*Need Input* Dealing with things that others can't. (Or in other words they don't know what they are doing)

[littleblazer]

*About to enter a triggered rant that has been brewing for a couple of days*

So, the sierra, an 07 nbs 2500hd with the 6.0l, developed an oil leak a few weeks ago. Thirty seconds of tracking showed me it was the oil cooler lines leaking. Now it is a company truck so dad sent it out for the repair rather then doing it in our lovely single digit weather we were experiencing. Truck is there for a week or so and they say it is fixed. Great. Get it back and all is well for about 2 weeks. Then, another puddle in the driveway. Right over the soaked up one as the truck is parked in damn near the same spot every time. Alright. Bring it back.

Now, this is where it gets interesting... There were a few things that should have tipped me off the first being it took a week to do the lines and the labor on doing them... I don't think it could have taken more than an hour or two but the bill said otherwise. Anyway, about a week goes by, they say they fixed it. Okay cool. Number two: They told us they spent 4 hours checking the oil cooler lines making sure they weren't leaking again. Uh, that seems a bit excessive but okay. Number three: they replaced the oil pan. Wait, WTF? Yea. That's right. That was what triggered me right then and there. Truck comes home that night and sure enough another puddle in the street. Okay, maybe it was residual. Drive it around the block and park it in the driveway. Truck isn't even up to temp and about a minute later there is a two inch puddle in the same place as the first time. Really?

I threw open the damn hood just to confirm my suspicions. The oil pan is about a foot or more away from the puddle. .3 seconds of the hood being open told me all I needed to know. Oil all over the drivers side fender liner, ECM, firewall, manifold, oil cooler lines and running down the radiator where the lines go in too. Now I'm fuming because I knew the oil pan wasn't the damn leak to begin with and now I really know they did it for the heck of it just to bill for something. Disgusted I slammed the hood and walked away.

Now that the rant is over, I would like to know what you would want done. Would you demand reimbursement for the oil pan job as it wasn't necessary? Reimbursement for the whole job and have them fix it right? Or just suck it up and not say a thing if they want to charge you again. Just as an aside, I don't think the oil pan is even the right one. It has been a long time since I was under that truck but I don't seem to remember the drain plug being in a location that a decent stream of oil would end up all over the exhaust tube that runs along the back of the motor. I could be wrong on that though but it sure seems close.

Sorry guys. I work on my own stuff usually but when it seems easier to let a pro do it I usually get the shaft. Heck I get it when I do it myself. Like the power steering lines on the envoy turning into a splined disconnect project and motor mounts and a fuel line that got punctured while doing motor mounts....

Anyway, I know what I would do, let us see if it gets done.

 

[mrrsm]

The first thing I like about this is that your behavior strongly indicates that You Can Keep a Cool Head Under Bad Circumstances. That will be half the battle going forwards. The next thing to investigate is whether or not GM issues ANY TSB documents involving ANY and ALL Oil leaks involving the entire Truck-Line Production time line for your particular vehicle and any others like it. For instance… are there any TSBs that report problems with Internal “O” Rings failing on the Oil Cooler… Are there any TSBs that report problems with the Oil Pan Gasket...or the Rear Engine Oil Seal failing. Are there any TSBs covering Failures of the Oil Lines...Oil Line fasteners...or Oil Lines easily Cross-Threading at their insert points. Check these problems against their itemized list of Repairs and try establish how many billable hours are usually involved.

The other aspect of this has to do with whether or not theses repairs SHOULD have been completed on the First Go Around...and...Are you being Billed Twice or Three times for work that should have been done during the initial repair(s)? If you can find any TSBs or Recalls that you still qualify for… bring print-outs of ALL of this documentation with you to a meeting with the Service manager and advise them that if you cannot receive satisfaction...your NEXT phone calls will be to the local Better Business Bureau and to the Corporate Headquarters for General Motors. During the initial meeting... Write down everything he says... every word... so he knows that you are listening and that he will measure carefully what he tells you that might set off your BSD" (Bull Sh*t Detector). If your dad comes along... Make sure he sits quietly...and says not a word... His mere presence will speak volumes.

Even if the Service Manager is conciliatory towards you... Do not accept what he says until you see it in writng on their Company Letterhead as an adjusted rebate for services rendered that are more consummate with something reasonable. If things go sideways and the Servce Manager becomes defensive... even if you have no intention of doing so… provide that person with the GM HQ Contact Phone Number(s) and tell him/her to prepare themselves for a follow up from THEIR Bosses if something reasonable cannot be worked out. Place all of your paperwork into a professional looking Binder and show up looking Loyally Tidy… leave the Dirty Jeans and Work Boots... and the Angry Demeanor at the house and just make sure you carry yourself with simmering anger and quiet dignity…. You will be surprised just far you take this matter when you Look Sharp...and Come Correct. One last thing before you leave the business... Shake his hand like a Gentleman... and thank him for the meeting before you and your father leave the place. Give him one day to respond and tell him you will be expecting his personal call on the day following this little chat.

And remember this, Brother… It is Always Better to Act...Than to React!

 

[Mounce]

6.0s do direct the oil straight on to the exhaust. At least with the "classic" 03-07.5 trucks. Actually the plug points to the back on all of them as far as I know, just the 6.0 has the crossover there though. Has since changed to side draining 07.5+ on all as far as I know.

Uh, at the very least take it back until it's fixed. Don't pay them a penny more. Explain that it was brought in for leaks, 3 times. And each time you payed to have them fixed but it's still leaking. So it's in their court for as to why it's still leaking after their diag and their recommended repairs were payed for and done. They told what was wrong and said they would fix it, but it didn't. So, they either suck at diag or suck at repairs. Probably both if they suck at one.

PS find another shop for the next repair as current one doesn't know what they're doing. It's not rocket science to fix an oil leak on an LS style motor. There's a total of what, 6 places they commonly leak from? Oil pan, cooler gasket, valve covers, rear main, front main/timing cover. Actually that's basically all except for one or two possible places, vast majority at least. It's not that hard.

 

[littleblazer]

I can say this is the last time any vehicle is going there. Being honest it looks to me like they tried to unthread the adapter from the radiator rather then pulling the little clip on the hose. I'm still salty about the oil pan, that wasn't leaking unless they royally screwed somthing up last time it went in. I want the old pan for inspection but it's probably long gone at this point. Funny thing is the leak started as a dime size drip after sitting for hours before anything was done. Truck goes in 20 driveways a day, it can't leak like this.

At the very least I don't want to get charged for anything else. Ideally I'd like to be reimbursed for the oil pan because there was no way in hell that's where it was leaking from. It wouldn't spray forward. And one thing I forgot to mention, you can see it all over the inside of the drivers wheel well too. Hopefully they fix it.

Oh and thanks for the oil drain info. I had creeped under the escalade and saw it was below it that why I questioned it. It was about 3 years since the last time I was under that truck.