Last oil change was done at Precision Tune in Cary and they put a new bolt in b/c the old one was nasty and messed up.

Since then everything has been fine.

Took car to Valvoline oil change in Wilmington to change out the oil. They stripped the plug and didn't tell my girlfriend who took it there to get it done for me while i worked.

Now it leakes oil since it's stripped. I'm looking online to see an oil pan is $49, but you have to lift the engine to replace it?



What should I do in this case? It's sunday and can't do anything yet (just found out it was leaking).

Valvoline is responsible, right? If they don't man up, then what is the best action to take?

9/24/2006 12:40:31 PM

call the corporate office and they will man up....just have your receipt.....if they didn't note that it was already stipped then they are responsible

9/24/2006 12:43:32 PM

no fucking receipt... didn't change the oil, just told my gf they couldn't do it and she owed nothing

9/24/2006 12:47:47 PM

have it changed at precision tune again and make them fix it since they were the last ones(as far as they know)

9/24/2006 12:57:21 PM

ahh k, if Valvoline won't man up, i'll take it to the local Precision Tune and then have them fix it and bill the Cary place since I don't live there


I have the last receipt from Precision Tune, too. gg.

[Edited on September 24, 2006 at 12:58 PM. Reason : ]

9/24/2006 12:58:13 PM

Get an oversize drain plug.

9/24/2006 1:04:14 PM

i imagine they can't get the bolt out.

help, i'm retarded

9/24/2006 1:06:34 PM

No...THEY'RE the retarded ones. Any mechanic/negro wrench turner should be able to use a self-tapping oversize drain plug. They ain't pretty but they beat the HELL out of having to swap oil pans.

9/24/2006 1:08:03 PM

so i should go to the valvoline place and tell them that.

the dude even told my g/f that he tried to get it off but if he tried anymore he could cause damage, blah blah.

GOD DAMNIT

9/24/2006 1:16:30 PM

wow are you in college?

9/24/2006 1:41:50 PM

nope, work 12 hours a day and have no time to deal w/ this shit

9/24/2006 1:58:57 PM

yea get a slightly bigger diameter drain plug, self tapping, and it should take care of it. theyr'e like $4

9/24/2006 4:51:20 PM

jb weld that fucker

9/24/2006 5:41:54 PM

Take it to Jiffy Lube. They will do it for free if you change our oil there.

9/24/2006 5:54:30 PM

let me get this straight... you're going to try and screw precision tune for valvoline's mistake and your failure to keep documentation? asshat.

9/24/2006 6:17:42 PM

Jiffy Lube doesn't mind as long as uou get an oil change. They have the equipment to do the job on site. Happened with a Suburban I had.

9/24/2006 7:57:04 PM

Quote :

"let me get this straight... you're going to try and screw precision tune for valvoline's mistake and your failure to keep documentation? asshat."

valvoline didn't give any documentation to her. they didn't tell her they STRIPPED IT AND OIL WAS NOW LEAKING...

precision was the one that put the latest plug in, all valvoline was trying to do was get it out.

both are at fault?

9/24/2006 9:08:15 PM

Precision tune is at fault for putting in the drain plug wrong. Even if they replaced the old plug, the damage still could have been present in the pan.
Valvoline is in the wrong because they messed with it and now it is leaking.

Go back to Precision tune for an oil change, and then tell them they were the last to work on it.

9/24/2006 11:07:07 PM

i bought an oversized plug, gonna try and fix it myself to not have to deal with people.

if that fails, going to precision tune.

9/24/2006 11:15:48 PM

dont fuck with it

make them fix it

9/24/2006 11:20:10 PM

yeah, really. you lose any hope of having them take care of any mistake the moment you mess with it.

as it should be, no company in their right mind is going to take responsibility for something after the customer has been screwing with it.

9/24/2006 11:22:16 PM

do it your damn self, and never let anyone else do your oil changes for as long as you live.

9/25/2006 12:28:31 AM

^What he said. I don't trust a soul to touch my shit. Period. Especially them damn oil change monkeys.

9/25/2006 12:52:33 AM

I work 12 hours a day... Costs me more $ to do it myself.



Girlfriend went back to Valvoline this morning... they admitted to it being stripped and said there's nothing they can do about it and to go back to Precision in Cary.



Wish I had time to go at these fuckers.


Bought a single oversized metric plug and gonna work on it sometime this week if i can. Or take it to the other Precision

9/25/2006 8:57:56 AM

Quote :

"do it your damn self, and never let anyone else do your oil changes for as long as you live."

This is my mantra after dealing with the same issue you're facing now.

The money I save doing it myself doesn't offset the amount of time I spend on it, but it does save me the aggravation of situations like this. Plus I know its done right and also forces me to get under the car and make sure nothing else needs attention.

-- Dave

9/25/2006 9:31:28 AM

Bous... CALL CORPORATE. it takes you 10 minutes. Call up the place that did the damage and ask for their corporate # if they fail to give it to you go online and look it up and specifically tell them they refused to give you the corporate #. Quote names.

Be very calm with who you talk to. Explain the situation, what they did, how they copped out and what you think is fair for them to do to resolve the situation. You will be AMAZED at what they will do. If they give you any lip (AND you're being reasonable) then ask how they'd like to be on the news.

From experience though, corporate typically honors anything under a certain amount. Yours is under $100 so I'm sure it's under that.

