Addendum to 1st review…read more
3 u-joints charged to my m-i-l in the repairs. The driveline takes 2 u-joints; . Fraud or error?
Earlier bill shows B&C installed valve cover gasket ~2 months before they did the same job again, with scant new mileage. The need was identified by White Pass Garage, and B & C's charged a second time for the repair, assuming it was done either time.. not sure. Still a pool of oil to the inside of the driver's side valve cover. Either not cleaned up or still leaking. First r&r of valve cover cost my m-i-l over $200 for labor, and the second time, 2 months or so later, with few additional miles on the van, they charged another $300+ for labor.
Same with fixing the leaking AC o-rings from the earlier visit. They charged her again to fix their first poor install, and noted it didn't include a recharge. Thus the heat from AC on the way north was poor.
Heat on defrost was barely sufficient at +6 degrees f. exterior temperature while rolling on the highway with defrost on hot.
Thermostat will be pulled and inspected. If not a 195 f. t-stat as stated it was (which I'm skeptical of now), that'll be another area of formal address.
Shop failed to assess the function of a freeze-plug heater, though they IDed it. "We didn't trace the cord, and we don't know if it works." Why? Pre-trip inspection to the sub-arctic, ~3,000 miles, and they didn't think it was helpful? (*Upon pick-up of the van, the younger 'mechanic' found the -checked- cord for the freeze-plug heater coiled on top of ac-related box on firewall in plain view. So how much time was actually spent under this thing?.
Defroster/heat fan blower motor making worn bearing sounds @ start-up at +55 f. in Yakima. Headed north with a heater fan motor about to die? Worse now, too. They had to have heard this.
The vacuum lines were to be checked, with hardened or questionable lines replaced. They spliced into existing hardened lines, and replaced the lines they could easily reach. Left hardened lines, etc, in.
Upper heater hose from radiator to firewall is aged, scale on the outside/OLD and not solid/safe. Not replaced. 12" of standard heater hose and 2 new clamps would've been a cheap job to make it safe; maybe 15" ?
Not sure lower radiator hose was changed, though it was supposed to be. Looks swollen. Will inspect upon removal when we check the t-stat.. Upper hose is new.
Heat riser tube from exhaust manifold to the bottom of air intake housing is crumpled at the lower end and not hooked up. That way upon receipt of the van.
Rear u-join installed using half-moon clamps at the pinion yoke, but no inner c-clips used, caused increasing vibration, led to firm decision to take the ferry as the (then still undiscovered) result of the cap on one leg of the u-joint walking out of the clamp, leaving a pin bearing broken, a seal blown out on the u-joint, and a generally unsafe condition. (*Cost hundreds of dollars in Whitehorse to remedy this, along with a new-to-me driveline, as the forward u-joint had outer c-clips forced into the exterior, rather than the proper innner c-clips and thus the ears of that yoke were bent. I have the c-clips from where they were forced into exterior positions; the c-clips were ground on a grinder, complete with blue-ish burnishing marks of unequal depth, 1 end thicker than the other = unequal pressure on bearing caps. Temper of metal c-clips after heating/grinding?
House battery was dead upon pick-up, and we later found a blown fuse under the dash, leading to the solenoid that connects the charging system for the van to the system for the rv.
Discovered & repaired bare wiring on a 12v hoop fitting at a relay on the firewall that was a hazzard. We fixed it in Canada.
Erratic high-speed wobbling of the driveline due to improper install of the u-joint = increased play in the output bushing at the transmission cone, and posisbly the seal there, as well as the output bearing at the plate ahead of the cone. Wear traceable to poor install on the u-joints.
The transmission output to the speedometer cable is still leaking. Needs a new o-ring, perhaps, but still leaking. A 5" job.
They had the van most recently for ~2 weeks, w/ a thorough list for repairs from White Pass Garage, as well as a thorough list from me. They fell short on those.
They had an opportunity to repair these issues, and didn't, but over the course of 2 months, charged my m-i-l a total of over $3,800. Few words describe this level of service from anyone calling themselves a mechanic.
This was the service provided to an 81-y.o. woman with early stage dimentia, who gullibly paid THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS over the last couple of months; a snap-shot of the actual condition of the van upon its return to her. Shame!!
I will continue the review in a third addendum after more inspection.
Heat shield between peopane tank and catalytic converter hanging by thin baling wire, with 4 Robins screws blown out the tin. I fixed in Whitethorse, Y.T. Ca. myself.