Mikevan10 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Well, this time it's my step-sons Subaru that has problems. These problems were human-inflicted. Apparantly, the kid (in college about 70 miles from here) had a repair/inspection shop change his engine oil since he had dropped it off for state inspecion. Apparantly they did not properly tighten the oil drain plug! I only have sketchy details but I guess he noticed it started smoking while he was cruising down I-95 but he did not immediately pull off and shut down! Tried to make his exit a mile or so up the road. As he was making his exit the oil pressure light came on and he shut it down. Looked underneath and there was no drain plug. I expect that he has wiped the bearings and that his best bet is going to be to pay someone to install a "new" engine in it. Doing this himself is not an option (nor do I plan to volunteer for this). So, I just thought I'd post this tale of woe. I do not have specific info yet on the exact model or engine. His father gave him the car earlier this year. It is (was) in fine shape and only about 70,000 miles on the clock. Anyone wish to hazard an approximation of what he should expect this to set him back? I will post more details and results of the diagnosis he gets from the Subaru dealer that he had it towed to. Mike V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Well, this time it's my step-sons Subaru that has problems. These problems were human-inflicted. Apparantly, the kid (in college about 70 miles from here) had a repair/inspection shop change his engine oil since he had dropped it off for state inspecion. Apparantly they did not properly tighten the oil drain plug! [...]As he was making his exit the oil pressure light came on and he shut it down. Looked underneath and there was no drain plug. I expect that he has wiped the bearings and that his best bet is going to be to pay someone to install a "new" engine in it. Doing this himself is not an option (nor do I plan to volunteer for this). Anyone wish to hazard an approximation of what he should expect this to set him back? Gee, that's an ugly tale. I'm sure there will be others here who'll disagree, but unless the engine is seized, I'd install a new drain plug, replace the oil and filter, try to start the thing, and see what happens. It could be terrible, but on rare occasions things aren't as bad as they might seem with this scenario. As to what your step-son should expect to pay -- IMO, not much. Although from what you've said he may be partially at fault, the primary blame lies with the apparently incompetent people who did the oil change, and they should bear the brunt of the expense. After all, who needs to watch oil level and pressure after just having a car "properly" serviced and inspected ? Best of luck with the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 Thanks for chiming in OB. Yeah, the primary blame should go to the "repair" shop and I agree fully with what you suggest. That's exactly what I told the kid to do. I do not see why not to. As far as getting the repair shop tro cover whatever costs are involved, I would expect that to end up being a long, ugly fight. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Thanks for chiming in OB. Yeah, the primary blame should go to the "repair" shop and I agree fully with what you suggest. That's exactly what I told the kid to do. I do not see why not to.Although the crankcase is empty, it might be a good idea to look at anything left in the filter. The filter "can" should be opened using a method that won't create a lot of metal debris (read "don't use a hacksaw"); if there's any significant amount of metal trapped in the filter, the chances for recovery obviously aren't too good. If things don't look bad in the filter, try oil and a new one. If the engine runs "acceptably" for a few minutes, I'd shut it down and again change the oil and filter. Should there be lots of smoke from the tailpipe, it shouldn't be run too long, or in addition to the engine being fried the catalytic converter could get poisoned. As far as getting the repair shop tro cover whatever costs are involved, I would expect that to end up being a long, ugly fight.Yes, that's probably not going to be an easy win. Still, correcting this situation may run several thousand dollars, and recouping part of that is probably worth some effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I had a repair shop mix up a couple of hose ona $12,000 bus engine. Thier insurance paid the bill except for a deduction for the mileage the engine had done before the error. I am sure most shops have professional liability because mistakes are always going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I would be furioius! I would have called those bastards up immediately and told them they were going to pay for a new engine installed in full and I'd get a lawyer because they probably aren't just going to hand over cash. I hate stupid shops. There's one in my town and a friend of mine went there to have some work done on their car and when they drove off one of their wheels came off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Agreed with seeking remedy from the oil-change shop. If this happened immediately afterwards (as opposed to a week or two), there should be little argument with culpability and liability. I would wait to check over the engine/oil-filter to see if they do the right thing and take responsibility: Anything you do beforehand could produce doubt about thir liability. If the engine was shut down *promptly* after the oil light came on, and if it was not developing power just before (you had talked about it happening on an offramp), there should be little damage. An engine can run a suprisingly long time on low/no oil pressure if under no load. (The light does not indicate 0 oil pressure, just less than a safe minimum... like 5-PSI). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Well, this time it's my step-sons Subaru that has problems. These problems were human-inflicted. Apparantly, the kid (in college about 70 miles from here) had a repair/inspection shop change his engine oil since he had dropped it off for state inspecion. Apparantly they did not properly tighten the oil drain plug! I only have sketchy details but I guess he noticed it started smoking while he was cruising down I-95 but he did not immediately pull off and shut down! Tried to make his exit a mile or so up the road. As he was making his exit the oil pressure light came on and he shut it down. Looked underneath and there was no drain plug. I expect that he has wiped the bearings and that his best bet is going to be to pay someone to install a "new" engine in it. Doing this himself is not an option (nor do I plan to volunteer for this). So, I just thought I'd post this tale of woe. I do not have specific info yet on the exact model or engine. His father gave him the car earlier this year. It is (was) in fine shape and only about 70,000 miles on the clock. Anyone wish to hazard an approximation of what he should expect this to set him back? I will post more details and results of the diagnosis he gets from the Subaru dealer that he had it towed to. Mike V. I heard a simillar case ( though transmission) where walmart changed this individuals oil and removed the transmission filter as well. Aparently forgot to install the ill removed filter and not long after that car was stranded along side of the rode, moreover, Wallmart agreed to have replaced the now blown transmission. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 friend of mine, kate in college had her ford explorer returned with no oil, they forgot. the fortunate thing is that she only made it less than a mile before seizing up from the shop, so that was certainly obvious. they paid for everything to have it fixed. shop will probably deny it of course, but they do have insurance to cover such things and they do when they have to. legal fees won't make it worth your time to persue though. do not take this to the dealer....you'll be talking an enormous price tag. your best bet is to get a used engine (a late model) or a rebuild from CCR and have it installed. call them and ask for pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevan10 Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 Here's an update: The repair shop that had done the deed told my kid to have the car towed to their shop (at their expense). Then they looked at it (I believe they dropped the oil pan for a look see) and then they told him they would replace the engine at no charge. The engine they are putting in supposedly has extremely low mileage (like 10,000 miles). He should have car back this week. This all sounds too good to be true but we'll all just have to wait and see.. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 [...]This all sounds too good to be true but we'll all just have to wait and see.. Thanks for the update, Mike. Sometimes people take responsibilty and do the right thing. Let's hope that this proves to be one of those times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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