9/25/2006 9:50:06 AM

the repair is well over $100

9/25/2006 11:24:41 AM

depends if the previous place used an oversized bolt or not already.

if i have to replace the oil pan the engine has to be lifted i think.



i got corporate's number already and am dealing with it.




I CALLED PRECISION AND THE GUY REMEMBERED ME. SAID PLACE IN WILMINGTON SHOULD HELP ME FIX IT AND TO CALL HIM IF ANY PROBLEMS.

9/25/2006 11:27:53 AM

why would you replace the oil pan? that seems a little extreme.

9/25/2006 12:26:11 PM

just if stuff is really fucked up. i guess the main answer is i have no idea, just what i've read from other people that had similar problems.

9/25/2006 3:52:13 PM

twf kind of car is it that requires engine pulled in order to replace a oil pan

9/25/2006 3:58:21 PM

I can imagine that raising the engine up a few inches would make pulling the oilpan much easier, but I don't think anyone would suggest pulling the engine entirely.

9/25/2006 4:00:04 PM

There are quite a few cars that, at the very least, require removal of a crossmember or raising the engine up about 6 inches or so. All the Datsuns I've done (rwd) have required lifting the engine, and every truck I've ever touched has as well.

Every Honda I've worked on (with the exception of the S2000) has been a simple drop-the-exhaust affair. Most Toyotas are (well, fwd cars anyway; the trucks and rwd cars are a different story), and so are most Nissans.

Two approaches to doing the repair on-car. We've already touched on the oversize plug. Another is to Helicoil the hole. I really like Helicoils and use them often when I have a stripped hole. Some folks prefer solid Keenserts or the like. The big problem when tapping for an insert such as Helicoil or Keensert or even using an oversize plug is that you inevitably end up with some chips in the pan. That said, that's what your oil pickup screen and your oil filter are for. Even then, I prefer to get NO chips in the pan if possible. Two ways to avoid this: grease the tap or the plug and unscrew and clean FREQUENTLY (like every turn) or get you one of the neodymium magnets (itty bitty but strong as fuck) that Radio Shack sells two to a pack for 2 dolla and stick it on the end of the plug or the tap...clean it frequently.

If you can get a magnetic plug, even better.

9/25/2006 4:20:53 PM

Quote :

" or get you one of the neodymium magnets (itty bitty but strong as fuck)"

doesn't help those of us with aluminum pans/heads

9/25/2006 4:49:44 PM

That's totally true. That's when you grease the fuck outta the tap and take baby turns.

9/25/2006 5:04:26 PM

aluminum pans are a a bitch, once you get the old one out, don't try to tap it, it will destroy the little bit of thread left, put an o ring under the head of the oversize plug, and just snug it up until it seals to prevent pulling out the rest of the threads

9/25/2006 7:34:43 PM

99 tahoe 4wd, no idea why i didn't mention that.

just read somewhere that some guy had to lift the engine to replace the pan

9/25/2006 9:18:21 PM

no need to replace the pan, its a bitch and a half anyway, its a beefy cast pan, it can be fixed

9/25/2006 10:23:57 PM

That's what I would do...fix it.

9/25/2006 10:34:59 PM

and how the hell did they strip that? its got damn near an inch of threads, but yeah, its a solid 1/2" thick casting around the plug, so you do have some options, and its easy to get to

9/25/2006 10:58:02 PM

Quote :

"99 tahoe 4wd"

like a rock

9/25/2006 11:34:04 PM

I've wondered if you can just drill it out and put in a boat plug.



or



What do y'all think?

9/25/2006 11:49:35 PM

I think you have some monkey blood in you.

9/26/2006 1:06:00 AM

I do have a really wide nose for a white person.

9/26/2006 10:42:54 AM

heh

put in a plug where i won't have to back it out anymore and it's easy to drain. temp fix for a while

9/30/2006 12:03:12 AM

All the more reason not to take your shit to quick lube places ... but I can't say that places like Firestone are any better. Just today I had them replace the pan bolt because the last place I had it done rounded the head on the plug and I couldn't get it off (I don't have a way to get the car any higher than pulling it on the curb). They replaced the bolt but didn't clean shit up - there was oil left all over the pan and surrounding area where they failed to wipe it down. Further, the assholes snapped the hood stand somehow when they slammed the hood shut and I didn't notice it until I got home tonight. Next time around, my ass is using ramps and my own stuff. I'll be damned if I'm ever letting another oil change place touch my car.

9/30/2006 4:39:53 PM

yea i change my oil and my GFs oil for this same damn reason
its cheaper anyway
i did manage to round off the plug on my gf's car.
i think its a standard size bolt and i used a metric size wrench bit
but i can get it off so i will just buy her a new one next time i change her oil.
anyway fuck oil change places.
they put shit on there too tight as well
thats how i rounded that bolt it was on WAAAAY too fucking tight
had to take it to jiffy lube to crack it since i managed to round it trying to get the damn thing off.

[Edited on October 1, 2006 at 5:06 PM. Reason : ]

10/1/2006 5:05:35 PM

Quote :

"thats how i rounded that bolt it was on WAAAAY too fucking tight"

sounds like you rounded it by using a standard socket or wrench on a metric bolt

[Edited on October 1, 2006 at 5:12 PM. Reason : *]

10/1/2006 5:12:43 PM

or using a shit ass 12 point socket or wrench

10/1/2006 10:14:51 PM

yeah it doesnt matter how tight it is, its impossible for a proper socket to round it off

if it rounded it off its because you got the wrong size or just have some mickey mouse sockets

10/1/2006 10:30:05 PM