We took our truck to Rein's for a timing chain replacement that was estimated by them to take about…read morea week. Other than needing a new timing chain, the truck was in great shape. Specifically, it started (we drove it there) and it had no oil leaks. After 4 weeks and taking out the engine twice to replace, and then adjust, the timing chain, the truck would no longer start. Rein's could not find the issue so they took it to the Ford Dealership (without asking us). Ford had it for 2.5 weeks and could not find the issue either. With almost seven weeks invested and no resolution, we towed the truck home to Topeka.
Over 3 weeks, 2 more shops and $2200 later, the truck now starts. The problem was the harmonic balancer, which clearly had impact damage and a broken bolt. The harmonic balancer had to have been removed in Rein's shop in order to replace the timing chain. It was either dropped, or had the engine sat on it, or been otherwise abused, and the bolt broken off when they put it back on.
That's the 'good' news. The bad news is this truck that had zero oil leaks when we dropped it off, is now leaking oil from everywhere and is not safe to drive. The shop said thery can't tell if there are no seals or if they're all installed incorrectly. They estimate it will be another $4,000 to pull the engine out and fix them all. However, after seeing the result of the work done at Rein's, they are not interested in pulling the engine to do the work and assuming the liability. I may not be able to find any shop who is willing to do the work, once I disclose how the engine came to be in the state that it's in.
Rein's was non-communicative the whole time the truck was in Hays. Every update I ever got was because I called them. They didn't even tell me they took it to Ford. I found that out when I called. They promised to call me back many times over the course of almost 7 weeks and never did, not even once. When I called to tell them about the damage that was found, they were dismissive and again promised to call me back, but did not, so I have filed claims with the Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau. I wanted to avoid filing these claims and writing a negative review. I wanted to work something out with them. But this shop will NOT call me back no matter how many times I ask them to.
This is the truck my college student son drives and is his only means of transportation. He absolutely loves this truck. He bought it from his grandma. It was his grandpa's truck before he died. If we are unable to find a shop to work on it because of the sloppiness of the work done in Rein's shop, and we have to scrap an otherwise great truck, he's going to be devastated. And none of us look forward to telling his grandma the story of its demise.
If we can find someone to pull the engine and fix all the oil leaks, we will have spent over $6200, and 10 weeks (plus however long the job takes) to get the truck running when it should have been $3,000 and one week for a new timing chain.
