South County Auto Repair

To Whom It May ConcernMiss [redacted] call South County Auto Repair December requet for axle to be install Miss [redacted] was told the axle needed to be orders? The axles was each and labor per side Miss [redacted] request both sides be done? The total with tax, shop supplies 903.12? Miss [redacted] husband stated the last shop quotes Unfortunately we can't refund anything.The work was done correctlyBy license shop? The warranty one year 12,000We apologize if there was some understanding or communication.? Owen? Prisident

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: I am rejecting this response because: I DO NOT SEE A RESPONSE FROM THE COMPANY Regards, [redacted]

To Whom It May ConcernMiss [redacted] call South County Auto Repair December requet for axle to be install Miss [redacted] was told the axle needed to be orders The axles was each and labor per side Miss [redacted] request both sides be done The total with tax, shop supplies Miss [redacted] husband stated the last shop quotes Unfortunately we can't refund anything.The work was done correctlyBy license shop The warranty one year 12,000We apologize if there was some understanding or communicationOwen Prisident

Ms [redacted] brought her [redacted] to South County Auto Repair early November Vehicle had whole lot of problems: check engine light on with multiple codes present, misfire, needed brakes, Catalytic Converters were slopped up and needed oxygen sensors needed to be replace Maintenance was not kept up on vehicle and customer was told that it will take a lot of work to put vehicle where it needs to be.South County Auto Repair performed the following work that was needed at that time:Intake was removed to clean EGR PortsRepaired vacuum leaks Replaced the Idle Air Control Motor (which controls the engine's idling RPM) Replaced Spark Plugs, Ignition Coils and Fuel FilterThose were some of the repairs that were made? Replaced Catalytic Converter on right side and two oxygen sensors only (Vehicle is equipped with two catalytic converters and four oxygen sensors)Replaced right rear brake calipers only because it was leaking brake fluid badOnce repairs were completed vehicle still had other codes present in computerCustomer was told that more work needed to be done to get rid of computer codesTherefore, no refund can be given,Furthermore, Ms [redacted] requested a side view mirror for her vehicle, Agreement was that she will come back to pay once mirror was ready to be installSouth County Auto Repair ordered mirror, had it painted to match vehicle’s color and try to contact Ms [redacted] several times but she never came back to pay.If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us ###-###-####South County Auto Repair

