installed correctly? Less than 10 months ago, i had new engine installed at a subaru dealership. While driving 3 days ago a sparkplug blew out of the left front cylinder head- stripping the threading in the head. The replaced engine is still under warranty so I took the car to the nearest Subaru dealership (not the dealer that installed the engine) to fix the problem. The two dealerships have discussed the issue and won't repair the head because the first dealer did not replace the cylinder heads (or the spark plugs?) when they did the work. I was told that the spark plug blew out of the cylinder head because it was not screwed in correctly (too loose/tight?). All feedback is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Tell the dealerships to pound sand! It's most definitely the first dealership's fault for not torquing the spark plug correctly. The fact the heads weren't resurfaced has ZERO to do with the plug issues. I can see the new dealership not wanting to get involved, but the first dealership should stand behind their work. You're going to have to get quite agressive with these dealerships. I suggest calling SOA and starting a case already, because that's what it's going to take most likely. Next time you go in, tell them to fix it, tell them you already have a case opened with SOA, you're going to contact the BBB, etc, etc, and you are not going to let them waltz on their responsibilities. As long as they did all the work, and you didn't touch anything between then and now....it's their responsibility. If another shop, or you touched the engine......all bets are off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotsubarus Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Look at your Bill and see if there were any plugs added on your bill.... What brand of plugs are in the car? Did you install them or someone else previously before the car was worked on? They may have or have not removed them when checking for warpage, But if they sufaced the head then they would have removed them. Just be sure that who ever installed the plugs before the problem didnt install them wrong first so as not to accuse the the wrong persons. There is a good chance the machine shop removed them depening on the motor. What engine are you working? on some spark plugs extend through the the head anough to pass the surface of the head so they would have to be romved to be checked.... Tell us what engine you have and maybee i or someone else can tell you more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 I can't believe they'd do all that work and not change plugs, for the simple reason of being able charge you 3 times what they paid for them. Tiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splap20 Posted October 22, 2003 Author Share Posted October 22, 2003 The car is a 1997 subaru outback wagon w/ 2.5l dohc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 A machine shop should be able to put an insert into the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAWalker Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Engine will have to be removed agin to fix that. You can bet that nobody is going to take the blam for this one. If the dealer didn't take the plugs out when the heads went to the machine shop, they were probably removed buy the machine shop. May have got put back in hand tight dealer tech seen they were still in the head & didn't check if they were tight. Thats one senario. Or the mistake was made at the dealers shop. They will NOT own up to it. Thats the other senario. How many miles were on the engine when the short block was done? Probably should have had the valves ground for good measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splap20 Posted October 22, 2003 Author Share Posted October 22, 2003 Engine is already out of the car getting fixed. The car has about 100k on it with 7k miles since the shortblock and most other engine components were replaced. I'm not sure if the valves were ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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