To whom it may concern.Mr*** is a repeat customer of South County Auto. In early 2016, he arrived at my garage for a repair to his *** *** for the first time. This vehicle was high mileage around 260,miles and had an extreme amount of wear and tear. That vehicle
needed a wheel drive locking hub replaced which I was happy to repair for him. We scheduled an appointment which he later dropped the vehicle off to have the repair completed along with providing the part that needed to be installed. The repair was completed to the highest repair standards and properly set to manufacturer standards with no further issues. The vehicle left with the new part operating properly that the customer provided and no damage to any other parts. A little over a month later Mr*** contacted me requesting that South County Auto must pay for a new wheel bearing in his vehicle and install it at no charge due to his wheel bearing being damaged in the install. I informed him that if the bearing was damaged during the repair it would have shown signs during the test drive after the wheel locking hub was replaced. Asked him to bring the truck to South County Auto so I could verify the previous repair and that a vehicle with high mileage like his, it was not uncommon to need a wheel bearing replaced. He informed me that he will not return to South County Auto and he was never seen at South County Auto or contacted me in anyway to resolve any possible issue.With this in mind I was slightly hesitant to complete further work for Mr*** when he approached me with his *** *** needing repairs. On the other hand, I thought this was the opportunity for me to show Mr*** that South County Auto is an honest and respected repair facility that holds professionalism to the highest standard. I wanted to show him that service that he may have felt he didn't receive previously.This vehicle, a *** ***, is heavily modified and altered. The motor, driveline, and chassis were from and while Mr*** himself altered the body with a *** ***. Along with the altered body, Mr*** added a performance exhaust created by him, a lift kit with mud tires, and he informed me that he had changed the motor at one point and changed all of the gaskets himself. When the vehicle was originally delivered to South County Auto, I noticed that the vehicle was being driven with no air intake or filter system. I advised Mr*** that running a vehicle this way can cause great damage to the motor and his response was, "I have it at home and will install it later". I informed Mr*** at the time that it is hard to guarantee OEM parts and labor on such a modified vehicle Mr*** informed me that he believed his rear main seal to be leaking oil on his truck. At first glance of the trucks undercarriage I agreed with him. He then informed me that he had already tried himself to install a new rear main seal in the truck himself and it was still leaking. I advised Mr*** that there could be another issue with the vehicle, that the oil we both were seeing leak from the underside of the car could be coming from somewhere other than the rear main seal. He allowed me to run a few diagnostic tests to check and see where the leak was coming from. After a few hours of diagnostic, free of charge, I informed Mr*** that I was not percent confident the that rear main seal of his truck was the culprit of the leak and further inspection of pulling the transmission will be needed. I removed the transmission out of the *** *** and found an obvious issue. When Mr*** installed the rear main seal, he used an immense amount of Oil Sealent Compound. When installing a rear main seal, it is never a proper procedure to use Oil Sealant Compound. The rear main seal needs to be installed dry on both the inner and outer edges of the seal to guarantee in wont leak. Once I found this condition of his installation I was extremely confident that this Oil Sealant Compound was the issue for the leak. I moved forward with the repair and replaced the Rear Main Seal Panel Gasket, Rear Main Seal, and Oil Pan Gasket. All of these repairs were completed with proper manufacturer installation instructions provided by the ALL DATA Repair Catalog.When reinstalling the seal, a special tool created by *** is needed to make sure the seal is seated properly. The part number on this tool is *** which South County Auto purchased from a local tool supplier specifically for this job to be completed properly. The oil pan and rear main seal panel were both reinstalled and torqued to manufacturer spec of ft/lb. As I was reinstalling all aspects of the transmission I noticed that one of the flywheel bolts had become cross threaded when it was removed in the removal of the transmission. Cross threading can be caused by either installing the bolt dry in the crankshaft or being over tightened on installation. This bolt was cross threaded to the point that it could not be reinstalled in the vehicle. I called Mr*** and made him aware of the situation and that another bolt was a special order item and would take a few days to come in. I advised that I could leave the bolt out and it would be plenty strong in the mean time and he needed the truck to move that coming weekend. Waiting was not going to work for his schedule. I also asked if he had torqued these bolts to manufacturer spec of ft/lbs. He stated he did NOT properly torque these bolts. Once the transmission was completely installed the clutch master cylinder gave me a great amount of problem bleeding out to give the clutch pedal pressure. I stayed late, hours after closing time to make sure this vehicle was completed so Mr*** could using it that weekend Once the vehicle was completely assembled, we found that the vehicle was leaking more oil than it was previously. I apoligized to Mr*** for the issue and informed him that I would repair this free of charge. He insisted on taking the vehicle that evening so he could move over the weekend. He asked if it was safe to drive and I said yes but I would not recommend it. He drove through the weekend and contacted me on the following monday stating that his clutch was not operating and its my fault that it is ruined. I stated to drop the vehicle off at the shop and I would pull the transmission free of charge and repair the oil leak. Once the transmission was out of the vehicle, I found that the clutch was fine and could not operate properly with oil all over it. I reassured Mr*** that the clutch would operate properly once the oil was cleaned off. Once by the flywheel bolts I realized my mistake, the bolt that was left out of the vehicle due to cross threading was part of the engine oiling system. A new bolt would need to be installed in order to stop the leak. I discussed my findings with Mr*** and we both decided that due to the over torquing of the bolts, it was his fault the bolt was not usable. He started looking for a new set of specifically threaded bolts that would work for this truck. The *** Dealership was the only establishment that offered these bolts and they cost close to $a piece. Mr*** had of these bolts total on his truck, I recommended changing all of them. He looked online and found a clutch kit with new bolts in it for less than what it would cost for the dealer bolts. Mr*** purchased the clutch kit that came with the bolts needed and I informed him I would install this clutch also at no charge. The truck was not in need of a clutch, but the customer was able to get a more for cheaper money by purchasing this new clutch While the truck was disassembled, I did inform the customer of a lengthy list of other work that needed to be completed on the vehicle to ensure safety and drivability. One of the most crutial parts were all Universal joints in the truck were bad. Universal joints connect the driveshafts to the axles and allow smooth driving at high RPMs. All universal joints being bad can cause immense vibrations that can cause other issues in the axles, transfer case, and transmission. He acknowledged that they needed to be replaced and I recommended a person that we both knew in the car world, *** ***. While I had the truck apart, I decided to replace the oil pan gasket, rear main seal panel gasket, and the rear main seal again to verify the original repairs and at my own cost. When disassembled there were NO signs of the rear main seal leaking, so I installed a new seal the same way as I installed the first seal. I wanted to be percent confident that the seal would not leak when reassembled.Once the transmission was installed in the vehicle and all aspects were reassembled, I started the vehicle and found the oil leak and subsided. I let the vehicle get to operating temperature and went on a few test drives to verify the quality of work. The clutch and transmission operating properly with no issues. Once running for over a half hour I did notice some oil coming from the original area. The leak had greatly slowed from the original time Mr*** first brought the *** to South County Auto. I informed him of the current situation of the truck and explained that there are other places oil could leak out of the motor and show signs of a rear main seal. I also explained that with an engine that has been torn down and rebuild by someone other than a professional machine shop, it leaves many aspects of the engine in question whether is was assembled correctly or the proper OEM parts were torqued properly to ensure reliability I offered to diagnose the vehicle further to find the oil leak cause but Mr*** declined. As expected he was not thrilled with the current status of the vehicle but it is better condition than when originally dropped off. Mr*** is being completely unreasonable asking for all of his money back when I owned up to my mistake with the bolt and repaired at no cost a second time. The Original invoice totaled $which included seals and gaskets, quarts of oil, and hours of labor at $per hour shop time. That job was completed twice at only one charge due to my admitting a mistake. I am an honest experienced mechanic that is not trying to scam anyone. I completely the work according to a heavily altered vehicle that I wasn't informed until after, had always leaked since the motor was originally installed. If I was aware of Mr*** completing the engine rebuild himself and also him not properly installing the first rear main seal before I accepted the job, I probably would have turned the work away I am very sorry to Mr*** for any inconvenience to his vehicle repairs but the seals were installed properly twice and it is my professional opinion the the truck has other oil leaks that need to be addressed. I would be happy to look at the vehicle again to verify repair at no cost to the owner and try diagnosing the route cause of the problem. I am unsure what Mr***'s intentions are currently with the truck since I have seen it on multiple website for sale. In the attached article you will see the vehicle that was worked on and the lengthy list of work that was completed by Mr***. I can not refund money on this job due to long amount of time spent on this job and many above and beyond attempts I made to make sure this vehicle was repaired properly. I am percent confident in my repairs that the oil is not currently leaking from the rear main seal.I greatly appreciate both Mr***'s patience and the consideration of the Revdex.com in this matter.*** ***South County AutoOwner/ OperatorATTACHMENTS: Attached you will find a copy of one of the multiple ads Mr*** has placed online to sell the truck, advertising all of the work he himself has altered on the truck. Also there is a photo of the vehicle involved in this dispute, along with photo evidence of Mr*** altering the truck